Webster Essential Vocabulary

Quick Review #77.

Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.

216 Essential Vocabulary

1. society


2. solace


3. solicitude


4. solidify


5. soluble


6. somber


7. sonnet


8. sophisticated


9. spate


10. species


11. specific


12. specious

a. harden

b. plausible

c. population

d. outpouring

e. urbane

f. explicit

g. community

h. grave

i. solvable

j. comfort

k. poem

l. care

spectacle(SPEK ti kl) n.1. a strange and/or remarkable sight; 2. a public exhibi-
tion on a grand scale —pl.a pair of eyeglasses

• The dog balancing on the beach ball was a spectacleto behold.


• The parade of the circus performers and animals from the train station to
  the arena was a spectacleworth coming out to watch.


• Willa bought a new pair of spectacles.
  speculation*(SPEK yoo LAY shin) n. 1. the act of thinking about; meditation;

2. gambling in stock or land values

• Whether or not your parents are going to allow you to go away for the
  weekend is purely a matter of speculation.


• Day traders are engaged in stock price speculation,and more lose money
  than gain any.
  spontaneous (spahn TAY nee uhs) adj. 1. all at once, without advance prepara-
  tion or premeditation; 2. without apparent outside cause or influence


• Alice’s decision to follow the white rabbit was a spontaneousone.


• People used to think that maggots appeared on dead bodies by spontaneous
  generation.


• At the pianist’s first appearance, the audience erupted in spontaneous
  applause.
  [-ly adv.] [Syn. instinctive, impulsive]
  spurious (SPYUR ee uhs) adj. 1. false; make-believe; not genuine; 2. similar in
  appearance, but not in structure


• The note asking Linda’s teacher to excuse her not having her homework
  turned out to be spuriousand was written in Linda’s poorly disguised
  handwriting.