Cartes mémo de vocabulaire SAT

Having mixed or opposite feelings about something at the same time.

Example: She felt ambivalent about the job offer, thrilled by the pay but dreading the move.

Hook: ambi- means both, as in ambidextrous.

Something that does not fit the usual pattern.

Example: One site's results were an anomaly, with rainfall far below every other site in the study.

Hook: it sounds like abnormal, and that is the idea.

Based on a whim or a random choice, not on a reason or a rule.

Example: The coach's decision to cut the player seemed arbitrary, since nobody could name a rule it followed.

Hook: arbitrary choices come with no reason attached.

Honest and direct, even when the truth is not welcome.

Example: In a candid interview, the author admitted that the first draft had been a failure.

Hook: candid goes with candor, the plain truth with nothing hidden.

To admit that something is true after first resisting it, or to give something up.

Example: After the recount, she conceded the election. In an argument, to concede a point is to grant it.

Hook: the sentence I concede is an admission.

Done quickly, without attention to detail.

Example: A cursory glance at the report missed the error on page three.

Hook: it shares a root with cursor, the little arrow that runs across your screen.

Hard to find, catch or pin down.

Example: The answer stayed elusive, however many times he reread the proof.

Hook: an elusive thing slips away, like a bar of wet soap.

Possible to do in practice.

Example: Finishing the bridge in one year is feasible only if the money arrives by spring.

Hook: feasible is about whether a plan can be done, while plausible is about whether a claim can be believed.

Built in as a permanent part of something.

Example: Some risk is inherent in any experiment, however carefully it is designed.

Hook: it comes from a Latin word for sticking to, so an inherent trait is stuck on for good.

Not harmful or offensive, and often not very interesting either.

Example: An innocuous remark about the weather somehow started a long argument.

Hook: the Latin nocere means to harm, so innocuous means not harmful.

Showing great care about small details.

Example: The editor was meticulous, checking every date and every name twice.

Hook: picture a person with a ruler and a checklist.

As an adjective, new and unlike what came before. As a noun, a book-length story.

Example: The team proposed a novel method for cleaning water. The test usually means the adjective.

Hook: novel comes from the Latin word for new, so a novel idea is a new one.

Showing small, subtle differences instead of an all or nothing view.

Example: A nuanced review praised the film's acting but questioned its ending.

Hook: it is the opposite of black and white.

Spreading through every part of something.

Example: The smell of smoke was pervasive and reached every room in the house.

Hook: per- means through, as in permeate.

Seeming reasonable and believable, though not proven.

Example: The theory is plausible, but the data that would prove it do not exist yet.

Hook: plausible is about belief, feasible is about doing.

Focused on what works in practice, not on theory or ideals.

Example: The mayor took a pragmatic approach and repaired the worst roads first.

Hook: pragmatic and practical start alike and mean nearly the same.

Careful and sensible about the future, avoiding needless risk.

Example: It was prudent to save part of every paycheck.

Hook: a prudent person looks ahead, the way a driver checks the mirror.

To back up a claim with evidence.

Example: The researcher could not substantiate her claim, because her notes had been lost.

Hook: a claim with no substance in it is not substantiated.

Weak, thin or poorly supported.

Example: The link between the two events was tenuous, resting on a single coincidence.

Hook: it comes from the Latin word for thin, so picture a thin thread.

To weaken something gradually, often out of sight.

Example: Constant interruptions undermine a speaker's confidence.

Hook: picture digging under a wall until it falls.