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S Vocabulary Words Quiz #1

Can you guess these vocabulary words that start with the letter S?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 2, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 4, 2013
Times taken59,356
Average score60.0%
Rating3.88
5:00
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Definition
Word
Noble Japanese warrior
Samurai
The highest register of singing voice
Soprano
Deadly sin of laziness
Sloth
Earthquake measuring device
Seismometer
Cave exploring
Spelunking
To occupy property without legal title
Squat
To make a basket without the ball
touching the rim
Swish
Military flight mission
Sortie
To separate a jury from external influence
Sequester
Organ that acts as a reservoir for blood
Spleen
Definition
Word
The vast Eurasian grasslands
Steppe
Jewish place of worship
Synagogue
Outline of an academic course
Syllabus
Makeshift knife
Shiv
A monarch's ornamental staff
Sceptre
Twelve pence, formerly
Shilling
Grass-cutting tool carried by
the Grim Reaper
Scythe
To burn with hot liquid
Scald
The right to vote
Suffrage
Male horse kept for breeding
Stud
+6
Level 44
Jan 2, 2013
Ah. Staff as in sceptre, not tending servants. No wonder it didn't make sense that they were ornamental...
+1
Level 50
Jan 2, 2013
I did the same thing!
+5
Level 77
May 7, 2015
Took me a while too. Ornamental people makes however perfect sence when you talk about the entourage of a monarch. :)
+3
Level 69
Jun 9, 2016
LOL! That's a great image! It makes me think of all the definitely ornamental housewares/staff of Beauty and the Beast.
+2
Level 89
Jul 22, 2019
The 12 Days of Christmas song has ornamental staff.
+3
Level 49
Apr 3, 2013
I've never heard of Spelunking before but you need to add Speleology as an option as it's another term for 'cave exploring'.
+3
Level 74
Jan 9, 2015
I'm no caver, it gives me the willies, but I would think speleology would be the study of caves, not the exploring of them. No?
+2
Level 66
Aug 20, 2019
yes anything ending in -ology is the study of..
+1
Level 51
Nov 24, 2015
Absolutely, speliology is the correct term
+3
Level 66
Aug 20, 2019
for the study of, yes, but not for going into the caves (though ofcourse it can overlap because ofcourse part of that study can involve actually going into caves)
+7
Level 84
Nov 30, 2015
From Wikipedia: "Speleology or Spelacology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time. The term speleology is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of exploring caves, but this is more properly known as caving, spelunking or potholing." (While the article indicates the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, it also suggests such usage isn't technically correct.)
+4
Level 93
Jan 24, 2019
As most cavers I know take it more seriously, they would use the word speleologist rather than spelunker, to describe their cave exploring. Spelunking brings to mind people who do it more recreationally as the wiki page says and so they are not really 'exploring' it.
+2
Level 21
May 7, 2015
Haha you included 'swish'. nice
+5
Level 65
Oct 8, 2018
Hmm in my part of the world I think its a swoosh
+1
Level 82
Sep 4, 2022
I did try swoosh first
+1
Level 70
Sep 7, 2022
In my part of the world, the swoosh is the stylized checkmark in the Nike logo
+1
Level 68
Dec 11, 2022
Yeah I tried swoosh and moved on, came back and got it with seconds to go.
+1
Level 66
Mar 25, 2024
I got it right, but I think I only remember from taking this quiz like 5 years ago! after swish I immediately thought ow wasn't there some argument about spelunking, and indeed there it came, so then I knew I had taken this quiz before
+2
Level 53
May 7, 2015
I think speleology should be accepted for spelunky.
+1
Level 70
Nov 21, 2017
I agree, since it is the proper term for exploration of caves. Good quiz, though, caught me out more times than it should have.
+1
Level 24
May 8, 2015
I think sire should count for an un-castrated male. If a male horse is a sire to another, he definitely is still fertile. Also, I would normally think of a sortie as an attack from a fortress by a besieged party upon their besiegers. Great quiz!
+9
Level 75
Sep 9, 2018
And stallion!
+1
Level 66
Mar 25, 2024
I tried stallion steed and stag.

Stallion should be accepted, and wiktionary refers to stallion at steed. Stag does not seem to fit.

