Appropriate Prepositions

Sacred to

Sacred to means considered holy by someone.

• The Quran is sacred to Muslims.

Sad at

Sad at means feeling unhappy about something.

• She was sad at leaving her childhood home.

Safe from / Save from

Safe from means being protected from something.

• He is safe from harm inside the house.

Save from means to rescue someone from danger.

• The lifeguard saved the child from drowning.

Sanguine of

Sanguine of means to be hopeful or confident about something.

• She is sanguine of her success in the exam.

Satisfied with / Satisfied of

Satisfied with means pleased with something.

• I am satisfied with my results.

Satisfied of means convinced about the truth of something.

• I am satisfied of his honesty.

Satisfaction in / Satisfaction at / Satisfaction with

Satisfaction in means pleasure from doing something.

• I find satisfaction in helping others.

Satisfaction at means feeling pleased about an event.

• He expressed satisfaction at the team’s performance.

Satisfaction with means contentment with something.

• She has satisfaction with her job.

Search for / In search of

Search for means to look for something.

• They searched for the missing keys everywhere.

In search of means actively looking for something.

• He traveled to the city in search of a better life.

Secure against / Secure from

Secure against means protected from an attack.

• The bank vault is secure against theft.

Secure from means safe from harm.

• His money is secure from robbers in a locker.

Seek for / Seek after / Seek of or from

Seek for means to look for something. ("for" is often optional.)

• We sought for a solution to the problem. (or We sought a solution to the problem.)

Seek after means to chase something desirable.

• Many people seek after fame and fortune.

Seek of / from means to ask someone for something.

• We sought advice from our teacher.

Sensible of / Sensitive to

Sensible of means being aware of something.

• I am sensible of the risks involved in this decision.

Sensitive to means easily affected by something.

• This thermometer is very sensitive to temperature changes.

Sentence to / Sentence for

Sentence to means to punish someone with a specific penalty.

• The criminal was sentenced to life in prison.

Sentence for means the reason for the punishment.

• He was sentenced for stealing valuable paintings.

Shame at / Shame for

Shame at means feeling embarrassed about something.

• I feel shame at my poor performance in the exam.

Shame for means feeling guilty about someone's actions.

• She felt shame for her rude behavior.

Short of

Short of means not having enough of something.

• We are short of time, so let’s hurry.

Shrink from

Shrink from means to avoid something out of fear.

• He shrank from taking responsibility for his mistakes.

Sick of / Sick for

Sick of means tired or bored of something.

• I am sick of hearing the same excuses.

Sick for means longing for something.

• She is sick for her hometown after being away for so long.

Side with

Side with means to support someone in a disagreement.

• He sided with his friend in the argument.

Silent about / Silent on

Silent about means not talking about a specific thing.

• She remained silent about the incident.

Silent on means refusing to speak about a topic.

• The politician was silent on the issue of corruption.

Similar to

Similar to means looking or being almost the same as something else.

• This dress is similar to the one I bought last year.

Similarity of / Similarity between

Similarity of … with … means comparing one thing to another.

• The similarity of this painting with the original is impressive.

Similarity between means finding common features in two things.

• There is a similarity between their writing styles.

Sin against

Sin against means doing something morally wrong.

• He sinned against his family by betraying their trust.

Sink in / Sink into / Sink upon / Sink under

Sink in means to go down in a soft surface.

• His feet sank in the mud.

Sink into means to submerge in something.

• The ship sank into the ocean after the storm.

Sink upon means to collapse onto something.

• She sank upon the couch, exhausted.

Sink under means to fail due to pressure.

• The company sank under heavy financial losses.

Slave of / Slave to

Slave of means being controlled by something.

• He is a slave of his desires.

Slave to means strongly addicted to something.

• She is a slave to fashion trends.

Slow of / Slow at / Slow in

Slow of means lacking ability in something.

• He is slow of understanding complex ideas.

Slow at means not quick in doing something.

• She is slow at solving math problems.

Slow in means taking time to do something.

• He is slow in making decisions.

Slur on / Slur over

Slur on means damaging someone’s reputation.

• This accusation will put a slur on his reputation.

Slur over means ignoring mistakes or problems.

• The teacher slurred over the student's mistake.

Smell of

Smell of means having the scent of something.

• This room smells of fresh flowers.

Smile at / Smile upon

Smile at means to show amusement or kindness.

• She smiled at the little child.

Smile upon means to favor someone.

• Fortune finally smiled upon him when he got the job.

Sneer at

Sneer at means to mock someone in a rude way.

• Don't sneer at people who work hard for their dreams.

Snatch at

Snatch at means to grab something quickly.

• The child snatched at the candy when his mother offered it.

