How to work out a word's meaning and avoid look-alike word mix-ups
TEAS 7 outline: Determine word meaning from word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes)
Also covers HESI A2 Vocabulary (General vocabulary)
- Read the whole sentence for a clue to the word's meaning.
- Clue types: definition, synonym, contrast and example.
- Signal words like or, unlike, but and such as often flag the clue.
- Check word parts, predict a meaning, then test it in the sentence.
- Choose look-alikes such as adverse/averse by meaning, not by sound.
Key facts
- Definition clues are signaled by means, refers to, is defined as or parentheses; synonym clues by or, in other words, that is to say, commas or dashes.
- Contrast clues (but, however, unlike, even though) show the word means the opposite of something nearby; example clues (such as, for example, for instance) show what the word covers.
- Method: read the whole sentence and the next one, label the clue, check word parts, predict a meaning in your own words, then plug your answer back in.
Show all 7 key factsShow fewer
- Adverse means unfavorable (adverse effects); averse means opposed to (averse to change).
- Precede means to come before; proceed means to continue or go on.
- Prescribe means to set a rule or recommend something, such as a treatment; proscribe means to ban or forbid.
- Acute pain usually starts suddenly; chronic pain lasts a long time. Benign tumors are not cancer; malignant tumors are cancer and can spread.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
Which of the following sentences uses the correct word?
Correct answer: C.
Precede means to come before, so a briefing that comes before a session correctly precedes it. Proceed means to go forward or continue, averse means opposed to, and proscribe means to forbid. With look-alike words, decide by meaning, not by sound: say the plain meaning in the sentence and see if it fits.
A Staff move forward to the exit, so the word should be proceed, not precede.
B A person who dislikes or opposes something is averse to it; adverse means harmful, as in adverse effects.
C Correct: precede means to come before, which is what the briefing does.
D The rule forbids smoking, so the word should be proscribes; prescribes means to set a rule or recommend.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: To find a word's meaning, read the whole sentence for a clue: a definition, a synonym, a contrast or an example, often flagged by signal words like or, unlike, but and such as. Check the word's parts, predict a meaning, then test it in the sentence. Decide look-alike pairs such as adverse/averse by meaning, never by sound.
1 How do context clues reveal a word's meaning?The words around an unknown word usually hand you a clue to its meaning. 1 min
The words around an unknown word usually hand you a clue to its meaning. Look for a signal word first, because it tells you what kind of clue you have.
| Clue type | Signal words | Example (unknown word in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | means, refers to, is defined as, parentheses | The monitor showed bradycardia (a slow heart rate) while he slept. |
| Synonym | or, in other words, that is to say | Theo is averse, or opposed, to working night shifts. |
| Contrast | but, however, unlike, even though | Unlike the acute headache, which came on suddenly that morning, his back pain had lasted for years. |
| Example | such as, for example, for instance | Adverse effects, such as rash and nausea, were listed on the label. |
2 What is the step-by-step method?Combine the context clue with word parts, then test your guess in the sentence. 1 min
Combine the context clue with word parts, then test your guess in the sentence. Do not trust what "sounds right" until it passes step 5.
- Read the whole sentence and the one after it.
- Find the signal word and name the clue type.
- Check word parts for a second clue (contra- = against).
- Predict a plain meaning in your own words.
- Plug the answer choice into the sentence; it must make sense.
Example text: Last month's cold cleared up in a few days. Unlike that short illness, Ana's cough has become chronic; it has lasted for more than three months.
Walk-through: the signal unlike sets up a contrast. The cold was short, so the cough is the opposite: chronic means lasting a long time. A choice like "brief" or "sudden" is the contrast trap.
3 Which health and academic words are worth knowing?A short list of common health and academic words is worth learning before test day. 1 min
A short list of common health and academic words is worth learning before test day. Each one below has a plain meaning you can say in a few words.
| Word | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| chronic / acute | lasting a long time / starting suddenly |
| benign / malignant | not cancer / cancer that can spread |
| mitigate (similar to alleviate) | make less severe |
| exacerbate | make an existing problem worse |
| adverse / averse | unfavorable / opposed to |
4 Which look-alike words get mixed up most?Look-alike words trip up anyone who chooses by sound instead of meaning. 1 min
Look-alike words trip up anyone who chooses by sound instead of meaning. Each rule has one correct and one incorrect sentence.
| Rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|
| adverse = unfavorable; averse = opposed to | The drug had few adverse effects. | The drug had few averse effects. |
| precede = come before; proceed = continue, go on | A safety talk will precede the drill. | A safety talk will proceed the drill. |
| prescribe = set a rule or recommend; proscribe = ban, forbid | The rules proscribe smoking on campus. | The rules prescribe smoking on campus, so smokers must leave. |
| affect = usually a verb, to influence; effect = usually a noun, a result | Lack of sleep can affect memory. | Lack of sleep can effect memory. |
Quick test: "Many patients are ___ to taking pills with a bitter taste." (averse)
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: Pick the meaning the sentence needs, not the meaning you know best; affect is usually a verb meaning to influence, but as a noun it means an emotional response.
Watch out: A choice that names the opposite meaning is the classic trap in contrast sentences; check which side of but or unlike the word is on.
Watch out: Exacerbate means to make an existing problem worse, not to cause a new one.
Watch out: Do not choose between look-alike words by sound; adverse and averse, or precede and proceed, sound close but mean different things.
Watch out: A choice can be a real definition of the word and still be wrong if it does not fit the sentence.
How to remember it
Adverse things happen to you, but averse is how you feel about something. For precede and proceed, pre- means before, so precede means to come before.
Self-check:
- Name the clue type in "Unlike chronic pain, acute pain starts suddenly."
- Use proscribe correctly in a sentence of your own.
- Explain why "exacerbate" does not mean "cause."
Show answers
- Contrast.
- The signal word is unlike.
- Acute pain is set up as the opposite of chronic pain.
- Sample: "The rules proscribe smoking on campus."
- Proscribe means ban or forbid.
- Your sentence works if "ban" fits in place of proscribe. If "recommend" fits, you need prescribe.
- Exacerbate means make an existing problem worse.
- The problem has to be there already.
- "Cause" would mean starting a new problem, which is a different meaning.