Page 221 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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simplistic (sim PLIS tik) adj. taking a complicated situation and making it unre-
alistically simple; oversimplified
• It is simplistic to believe that a calculus problem can be solved while stand-
ing on one foot.
• Trying to fix an overheating car engine by adding cold water is taking a
simplistic approach—and is also likely to get you burned.
[-ally adv.]
simply (SIM plee) adv. 1. in a simple way; with simplicity; 2. merely; only; just;
3. absolutely; totally
• The dress was made simply, in a short time.
• Faith was simply trying to be nice by offering her help.
• Will was simply furious with the way he had been treated.
sinuate (SIN yoo it for adj., SIN yoo ayt for v.) adj. 1. s-shaped, like a sine curve;
sinuous; 2. having an indented, wavy edge, like some leaves —vi. to bend or wind
in and out
• Some grand-prix automobile race tracks sport sinuate sections, unlike
American ovals where cars only turn left.
• Some slicing knives have sinuate edges for thinly slicing cold cuts and hard
cheeses.
• Some of the most dangerous drivers are ones who sinuate through traffic.
[-d, sinuating, -ly, adv.]
skeptical* (SKEP ti kl) adj. 1. not easily persuaded or convinced; inclined to
doubt; questioning; 2. doubting religious doctrine
• In Columbus’s day, learned people were not as skeptical about the earth’s
being round as elementary history books would have us believe.
• People from Missouri have a reputation for being skeptical; they have to be
shown.
• Agnostics are generally skeptical about many religious teachings.
[-ly adv.]
skepticism (SKEP ti si zm) n. 1. a philosophy that neither truth nor knowledge
is attainable by human beings; 2. a doubting attitude, especially pertaining to reli-
gious doctrine
• Skepticism as a philosophy began in ancient Greece, where its advocates
claimed that man did not have the tools to determine what is and what is
not true.
• A healthy skepticism is a good thing for those who would prefer not to be
flimflammed by pie-in-the-sky advertising claims.
[Syn. uncertainty]
slumber (SLUM bir) vi. 1. to sleep; 2. to be inactive or dormant —n. 1. sleep;
2. a state of inactivity
• Night watchmen have a reputation—some would say undeserved—for
slumbering while on the job.
• A volcano that has been inactive for recorded history is more safely regard-
ed as in slumber rather than dead.
• A pair of pajamas is usually required for a slumber party.