+2
Level 74
Apr 2, 2016
Can you accept strike for sortie?
+2
Level 65
Nov 13, 2017
Agreed.
+2
Level 84
Sep 2, 2022
But you can fly a sortie without striking anything. Patrol and reconnaissance flights are still sorties.
+1
Level 74
Jan 17, 2023
The wording makes it unclear if it is asking for a type of military flight, or what all military flights are called. So at this point, strike should be accepted :)
+4
Level 49
Mar 15, 2018
You cut that grass, Grim Reaper!
+1
Level 61
Sep 9, 2018
This was a great quiz. Challenging. Nice job.
+2
Level 72
Sep 9, 2018
On one side I'm proud of myself for thinking of suffrage for "the right to vote". On the other side I'm angry I wrote it "souffrage" so I didn't get the point. The word has always sounded French to me.
+9
Level 60
Sep 9, 2018
What about stallion for horse question?
+4
Level 57
Sep 9, 2018
I must have written stallion about 20 times lol I guess it doesn't fit the exact description...
+6
Level 75
Sep 9, 2018
That was my first answer, too, but I guess though all studs are stallions, but not all stallions are studs.
+3
Level 68
Nov 27, 2022
STALLION is the correct term, at least in the UK and Ireland.

A stud is the place where horses are bred. A stallion STANDS at a STUD.

Sire was mentioned in another comment - that means father (noun or verb). Sire and dam = father and mother.

+2
Level 83
Sep 10, 2018
...and here I was trying "Scalpel Jockey" as a slang term for surgeon. I guess I watched a little too much Scrubs.
+1
Level 20
Jan 30, 2019
Gottem
+3
Level 79
Feb 25, 2019
These vocabulary quizzes are quite hard for me because many of these are North American terms.
+1
Level 76
Mar 3, 2020
I tried "Singe", "Scorch", and "Sizzle" for the burning with hot liquid. Maybe add some as type-ins?
+1
Level 66
Mar 25, 2024
yup also tried singe and scorch and also scour and even scold. After like a minute I still ended up getting it (but not some others, though I know it now I see the answer. I would not have know sortie though)
+2
Level 75
Apr 7, 2020
Perhaps consider accepting Synopsis for Syllabus?
+1
Level 66
Mar 25, 2024
I tried synopsis aswel, but don't think it should be accepted, that is more like a summary while syllabus is more like a program, as in schedule things planned.
+1
Level 76
Mar 11, 2022
Sire also works for stud.
+2
Level 80
Sep 2, 2022
Caving is Potholing in UK
+6
Level 79
Sep 3, 2022
The UK really needs a better road repair program if you can spelunk the potholes. :)
+1
Level 58
Oct 3, 2022
Unfortunately we do because you can
+1
Level 66
Mar 25, 2024
I need to write a story about this!! :)
+4
Level 75
Sep 2, 2022
"Making a basket..." - I genuinely thought that clue was referring to weaving baskets and had no idea why a ball was involved...
+2
Level 82
Sep 2, 2022
I also found the basket-making question to be weirdly specific and didn't know why a ball was involved (but given how little I know about making baskets... I figured maybe a ball was involved).
+1
Level 64
Sep 4, 2022
Prison slang for a makeshift knife is shaft
+3
Level 72
Nov 14, 2022
Nope, it's a shiv
+2
Level 66
Nov 26, 2022
Do you mean, shank?
+1
Level 43
Sep 5, 2022
Can "spelunk" be accepted? In addition to "spelunking"
+3
Level 79
Sep 6, 2022
Please accept stallion
+1
Level 66
Nov 26, 2022
That's what I thought too.

Google seems to agree. But idk anything about horse breeding.

"A stud colt is a male colt 4 or younger that hasn't been gelded. Stallion and stud are interchangeable terms for an adult, intact male horse, regardless of his breeding status"

+1
Level 83
Sep 8, 2022
came so close to trying 'stabby thing' for the knife question
+2
Level 71
Sep 12, 2022
Aghh, thought it was spelt seisometer. Nearly.
+1
Level 48
Nov 26, 2022
how can the lettering be made bigger? I tried my best and I wrote it down. my eyes aren't what they used to be.. LOL. can the timer be
+2
Level 71
Nov 28, 2022
You can make the text bigger using your web browser's features; on most desktops, find the "View" menu and select the "Zoom" option, zoom in to make the text bigger. It will have a keyboard shortcut listed to make this easier.

On mobile, you can pinch to zoom. You may also be interested in your phone's accessibility features, so I recommend exploring that in your phone's settings.

The Stop button on quizzes can be used to stop the clock so you can take the quiz untimed; it's next to the answer box and the Pause button.

+2
Level 65
Nov 28, 2022
You should also accept stallion as it is also regarded as an uncastrated horse used for breeding