Determine the most precise meaning of a word or phrase based on how it's used in a passage.
91 original words in context questions in the SAT Ranker bank, with instant scoring and an Elo-based rank once you sign up. Below are a few free samples with full explanations.
The critic's review was scathing, but not without merit; she methodically dismantled the film's plot holes while conceding that its cinematography was, in her words, 'genuinely arresting.'
As used in the passage, 'arresting' most nearly means
In context, describing cinematography as 'arresting' while praising it means strikingly attention-grabbing, not related to alarm or law.
Despite the CEO's conciliatory tone in the memo, employees remained wary, having heard similar reassurances before layoffs in years past.
As used in the passage, 'conciliatory' most nearly means
A conciliatory tone is one meant to reduce conflict or ease tension, which fits the context of a memo trying to reassure wary employees.
The senator's speech was notable less for its content than for its brevity; where her predecessors had spoken for nearly an hour, she made her case in under ten terse, unadorned minutes.
As used in the passage, 'terse' most nearly means
The passage contrasts the senator's short speech with predecessors' hour-long ones and describes it as 'unadorned,' both of which support 'terse' meaning concise.
Critics initially dismissed the technique as a gimmick. Its ______ came slowly: first a handful of imitators, then a prize, and finally a place in the standard textbooks.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
The sequence of imitators, a prize and a place in the textbooks describes a technique gradually being taken seriously after early dismissal, which is 'acceptance'. 'Decline' reverses the direction, and 'invention' and 'expense' name things the sentence does not track over time.
The report's recommendations are ______: it proposes a pilot in two districts, a review after eighteen months, and no permanent change until the review reports.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A two-district pilot, a review, and no permanent change before that review describe a plan advancing in small stages, which is 'incremental'. 'Sweeping' would mean the opposite, and nothing in the list is 'contradictory' or described as 'overdue'.