Salutary: meaning and SAT practice

Salutary (adjective) means: Producing a good or beneficial effect on health or well-being.

Salutary in a sentence

Getting regular exercise has a salutary effect on both physical and mental health.

Similar: beneficial, healthy, helpful, advantageous. Opposite: harmful, detrimental.

SAT-style practice: what does “salutary” most nearly mean?

Getting regular exercise has a salutary effect on both physical and mental health.

As used in the sentence, “salutary” most nearly means

  1. booming
  2. beneficial
  3. undeniable
  4. abusive
Show the answer

Answer: B. “salutary” means: Producing a good or beneficial effect on health or well-being. “beneficial” 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.

  • conducive: Making something likely to happen or succeed.
  • compendious: Containing or presenting information in a brief, condensed form.
  • insensate: Lacking sensation, consciousness, or the ability to feel or understand.
  • inclement: Describing harsh or stormy weather conditions.
  • astute: Having keen insight and good judgment.
  • scrupulous: Extremely careful and precise about details and ethics.

← reproach · All 701 SAT words · scathing →

Want to know which SAT skills you are actually missing? Take the free diagnostic. No account needed to start.