Descriptionary

sovereign adj. (SOV run) independent from the rule of others. The island declared itself a sovereign nation and rejected any further administration from the mainland.

spearhead vb. (SPEER HED) to head up or start an organization, movement, etc. John Muir is often cred­ited with spearheading the environmental movement.

specious adj. (SPEE shus) appearing to be true but in fact being fallacious. Your argument probably sounds quite credible to the jury, Mr. Jones, but my expert witness will, in fact, prove that it is specious.

spite n. (SPYTE) hard feelings; vengeance. The teacher flunked Jake for the year; out of spite, he egged her car.

splitting hairs being nitpicky and too exacting. If we're going to sit around splitting hairs all day, we'll never get this contract signed; let's just agree on a fifty-fifty deal and work out the trivial details as we go.

spry adj. (SPRY) lively and active. She was astonish­ingly spry for someone who would turn ninety-six next month.

spurious adj. (SPYOOR ee us) false, counterfeit; not authentic. The police officer's radio report of a flying saucer turned out to be spurious.

squalid adj. (SKWALL id) filthy and run-down. They lived in a squalid, cockroach-infested tenement building in the center of town.

squander vb. (SKWAN dur) to waste. Let's be irre­sponsible and squander all our money on impulse purchases and luxuries.

stagnation n. (stat NAY shun) an absence of life or activity. To bring this company out of stagnation, we must put more money into research and development.

staid adj. (STAYD) serious and restrained; sober. It's hard to get my boss to laugh at anything; he's just too staid.

stalemate n. (STAYL mayt) deadlock or draw. Man­agement and union cut off their negotiations after reaching a stalemate.

stalwart adj. (STALL wurt) strong and resolute. I am and always will be a stalwart supporter of equal rights.

status quo n. (STAT us KWO) the present state of affairs. The president has no interest in changing his policies; he's happy with the status quo.

staunch adj. (STAWNCH) strong and loyal. Sally is a staunch supporter of gay rights.

steadfast adj. (STED fast) constant and resolute; steady; loyal. Don't let anyone talk you out of our plans; remain steadfast at all costs.

stereotype n. (STAIR ee uh type) a broad and skewed characterization that ignores individuality. The assessment that "men are pigs" is an unfair ste­reotype; in reality, only a certain percentage of men qualify as such.