The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart

by Bobbi Bly

  separatists (SEP-prah-tists), noun

  Those who believe a particular region or group should be separated from a larger whole.

  Some SEPARATIST Canadians want Quebec to be a separate nation from the rest of Canada.

  sepulchral (suh-PUHL-kruhl), adjective

  Hollow and deep; characteristic of a tomb; often used to describe certain voices.

  Our butler’s SEPULCHRAL voice instantly impresses our social contacts when they come to visit.

  sequester (see-KWESS-ter), verb

  To remove and isolate a portion from a larger whole.

  “A great deal of genetic engineering must be done before we have carbon-eaters SEQUESTING carbon in sufficient quantity to counteract the burning of fossil fuels.” – Freeman Dyson, English-born American physicist and mathematician

  serendipity (ser-en-DIP-it-ee), noun

  Attaining success, good fortune, or the object of your desire more through luck and random circumstance than deliberate effort.

  What made him an Internet billionaire was SERENDIPITY more than brains or talent.

  serpentine (SUR-pen-teen), adjective

  Snake-like in shape or movement.

  “For it is not possible to join SERPENTINE wisdom with columbine innocency, except men know exactly all the conditions of the serpent.” – Francis Bacon, English philosopher, author, and statesman

  sesquipedalian (ses-kwi-pih-DAL-yin), adjective

  A writer or speaker who prefers big, complex words and arcane jargon to plain, simple English, or a piece of writing containing such prose.

  “Recently a strange whimsy has started to creep in among the SESQUIPEDALIAN prose of scientific journals.” – Stephen Hall, American architect

  sidereal (SIGH-der-eel), adjective

  Determined by outside forces, particularly the positions of the stars and planets in the evening sky.

  “Thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor SIDEREAL.” – Philippus Paracelsus, Swiss alchemist, astrologer, and physician

  sinecure (SIN-eh-KYOOR), noun

  A job or office without regular duties but with regular pay; a position requiring minimal labor but conveying prestige or status to one who holds it.

  Being elected as the new president of his trade association bestowed on Bill some much-needed SINECURE.

  siren (SY-ren), noun

  A destructive, but seductively beautiful, beguiling woman; or, anything considered dangerously seductive.

  “It is natural to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that SIREN until she ‘allures’ us to our death.” – Gertrude Stein, American author

  soi-disant (soy-dih-SAHNT), adjective

  Self-styled.

  A SOI-DISANT lady’s man, Gary’s focus was always on his next conquest.

  sojourn (SO-jern), noun

  A temporary visit or stay.

  The Israelites’ SOJOURN in the desert lasted for forty long years.

  solidarity (sol-ih-DARE-ih-tee), noun

  Bonding of people to others because of shared interests, beliefs, goals, or attitudes.

  “It was the middle-class female SOLIDARITY, defending a nice girl from charges of calculation and viciousness.” – Saul Bellow, American author

  soliloquy (suh-LIL-ih-kwee), noun

  A dramatic or literary form of speaking in which a character reveals his innermost thoughts when he is alone or thinks he is alone.

  The most famous SOLILOQUY in all of literature is the “To be or not to be” speech in Hamlet.

  solipsism (SAHL-ip-sihz-uhm), noun

  The notion that one’s own experiences and thoughts are the only source of true knowledge.

  The SOLIPSISM of some members of the leisure class is distasteful to those of us who, for example, know what our servants need even more than they do.

  solstice (SOUL-stis), noun

  A day of the year during which the sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky, causing the shortest day of the year on December 21 (winter solstice) and the longest day of the year on June 21 (summer solstice).

  We open our lake house for the summer season every year at the SOLSTICE.

  sonorous (SON-er-russ), adjective

  A deep, rich, resonant sound.

  The b-flat bass saxophone is the most SONOROUS member of the saxophone family, with the baritone saxophone coming in a close second.

  sophist (SAHF-ist), adjective

  Sounding reasonable, yet patently false.

