Page 226 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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S: SAT Words
• The bargain diamond ring turned out to be spurious, made not of diamond
and gold but of glass and gold plate.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. artificial]
squelch (SKWELCH) vt. 1. to crush or squash by smashing or stamping on; 2. to
suppress or silence fully with a demoralizing effect —n. 1. a crushed mass of some-
thing; 2. the act of silencing or putting down; 3. the sound made by walking
through mud or slush
• Peter tried to squelch the invasion of cockroaches by stomping all over
them.
• Dictators often try to squelch opposition by making massive reprisals after a
slight insurrection.
• Suzanne squelched a pile of potatoes for tomorrow morning’s hash browns.
• Her boots went “squelch” as she slogged through the mud.
[-ed, -ing, -er n.]
stemming (STEM ing) vt. 1. stopping or checking (especially the flow of a river
by damming); 2. closing, plugging, or tamping a hole; 3. removing the stem from a
vegetable or piece of fruit
• Damming the river was an attempt at stemming its repeated flooding of the
town.
• The little Dutch boy’s thumb was stuck into the dike in hopes of stemming
the hole’s enlargement by the water eroding it further.
• Stemming strawberries before serving them is always a good idea.
stimulant (STIM yoo lint) n. any drug, medication, experience, sight, etc. that
temporarily stimulates or excites some organ or the central nervous system to
increase activity
• Many people can’t start the day without a cup of coffee, which acts as a
stimulant to get them up and running.
• Caffeine, the stimulant in coffee, is also in tea, cola, and other soft drinks.
straddle (STRA dil) vt. 1. to have one’s legs on either side of (a chair, saddle,
fence, etc.); 2. to come down on both sides of an issue; to avoid or appear to avoid
committing oneself; 3. to walk with one’s legs wide apart; 4. to refuse to commit
oneself; hedge —n. the act or position of straddling
• Tom turned the chair around and straddled it while leaning his chin on the
chair’s back.
• It is customary to straddle the saddle when seated on a horse.
• Politicians often find that they risk alienating fewer constituents by strad-
dling an issue rather than coming down on one side or the other of it.
• Severely bowlegged people walk with a straddle, as if they had a saddle
between their legs.
• It doesn’t pay to straddle the question of whether or not to allow the state
to infringe on your freedoms.
• Straddling is a favorite occupation of many politicians, known as
fence sitters.
[-d, straddling]