SAT Verbal sections terms & vocabulary

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

Vocabulary and terms for Reading Questions

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

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
  • "author's tone" or "passage's tone'" refers to the "feeling" or "atmosphere" of a passage
  • different "tones" may include:
    • informal, conversational
    • detailed, descriptive
    • character study, pyschological
    • light-hearted, amusing, cheerful
    • satirical, comedic
    • authoritative, academic, definitive
    • journalistic

Historical terms to know

• see SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes - A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide (school4schools.wiki)

Transition word definitions (conjunctive adverbs)

• it is useful to know a "translation" or ready synonym for transition words so that they are clear when assessing possible answers
• see this entry:Transition words translations

Digital SAT Vocabulary from official practice tests (2023)

abrupt adhere annotate assume atypical buttress capitalize commercialize/ commercialization conflicted conform/ conformity contrive / contrived deference discern/ discernable disconcerting disengage disparage/ disparagement disparate diverge diverse dynamic eclipse elusive exasperate / exasperated fallible fluctuate / fluctuation forge / forged fragment grapple imminent impartial/ impartiality indecipherable indifference inexplicable infallible 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 speculate substantial substantiate/ substantiated succumb surmise synchronize/ synchronization tedious tenuous underscore unobtrusive unprecedented validate/validated verisimilitude

Homophones & homonyms

assure v. ensure

prey v. pray

affect v effect