  One can argue that what is learned in law school is largely the skill of making SOPHIST arguments that a jury can believe.

  soporific (sop-uh-RIFF-ick), adjective

  Something so boring, tedious, or exhausting that it makes one start to fall asleep.

  If Cassandra weren’t such an important social contact, her SOPORIFIC speech would surely cause us to avoid her.

  specious (SPEE-shus), adjective

  Something that appears correct on the surface, but is in fact wrong.

  The judge summarily rejected the SPECIOUS arguments put forth by the defendant, which seemed to have no evidence to back them up.

  spoonerism (SPOON-er-iz-um), noun

  A phrase in which the syllables of neighboring words are accidentally interchanged.

  A popular SPOONERISM states: “Cook a grilled cheese sandwich in lots of butter, let it get cold, and you have a chilled grease sandwich.”

  Sphinx (SFINKS), noun

  A mythical creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of a serpent.

  When Oedipus correctly answered the SPHINX’S riddle, the SPHINX leaped to its death in the valley below.

  spurious (SPYOOR-ee-us), adjective

  False; inauthentic; not well thought out.

  Every week I get SPURIOUS accusations of being a spammer even though my list is entirely double opt-in.

  stagnation (stag-NAY-shin), noun

  The condition of being inactive or the slowing of forward progress or lessening of activity.

  “Economists’ statistical techniques are not refined enough to analyze unambiguously the causes of this long-term STAGNATION.” – Jeff Madrick, director of policy research at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School.

  staid (STAYD), adjective

  Fixed and settled; not distinctive; uninteresting.

  Even though the Sandersons are an important family, we could hardly last the requisite hour at the family’s STAID winter ball.

  stalwart (STAL-wart), noun, adjective

  A loyal, reliable member of an organization; a staunch supporter of a group or cause.

  Although Wayne is no longer a working engineer, he is a STALWART member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  stoicism (STOH-ih-si-zum), noun

  Enduring pain or suffering without complaining.

  “He soldiered through his duties with what looked like cheerful STOICISM.” – Thomas Pynchon, American author

  stolid (STAHL-id), adjective

  Unemotional and impassive.

  Thomas’s STOLID demeanor hides the heart of a jet-setting playboy.

  stringent (STRIHN-juhnt), adjective

  Rigorous, strict, severe.

  “No laws, however STRINGENT, can make the idle industrious, the thriftless provident, or the drunken sober.” – Samuel Smiles, Scottish author and reformer

  strophe (STROF), noun

  A stanza containing lines that do not conform to the type, style, or form of the poem in which they appear.

  Those not wearing haute couture stick out at our gatherings like STROPHES stick out in short poems.

  stultify (STUHL-tuh-fie), verb

  To cause to appear foolish or ridiculous.

  The out-of-date chapeau absolutely STULTIFIED Heather’s otherwise immaculate couture.

  stygian (STY-gee-an), adjective

  Eerily quiet, so dark as to be almost pitch black.
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  “STAND close around, ye STYGIAN set, / With Dirce in one boat convey’d! / Or Charon, seeing, may forget / That he is old and she a shade” – Walter Savage Landor, British writer and poet

  subjugation (sub-jih-GAY-shun), noun

  The process of making someone your inferior and requiring them to take orders from you.

  “There was a flavor of SUBJUGATION in his love for Madeleine.” – Saul Bellow, American author

  sublime (suh-BLYME), adjective

  Reaching new levels of quality and perfection unduplicated elsewhere; of such immense beauty that the viewer’s breath is taken away, metaphorically speaking.

  “The SUBLIME and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the SUBLIME makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the SUBLIME again.” – Thomas Paine, English revolutionary and intellectual

  subliminal (sub-LIM-inn-uhl), adjective

  Operating below the threshold of consciousness, but still having an affect on the mind.

  SUBLIMINAL advertising was a big fad in advertising in the 1970s.

  subrogation (suh-bro-GAY-shin), noun

  The substitution of one person for another with respect to a lawful claim or right.

