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Meaning from the sentence

Level 6 · Meaning · for questions like “‘The desert is arid; it hardly ever rains there.’ What does ‘arid’ mean?”

💡 The idea

You can often work out a new word from the words around it. Writers leave clues: an explanation, an example, or an opposite.

🪜 The steps

1. Read the whole sentence, not just the word.
2. Find the clue: a part after a semicolon or comma, a “because”, a “but”.
3. Try each choice in place of the word. The right one keeps the sentence making sense.

✏️ Worked examples

1. “The desert is arid; it hardly ever rains there.” The part after the semicolon explains: no rain. Arid means very dry.

2. “The teacher was lenient and gave everyone extra time.” Extra time is kind, not strict. Lenient means not strict.

3. “The magician’s trick was so baffling that nobody could explain it.” Nobody could explain it, so baffling means very confusing.

⚠️ Watch out

• Don’t choose a meaning just because it fits the topic. A desert is hot and sandy, but the clue is about rain.
• “So … that …” sentences tell you how strong the word is.

🎯 Try these

1. “The rules are mandatory, so everyone must follow them.” Mandatory means …
2. “The village was isolated, miles from any other town.” Isolated means …

Answers: 1) required 2) far away from others

This guide is also in the 10WordsQ app: tap “📖 Study guide” after a question.