| russet | n. | homespun cloth of reddish-brown | ||
| rutch | v. | to scootch, to slide | ||
| ruth | n. | compassion, pity | ||
| rutilated | adj. | (of minerals) having tiny needle-shaped crystals of titanium dioxide (rutile) embedded within | ||
| sabretache | n. | leather pouch attached to sword-belt of a cavalry officer | ||
| sacer vates | n. | sacred poet | Latin | |
| sacerdotal | adj. | of or related to priests, priestly | ||
| sago | n. | starch made from the pith of the trunks of several palms and cycads, used particularly in preparation of puddings | ||
| sallow | adj. | of pale sickly yellow color, esp. of skin | ||
| sally port | n. | opening in fortification for passage of troops making a sally | ||
| salpingectomy | n. | removal of the Fallopian tube | ||
| salsify | n. | edible winter root vegetable related to parsnip, also called ‘oyster plant’ | ||
| saltatory | adj. | characterized by or adapted for leaping or dancing movement | ||
| salubrious | adj. | promoting health | ||
| salutatorian | n. | graduating high school student with second highest academic record | ||
| salutiferous | adj. | salutary, conducive to well-being or health | ||
| samite | n. | heavy silk, often interwoven with gold | ||
| samphire | n. | edible succulent growing on rocks by the sea | ||
| sanguinaria | n. | bloodroot | ||
| sanguine | adj. | courageous or hopeful | ||
| sannyasi | n. | Hindu religious mendicant | ||
| sanpaku | n. | condition in which whites of the eyes are visible below or above the pupil | ||
| sapid | adj. | having a pleasurable taste; having flavor or a distinct taste; agreeable | ||
| sapiential | adj. | having wisdom | ||
| sapiosexual | n. | person sexually attracted by intelligence | ||
| sapropelic | adj. | pertaining to or living in mud or ooze made up of decomposed living material | ||
| sarcenet | n. | very fine soft silk fabric now used chiefly for linings (also sarsenet) | ||
| sardonic | adj. | sneeringly cynical, bitterly derisive | ||
| sarky | adj. | sarcastic | British | |
| sarnie | n. | sandwich | informal | |
| Saturnian | adj. | of or relating to the god Saturn, esp. referring to the ‘golden age’ of his rule; of or relating to the planet named after the same god | ||
| saturnic | adj. | suffering from lead poisoning | ||
| saturnine | adj. | sluggish, gloomy, moody, cold; of lead, suffering or caused by lead poisoning | ||
| saveloy | n. | highly seasoned dried sausage, usually bright red | ||
| scabrid | adj. | rough surfaced | ||
| scabrous | adj. | having a rough surface, scaly; difficult, harsh; obscene, indecent | ||
| scalawag | n. | scoundrel; Southerner who collaborated with Reconstruction forces after the Civil War | ||
| scald | v. | to heat nearly to boiling; to briefly dunk in boiling water; to suffer a burning sensation | ||
| scalene | adj. | having sides of unequal length | ||
| scall | n. | eczema | ||
| scammony | n. | bindweed of eastern Mediterranean; resin made from its root, used as a purgative | ||
| scamp | v. | to perform in a slipshod or careless way | ||
| scanger | n. | petty crook, usu. associated with specific brand name clothes etc. used by same | slang | |
| scantling | n. | small piece of wood, usu. used for studs etc.; blocks of wood of a given size; [nautical] framing timber of a vessel | ||
| scapegrace | n. | entirely unrepentant and disreputable scoundrel | ||
| scaphism | n. | ancient Persian method of execution, possibly specious, in which the victim is bound between two small boats with his head and limbs remaining outside and then he is force-fed milk and honey until bloated and the remaining mixture slathered upon his expos | ||
| scarehead | n. | newspaper headline printed in huge type | ||
| scarify | v. | to make scratches or light incisions (as in vaccination); to wound, to make sore; to make cuts in the bark of a tree | ||
| scarp | n. | line of cliffs; steep banked fortification | ||
| scarper | v. | to run off | British |