  The SUBROGATION clause in the lease says that if the landlord cannot collect rent from the tenant, she has the right to collect from the co-signer of the leasing agreement.

  subsistence (SUB-sis-tense), noun

  The minimum—of food, water, clothing, shelter, and money—a person or family needs to survive.

  All we need for SUBSISTENCE is the basics: the finest of everything.

  subversive (sub-VER-siv), adjective

  Describes an act performed to challenge or overthrow the authority of those in power.

  “If sex and creativity are often seen by dictators as SUBVERSIVE activities, it’s because they lead to the knowledge that you own your own body.” – Erica Jong, American author and teacher

  suffrage (SUF-rij), noun

  The right to vote in political elections.

  “Higginson was an early advocate of women’s SUFFRAGE as he was a vociferous advocate of civil rights for Negroes.” – Joyce Carol Oates, American author

  sultry (SUL-tree), adjective

  In terms of weather, hot and humid, with little or no breeze. In terms of human behavior, suggestive of passion or smoldering sexuality.

  “Bare-headed in the SULTRY sun, Ahab stood on the bowsprit.” – Herman Melville, American author

  supercilious (sue-per-SILL-ee-us), adjective

  Feeling superior to others, and as a result, having a low opinion of or contempt for them based on your belief that they are inferior.

  Too many get-rich-quick promoters imbue their advertisements with a SUPERCILIOUS attitude toward the wealth seekers they profess to wanting to help.

  superfluous (soo-PER-flew-us), adjective

  Excessive and unnecessary.

  Some people never seem to be aware that wearing more than a hint of fine jewelry is SUPERFLUOUS.

  superlative (sue-PURR-lah-tiv), adjective

  The quality of something’s being the best in its class or quality.

  Our family’s show horses are SUPERLATIVE to the rest of the horses one can find in the county.

  supersede (sue-per-SEED), verb

  When one thing takes the place of another or renders the former obsolete.

  “The classical laws [of physics] were SUPERSEDED by quantum laws.” – Stephen Hawking, British theoretical physicist

  supplant (suh-PLANT), verb

  To take the place of.

  “If we would SUPPLANT the opinions and policy of our fathers in any case, we should do so upon evidence so conclusive, and arguments so clear, that even their great authority fairly considered and weighted, cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln

  surfeit (SUR-fit), noun

  Having too much of a good thing, especially generous servings of food and drink.

  “A SURFEIT of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings.” – William Shakespeare

  surreal (suh-REEL), adjective

  Possessing a quality that makes something seem unreal; strange; bizarre; almost other-worldly.

  “He seemed to toss them all into the mixed salads of his poetry with the same indifference to form and logic, the same domesticated SURREALISM, that characterized much of the American avant-garde of the period.” – Frank O’Hara, American poet

  surreptitious (suh-rep-TISH-us), adjective

  Done in secret.

  With little more than SURREPTITIOUS glances, Alison was able to entice Quentin to her side at the spring gala.

  susurration (soo-suh-RAY-shun), noun

  A soft sound such as the murmuring from a hushed conversation in the next room or the rain gently falling on the roof.

  He bought a device to help him sleep: an electronic synthesizer that mimics the SUSURRATION of a drizzle or a rainstorm.

  suzerainty (suh-ZER-ant-tee), noun

  Paramount, unquestioned authority.

  “The account executives are sufficiently mature to manage every phase of their accounts without challenging the ultimate SUZERAINTY of the copywriter.” – David Ogilvy, British advertising executive

  sybaritic (sih-bar-IT-ik), adjective

  Relating to self-indulgent sensuous luxury and pleasure.

  Selena rubbed the suntan lotion over her tanned middle slowly, and the whole thing had an erotic, SYBARITIC quality that made the men’s eyes pop out of their heads.

  sycophant (SIK-uh-fuhnt), noun

  A person attempting to get on your good side by constantly sucking up and flattering you.

