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salutary(SAL yoo TER ee) adj. 1. conducive to or promoting good health;- serving a good purpose in some way; beneficial
- Regular exercise has a salutaryeffect on one’s health.
- Over the years, the use of new materials in running shoes has had a
salutaryeffect on the speed of sprinters.
[salutarily adv.] [Syn. beneficial]
schematic(ski MAT ik) n. a drawing of an architect’s plan (blueprint) or a
drawing to show the layout of something, such as electrical wiring - Schematic diagrams of a car’s wiring are in every automobile’s service manual.
- An architect’s version of a schematicis usually drawn in white on a blue
background and is known as a blueprint.
scrutiny(SKROO tin ee) n. 1. close examination; close inspection; 2. a long,
continuous watch; surveillance - Legislative bodies should always be under the scrutinyof the electorate.
- After extensive scrutinyof the pros and cons, the New Jersey Nets’ new
owners decided to move the team to Brooklyn, New York. - For decades, U.S. satellites and spy planes kept the Soviet Union under
scrutiny.
sedulous(SEJ oo lis) adj. 1. working steadily and hard; diligent; 2. persistent
- Mack was sedulousin his studies of Elizabethan poetry.
- Jeannie was sedulousin making sure that she got the best interest rate
available.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. busy]
sermon(SOER min) n. 1. a speech given as instruction on religious subject mat-
ter or morality by a clergyman during a religious service; 2. any speech on behav-
ior, especially a long-winded, boring one- The subject of many a sermonhas been that fools rush in where angels fear
to tread. - It is not unusual for the giver of a sermonto be referred to as preachy.
sextant(SEKS tint) n. a navigational instrument used at sea to find the position
of a ship by sighting the horizon and a known star - Navigators have used sextantsto guide ships since the second half of the
eighteenth century. - The sextantis named for its shape, which is a pie-shaped sixth of a circle.
shard(SHAHRD) n. 1. a broken fragment of pottery or glass; 2. (zoology) a hard
covering such as a shell, plate, or scale - Shardsof broken pottery can be packed into the bottom of a flowerpot to
provide drainage for plants.
- The subject of many a sermonhas been that fools rush in where angels fear
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