WORD OF THE DAY
Pernicious means harmful and subtle, such as a poison gas that causes illness in those exposed to it over the course of years.
Pernicious comes from the Latin perniciosus, "destructive," which in turn comes from pernicies, "death" or "ruin." You might have heard your parents and teachers talk about the pernicious effects of watching too much TV and playing video games all day — they'll turn your brain to mush (allegedly).
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Vocabulary lists containing pernicious
Sparks fly when Romeo and Juliet first meet, but their families are sworn enemies locked in an ancient feud. Learn these words from Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed love.
Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 300 "hard words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SAT, check out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SAT, which focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.
Shakespeare's famous tragedy tells the story of a Danish prince who must decide whether or not to avenge his father's death.
On the SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a U.S. founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 25 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
On the New SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a US founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 200 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.
