✅ Inherent: SAT Word of the Day

Inherent (adjective): existing in a thing by its very nature; intrinsic; innate: inherent ability to learn a language.

• IPA: ɪnˈhɛ.ɹənt (See IPA key)

• Phonetic: in-HAER-ent

Pop quiz: do you remember the last five words we learned? One question each — answer key at the bottom of this email.

1. ANOMALY most nearly means

(A) precedent
(B) conformity
(C) paradox
(D) aberration

2. COVERT most nearly means

(A) cryptic
(B) overt
(C) clandestine
(D) tacit

3. INTRINSIC most nearly means

(A) inherent
(B) extrinsic
(C) incidental
(D) acquired

4. FEASIBLE most nearly means

(A) practicable
(B) arduous
(C) speculative
(D) impracticable

5. ANALOGOUS most nearly means

(A) comparable
(B) identical
(C) arbitrary
(D) incongruous

Here are some examples of the word INHERENT:

• Uncertainty is inherent in the process of applying to college.

• The inherent design flaws of the tent became apparent the first time we huddled inside it during a storm.

• Hand-made products have inherent dignity and value, regardless of how much skill was required to make them.

• inherent risk, inherent limitations, inherent danger, inherent to the process

Last-5 quiz answers: 1) D — anomaly 2) C — covert 3) A — intrinsic 4) A — feasible 5) A — analogous. I want to give you a little tip about #4. Many times on tests, but not always, if you see two answer choices that are opposites, there’s a decent chance that one of them is the correct answer.

Tomorrow we’re learning a word to refer to the mismatch between your bank statement and your actual balance.

• My colleague Robert’s SAT Vocab book on Amazon

• Dr. P’s guide to building a perfect college list