Censure: meaning and SAT practice
Censure (verb) means: To express severe disapproval or criticism of someone.
Censure in a sentence
The committee voted to censure the official for misconduct.
Similar: condemn, criticize, rebuke, reprimand, denounce. Opposite: praise, commend, approve.
SAT-style practice: what does “censure” most nearly mean?
The committee voted to censure the official for misconduct.
As used in the sentence, “censure” most nearly means
- condemn
- provoke
- offset
- mock
Show the answer
Answer: A. “censure” means: To express severe disapproval or criticism of someone. “condemn” is the closest match in this sentence. The other choices are real SAT-level words, but none of them carries that meaning here.
On the digital SAT this is the “Words in Context” skill, about 7 of the 54 Reading and Writing questions. The test asks what a word means as used in the passage, so a word’s most common meaning is not always the answer. More of these, with full explanations, are on SAT Words in Context practice questions.
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