  Outwardly polite, the rock star secretly viewed his fans as slobbering SYCOPHANTS.

  symbiosis (sim-bee-OH-sis), noun

  A close interdependency between two organisms from two different species.

  The nouveau riche would like to believe they have a SYMBIOSIS with us, but, in fact, they remain wholly separate and distinct.

  synchronous (SIN-kro-nus), adjective

  Two events or processes that take place at the same time.

  The Smythingtons and the Lyttons caused quite a stir among their social contacts after they scheduled SYNCHRONOUS galas.

  syncopation (sin-ko-PAY-shun), noun

  Music in which the beats are reversed: the normally loud beats are softer, and the beats normally subdued are emphasized.

  The weird SYNCOPATION in the score made the music very difficult for the percussionists to follow.

  syncretistic (sin-kre-TIH-stik), adjective

  A set of beliefs obtained by combining elements of multiple cultures, religions, societies, or schools of thought.

  Pauline’s SYNCRETISTIC worldview comes from the fact that her family has traveled extensively across the globe.

  synecdoche (sih-NECK-duh-kee), noun

  A type of shorthand speech in which a partial description is understood by the reader or listener to represent the whole; e.g., saying “New York” in a discussion of baseball when you mean “the New York Yankees.”

  Marla could not stop using a SYNECDOCHE after she returned from her trip to England at which she met the royal family, saying repeatedly that she had met and socialized with “the crown.”

  synoptic (sin-OP-tik), adjective

  Forming or involving a synopsis or summary.

  The close of a presentation should be SYNOPTIC in nature.

  systemic (sih-STEM-ik), adjective

  Relating to a system as a whole and not just its component parts.

  The discarding of couture clothing that is less than a year old has become SYSTEMIC among our group.

  syzygy (SIZE-ih-gee), noun

  In astronomy, syzygy takes place when the Earth, sun, and moon all line up along a straight path.

  Astronomers predict an eclipse for the next SYZYGY.

  “To the artist is sometimes granted
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  a sudden, TRANSIENT insight

  which serves in this matter for

  experience. A flash, and where

  previously the brain held a dead

  fact, the soul grasps a living truth!

  At moments we are all artists.”

  Arnold Bennett, English novelist

  T

  tableau (tah-BLOW), noun

  A memorable scene created by the grouping of objects and people.

  When Jeannette walked into the room, the TABLEAU of angry faces that greeted her revealed that we knew it was she who had gossiped to the society pages.

  tabula rasa (TAB-yuh-luh-RAH-suh), noun

  A clean slate; lacking preconceived notions, prejudices, beliefs, and attitudes; receptive to instruction and information.

  “Classic writer’s fear of the blank page: call it TABULA RASA-phobia.” – John Jerome, American nonfiction writer

  taciturn (TAH-sih-turn), adjective

  Reserved; uncommunicative; a person of few words.

  “Nature is garrulous to the point of confusion, let the artist be truly TACITURN.” – Paul Klee, German-born Swiss painter

  tactile (TACK-tile), adjective

  Related to the sense of touch.

  This year’s Parisian couture is distinguished by its use of highly TACTILE fabrics.

  tangential (tan-JEHN-shull), adjective

  Divergent or digressive; having little to do with the subject or matter at hand.

  “New York is full of people … with a feeling for the TANGENTIAL adventure, the risky adventure, the interlude that’s not likely to end in any double-ring ceremony.” – Joan Didion, American journalist

  tantamount (TAN-tuh-mount), adjective

  Equivalent in value or effect.

  Eleanor considered our snub of her TANTAMOUNT to betrayal and, in truth, she was correct.

  tantric (TAN-trik), adjective

  Anything related to the school of thought that views sex as a sacred and deeply spiritual act.

  “Both religions [Hinduism and Buddhism] were patronized by the same kings, ministers, and merchants, many of whom indulged in the same TANTRIC heterodoxies.” – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author