SAT words-vocabulary-older passages.pptx

Vocabulary that may help students decode older passages on the SAT, focusing on words whose meaning may have evolved over time

1. SAT Vocabulary SAT PREP

2. DISCRIMINATE/DISCRIMINATING Able to distinguish slight differences between things; discerning It is NOT synonymous with bigotry or prejudice. Someone who has discriminating taste has an eye for style and is probably very sophisticated. Someone with a discriminating palate is a foodie, able to recognize the best quality food and wine and identify if something falls short. Older literature will often use it as praise: someone who is discriminating in who they spend time with is exercising good judgment and discernment. This word can have a very positive connotation.

3. NATURE This doesn’t just mean trees and ecosystems. When older writers refer to nature, particularly if it’s capital-n Nature, they mean the essential order of things. They may be referring to human nature specifically, or human nature may be seen as a subcategory of Nature. It means the way things ought to be or what they are in their truest form .

4. REASON Reason doesn’t just mean rational or sensible. It will often mean intellect. We know there are many more aspects to intellect than just reason, but in older texts it can often be treated as a synonym. OR it might mean sanity. Someone who has “lost their reason” has lost their mind.

5. BEST Truest, most authentic, purest A writer who says “in its best sense” in describing something means “in its truest, most authentic sense”

6. STATE Government Usually this will refer to a national government

7. ENFRANCHISE See also: franchise (noun), enfranchisement (noun) To grant rights, particularly the right to vote Disenfranchisement literally refers to the lack of voting rights since the franchise is the vote, but it also has come to mean any stripping of rights or marginalization of people. Just be very alert about its meaning if you read it in an older text

8. MEAN Low, petty, insignificant It did not typically mean cruel, the way we use it (“mean girls”). It did have a negative connotation, but more to do with being petty, insignificant or trivial

9. DEGRADE Can mean to humiliate Can also mean to treat with contempt Can imply that moral character has been pulled down, in the same way that a substance degrades over time

10. PRODIGAL A spendthrift; someone who spends too much money Because of the parable of the Prodigal Son, prodigal is often used to mean a wanderer, someone who has left the right path and is sort of in the weeds spiritually/morally. But he is called the prodigal son because he spent his whole inheritance! So prodigal often means someone who overspends.

11. MODEST We think of it as not wearing revealing clothing Modest had a much broader meaning for them, meaning not showing off. A modest home, a modest demeanor, a modest dress—these all meant that someone was not showing off or trying to draw attention to themselves. Positive connotation, seen as a virtue Can also mean small but adequate, i.e. “a modest income”

12. BASE Ignoble; lacking elevated values or morals Someone who acts from “base instincts” is acting from their lowest animal self and not their higher spiritual/moral self

13. FACULTY/FACULTIES Not just referring to the staff of schools! Faculties mean abilities. Mental faculties=mental abilities

14. LIBERAL Generous We tend to use it strictly as a political word that contrasts with conservative. While liberal was in use as a political word, it also meant generous. Someone who gave liberally gave generously.

15. AFFORD Permit If you afforded someone an opportunity, you allowed or permitted them the opportunity If you afford someone respect, you grant them respect

16. COARSE Lower class in taste, manners and values “coarse language”

17. TEMPERANCE Restraint, self-control Someone who was temperate in their response was not impulsive or overly emotional ALSO refers to the movement to abolish alcohol that ran from the mid-1800s through the 1920s

18. SOVEREIGN/SOVEREIGNTY Any ruler like a king could be referred to as the sovereign Sovereignty means power or authority In the context of SAT passages, the writers are often arguing about who has sovereignty (the state government, the federal government, the people)

19. PECULIAR Particular, distinctive

20. CANT Hypocritical or sanctimonious talk Typically when talking about morality or politics

21. WONT One’s habit or customary behavior “She did not stop to talk to the post man that day, as was her wont.” Pronounced like “want”

22. CHARITY Love; can also mean being nonjudgmental, looking at people with tolerance and kindness From the Latin “caritas,” meaning love We think of it as giving to the poor because this was seen as a primary way to show love for God in early Christian thought

23. SAVE Can mean “except” “Everyone save Emily lost their investment in the stock market” = Emily is the exception, she did not lose all her money

24. PRESCRIBE/PROSCRIBE These are almost homophones but with opposite meanings. To prescribe is to dictate/require something “The law prescribes a prison sentence of at least fifteen years for this crime.” To proscribe is to ban something “The teacher proscribed the use of cell phones in class.”

25. CURRENCY Not just the type of money a country uses Currency can mean becoming accepted, credible or in use “The idea has gained currency over the last 10 years.”

26. QUALIFY Make a statement or assertion less absolute; add reservations to Think of AP exams: when you are asked to “support, oppose, or qualify a claim,” the qualify is the “yes, but” answer “The candidate has my unqualified support”—I have no doubts, I am 100% committed “I will give my qualified support to this bill, assuming these two amendments are made”—I basically support it but with some limitations

27. APOLOGY Apology (verb/noun), apologist (noun) An explanation In classical usage, an apology is not saying you regret something, it’s explaining or defending something An apologist is the person who does this “She is an apologist for capitalism”--she supports and defends capitalism