Choosing the word or phrase that best fits a sentence's meaning and tone — SAT vocabulary as it's actually tested.
51
Total questions
17
Easy
20
Medium
14
Hard
The digital SAT's vocabulary questions: a short passage with a blank (or an underlined word), and four candidate words. The tested words are academic but not obscure — 'corroborate,' 'undermine,' 'prevalent' — and the passage always contains enough context to determine the answer.
Cover the choices and predict your own word for the blank first; then pick the closest match. The sentence's logic gates the answer: contrast markers (but, however, although) demand a word opposing an earlier idea, continuation markers demand alignment. If two choices seem synonymous, reread for tone and precision — one will fit the register of the passage better.
Straight from the Grind1600 question bank — try each one before revealing the answer.
Correct answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. The text describes Meg's desire for luxury and fine things, suggesting that she has a 'preference' for expensive and elegant items.
Choice A is incorrect. 'Flavor' refers to the sensation of food and wouldn't make sense in this context about clothing and lifestyle preferences.
Choice B is incorrect. 'Sample' means a small portion of something. It wouldn't make sense to say Meg had a 'sample' for luxury.
Choice D is incorrect. While 'judgment' can relate to taste in some contexts, the text is describing Meg's fondness for luxury, not her ability to evaluate quality.
Correct answer: B
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text's description of Diaz's relationship with English. In this context, 'ambivalence toward' means having mixed or conflicting feelings about something. The text explains that Diaz both uses English masterfully and mourns the loss of her native language, suggesting she has simultaneous positive and negative feelings about English.
Choice A is incorrect because saying Diaz portrays her 'expertise in' English would only capture the positive side of her relationship with the language. The text emphasizes both her skill with English and her grief about what using English represents.
Choice C is incorrect because 'rejection of' would mean Diaz refuses to use English, which contradicts the text's statement that she crafts vivid verses in the language.
Choice D is incorrect because 'unfamiliarity with' would mean Diaz doesn't know English well, which contradicts the text's description of her creating inventive verses in English.
Text Structure & Purpose
Identifying why an author included a sentence or how a passage is organized — function over content.
Cross-Text Connections
Comparing two short passages on the same topic and characterizing how one author would respond to the other.
51 Words in Context questions with step-by-step explanations, woven into a day-by-day study plan built for your test date.
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