SAT: Words to Capture Tone: Words to Capture Tone, List 3

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 ones you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean!
11 words 807 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dubious
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
    Some of the claims are dubious, though startling if true. Forbes (May 20, 2015)
  2. foreboding
    a feeling of evil to come
    But something else bothered him - a cold sense of foreboding, as if he hadn’t heard the worst news yet. Blood of Olympus
  3. malicious
    having the nature of threatening evil
    China’s Internet police issued warnings against those who sought to point fingers or spread malicious rumors online. Washington Post (Jun 3, 2015)
  4. callous
    emotionally hardened
    Like death, his father’s presence was cold and often callous, but it was real- brutally honest, inescapably dependable. Blood of Olympus
  5. dismal
    causing dejection
    Werfel’s neighbor called out to him, “On your way to embarrass yourself at court, you dismal little toad?” The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge
  6. superior
    of high quality or performance
    Rugby league people insist, in all seriousness, that rugby league is the greatest game of all, that it’s superior to all other games. The Guardian (Sep 6, 2015)
  7. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    The term "tolerance" itself is problematic for its patronizing implications, for the "tolerant" one is always the one in the dominant position. New York Times (Jan 24, 2015)
  8. candid
    openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
    I was candid about how both the PAC and the ANC were perceived in the rest of Africa. Long Walk to Freedom
  9. contradictory
    not able to be true at the same time
    It seems contradictory to say Watson played the match of her life in defeat, but she did. The Guardian (Jul 4, 2015)
  10. averse
    strongly opposed
    So averse was she to weapons when her children were young that she wouldn’t let them play with water pistols. Economist (Jul 30, 2015)
  11. genuine
    not fake or counterfeit
    A finance ministry official said both genuine and forged passports were in the packets intercepted in the post. BBC (Sep 4, 2015)
Created on Mon Jun 09 14:04:39 EDT 2025 (updated Wed Jun 11 16:51:48 EDT 2025)

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