Churlish: meaning and SAT practice
Churlish (adjective) means: Rude and unfriendly in manner or behavior.
Churlish in a sentence
His churlish response to her question made everyone uncomfortable at the dinner table.
Similar: rude, grumpy, impolite, surly. Opposite: polite, friendly, courteous.
SAT-style practice: what does “churlish” most nearly mean?
His churlish response to her question made everyone uncomfortable at the dinner table.
As used in the sentence, “churlish” most nearly means
- agreeable
- rude
- hackneyed
- biting
Show the answer
Answer: B. “churlish” means: Rude and unfriendly in manner or behavior. “rude” 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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