Sorry for

Sorry for means feeling bad about something.

• I am sorry for hurting your feelings.

Speak with / Speak to / Speak about / Speak for / Speak of / Speak on

Speak with means to have a conversation with someone.

• I need to speak with my boss about the project.

Speak to means to talk to someone.

• She spoke to the teacher regarding her grades.

Speak about means to discuss a topic.

• He spoke about his travel experiences.

Speak for means to represent someone.

• The lawyer spoke for his client in court.

Speak of means to mention something.

• Everyone speaks of his generosity.

Speak on means to give a speech on something.

• The professor spoke on climate change.

Spite against

Spite against means holding hatred toward someone.

• He acted out of spite against his rival.

Stain upon / Stain with / Stain in

Stain upon means to damage someone's reputation.

• This scandal put a stain upon his career.

Stain with means to mark with something.

• His shirt was stained with coffee.

Stain in means to color something.

• The artist stained the glass in red.

Stare at / Stare in the face

Stare at means to look at something intensely.

• Why are you staring at me?

Stare in the face means to be directly confronted with something.

• Failure was staring him in the face, but he kept trying.

Start for / Start from / Start at

Start for means to begin a journey to a place.

• We started for Dhaka early in the morning.

Start from means to begin at a place.

• She started from home at 7 AM.

Start at means to be surprised.

• He started at the sudden noise.

Startled at

Startled at means surprised or shocked by something.

• She was startled at the sudden noise outside.

Stick at / Stick to

Stick at means not hesitating to do something, even if it’s wrong.

• He sticks at nothing to achieve his goals.

Stick to means to stay committed to something.

• Stick to your principles no matter what happens.

Strange to

Strange to means unfamiliar with something.

• This tradition is strange to me.

Stoop to

Stoop to means to lower oneself to do something dishonorable.

• I will never stoop to cheating in an exam.

Subject of / Subject for / Subject to

Subject of / Subject for means a topic or matter.

• The subject of our discussion is climate change.
• This issue is a subject for further investigation.

Subject to means being affected by something.

• We are subject to the rules of this company.

Submit to

Submit to means to give in or accept authority.

• The soldiers submitted to their new leader.

Subordinate to

Subordinate to means lower in rank or position.

• She is subordinate to the manager in the office hierarchy.

Subscribe to

Subscribe to means to agree with an idea or contribute to something.

• I subscribe to that newspaper every month.

Subsequent to

Subsequent to means happening after something.

• The meeting took place subsequent to the announcement.

Subsist on

Subsist on means to survive on a certain type of food.

• In the village, people mainly subsist on fish and rice.

Substitute for

Substitute for means to replace one thing with another.

• You can substitute honey for sugar in this recipe.

Succeed to / Succeed in

Succeed to means to inherit or take over.

• He succeeded to his father’s property.

Succeed in means to achieve something.

• She succeeded in passing the exam with top marks.

Sufficient for

Sufficient for means enough for a purpose.

• This food is sufficient for five people.

Suffer from / Suffer for

Suffer from means to experience pain or illness.

• She suffers from asthma.

Suffer for means to face consequences for something.

• He suffered for his past mistakes.

Suitable for / Suitable to

Suitable for means appropriate for a person or thing.

• This dress is suitable for a wedding.

Suitable to means appropriate for a situation.

• His speech was suitable to the occasion.

Suited to / Suited for

Suited to means appropriate for a situation.

• His calm nature is suited to leadership roles.

Suited for means appropriate for a role or job.

• She is not suited for a career in medicine.

Supplement to

Supplement to means something added to improve or complete something.

• This guide is a supplement to the textbook.

Supply with / Supply to

Supply (someone) with (something) means to provide someone with something.

• They supplied us with fresh water.

Supply (something) to (someone) means to deliver something to someone.

• The company supplied food to the flood victims.

Sure of

Sure of means confident about something.

• I am sure of my answer.

Surprised at / Surprised by

Surprised at means feeling shock or wonder at something.

• I was surprised at his sudden decision.

Surprised by means being unexpectedly affected by something.

• She was surprised by the unexpected gift.

Suspect of

Suspect of means believing someone has done something wrong.

• The police suspect him of theft.

Suspicious of

Suspicious of means doubting or not trusting something.

• She is suspicious of his intentions.

Sympathy for / Sympathy with

Sympathy for means feeling sorry for someone.

• I have deep sympathy for the earthquake victims.

Sympathy with means sharing someone’s views or emotions.

• I have sympathy with your opinion on this matter.

Sympathize with / Sympathize in

Sympathize with means to feel sorry for someone.

Sympathize in means to share someone’s feelings in a specific situation.

• I sympathize with you in your loss.