SAT Verbal sections terms & vocabulary: Difference between revisions

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Terms and definitions useful for answer questions on the SAT Reading and Writing sections.

Vocabulary and terms for Reading Questions[edit | edit source]

Effective test-taking requires full comprehension of the questions themselves.

Some terms that will show up in test questions include:

critical[edit | edit source]

important, emergency situation
analytical, investigated thoughtfully

hypothetical/ hypothetically[edit | edit source]

= an estimate, theory
or, an idea or situation that is not real but could be
used to test a "hypothesis" or theoretical prediction or observation that has not been tested in reality
SAT Reading section uses it frequently for inference questions
- i.e., "Given the hypothetical condition, then..." = "if this were true, then..."

merely[edit | edit source]

= "only"
the SAT frequently measures student comprehension of this word
note that "merely" is different from "a little," "a few" or "few"

nevertheless[edit | edit source]

= "yes, but..."
used to accept a prior argument or statement, then deflect, negate, or contradict it.
for Reading section, transition words mark important statements an author wants to make

skeptical[edit | edit source]

= doubtful, uncertain of, seeing as unproven
a "skeptic" is one who doubts or questions the veracity of something
on the SAT, the word "skeptical" may be used to indicate a perspective of doubt
- ex., if the question asks, "Scholars are skeptical of the idea that people would behave that way"
  - = scholars doubt people would behave that way
  - i.e., use "backwards thought" or "inversion" to make sense of the question

tone[edit | edit source]

"author's tone" or "passage's tone'" refers to the "feeling" or "atmosphere" of a passage
different "tones" may include:
- academic, authoritative, definitive
- character study, psychological
- detailed, descriptive
- informal, conversational
- journalistic, reporting
- light-hearted, amusing, cheerful
- narrative (story-telling)
- satirical, comedic, ironic

Other terms to know[edit | edit source]

Historical terms[edit | edit source]

see SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes)

Transition words (conjunctive adverbs)[edit | edit source]

see:Transition words translations

Digital SAT Vocabulary from official practice tests (2023)[edit | edit source]

abrupt

adhere

annotate

assume

atypical

buttress

capitalize

commercialize / commercialization

conflicted

conform / conformity

contrive / contrived

deference

depleted

discern / discernable

disconcerting

disengage

disparage / disparagement

disparate

diverge

diverse

dynamic

eclipse

elusive

exasperate / exasperated

fallible

fluctuate / fluctuation

forge / forged

fragment

grapple

imminent

impartial/ impartiality

implement (verb)

indecipherable

indifference

inexplicable

infallible

infrequent

innocuous

inordinate

interject

intriguing

inventive

latent

lucrative

mandatory

mimic

momentous

nominal

novel

nuance / nuanced

obscure

obstinate

obtuse

operative

ornamental

paucity

peripheral

predatory

prescribe

presume

profuse

profusion of

proponent

quarrel

quilt (verb)

recant

reciprocate

renounce

repudiate

resilient

saturated

secretive

speculate

sturdy/ sturdily

subtle

substantial

substantiate / substantiated

succumb

surmise

susceptible

synchronize / synchronization

tedious

tenuous

underscore

unobtrusive

unprecedented

unsympathetic

validate / validated

verisimilitude

Homophones & homonyms[edit | edit source]

affect v effect

assure v. ensure

it's, its

prey v. pray

their, there, they're

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Some terms that will show up in test questions include:
-*'''critical'''
-**important, emergency situation
-**analytical, investigated thoughtfully
-*'''hypothetical/ hypothetically'''
-**= an estimate, theory
-**or, an idea or situation that is not real but could be
-**used to test a "hypothesis" or theoretical prediction or observation that has not been tested in reality
-**SAT Reading section uses it frequently for inference questions
-***i.e., "''Given the hypothetical condition, then...''" = "''if this were true, then...''"
-*'''merely'''
-**= "only"
-**the SAT frequently measures student comprehension of this word
-**note that "merely" is different from "a little," "a few" or "few"
-*'''nevertheless'''
-**= "yes, but..."
-**used to accept a prior argument or statement, then deflect, negate, or contradict it.
-**for Reading section, transition words mark important statements an author wants to make
-*'''skeptical'''
-**= doubtful, uncertain of, seeing as unproven
-**a "skeptic" is one who doubts or questions the veracity of something
-**on the SAT, the word "skeptical" may be used to indicate a perspective of doubt
-***ex., if the question asks, "Scholars are skeptical of the idea that people would behave that way"
-****= scholars doubt people would behave that way
-****i.e., use "backwards thought" or "inversion" to make sense of the question
-* '''tone'''
+=== '''critical''' ===
-** "author's tone" or "passage's tone'" refers to the "feeling" or "atmosphere" of a passage
+*important, emergency situation
-** different "tones" may include:
+*analytical, investigated thoughtfully
-*** academic, authoritative, definitive
-*** character study, psychological
-*** detailed, descriptive
-*** informal, conversational
-*** journalistic, reporting
-*** light-hearted, amusing, cheerful
-*** narrative (story-telling)
-*** satirical, comedic, ironic
-== Historical terms to know ==
+=== '''hypothetical/ hypothetically''' ===
-* see [[SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes#Historical%20terminology|SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes - A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide (school4schools.wiki)]]
+*= an estimate, theory
-Transition word definitions (conjunctive adverbs)
+*or, an idea or situation that is not real but could be
+*used to test a "hypothesis" or theoretical prediction or observation that has not been tested in reality
+*SAT Reading section uses it frequently for inference questions
+**i.e., "''Given the hypothetical condition, then...''" = "''if this were true, then...''"
-* it is useful to know a "translation" or ready synonym for transition words so that they are clear when assessing possible answers
+=== '''merely''' ===
-* see this entry:[[Transition words translations]]
+*= "only"
+*the SAT frequently measures student comprehension of this word
+*note that "merely" is different from "a little," "a few" or "few"
+=== '''nevertheless''' ===
+*= "yes, but..."
+*used to accept a prior argument or statement, then deflect, negate, or contradict it.
+*for Reading section, transition words mark important statements an author wants to make
+=== '''skeptical''' ===
+*= doubtful, uncertain of, seeing as unproven
+*a "skeptic" is one who doubts or questions the veracity of something
+*on the SAT, the word "skeptical" may be used to indicate a perspective of doubt
+**ex., if the question asks, "Scholars are skeptical of the idea that people would behave that way"
+***= scholars doubt people would behave that way
+***i.e., use "backwards thought" or "inversion" to make sense of the question
+=== '''tone''' ===
+* "author's tone" or "passage's tone'" refers to the "feeling" or "atmosphere" of a passage
+* different "tones" may include:
+** academic, authoritative, definitive
+** character study, psychological
+** detailed, descriptive
+** informal, conversational
+** journalistic, reporting
+** light-hearted, amusing, cheerful
+** narrative (story-telling)
+** satirical, comedic, ironic
+== Other terms to know ==
+=== Historical terms ===
+* see [[SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes#Historical%20terminology|SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes)]]
+=== Transition words (conjunctive adverbs) ===
+* see:[[Transition words translations]]
 == Digital SAT Vocabulary from official practice tests (2023) ==