Quick question: Do you know what the word OBVIATE means? Many if not most students have probably never used this word.
RED ALERT! OBVIATE is the answer to a very difficult vocabulary in context question. OBVIATE means to remove a difficulty or problem by making something unnecessary. For example, this Winning Word post is intended to OBVIATE your worries about seeing OBVIATE on an upcoming Module 2 vocabulary in context question.
SAT test writers clearly spent some time researching and preparing this passage. They began by informing readers that quantified modal statements are logical propositions that combine quantifiers (such as “all” or “some”) with modal operators (such as “necessarily” or “possibly”). But quantifiable modal statements such as “It is possible that all countries could offer free public health care” can’t be evaluated by using formal logic. I warned you this question is hard!
But wait, help was on the way! Ruth Barcan Marcus recognized that our languages are filled with vague and often misleading words that frequently have multiple meanings. In fact, SAT test writers often use these multiple-meaning words to confuse students!
Marus sought to use mathematical symbols to OBVIATE or remove the confusing ambiguities and nuances found in our natural languages. Her pioneering work created a language based entirely on math and logic thus laying the foundation for modern computer languages and challenging SAT questions!
SAT test writers were not content to just perplex students with OBVIATE. The question also included very difficult but tempting wrong answers that included CORROBORATE (to support and strengthen), DELINEATE (to describe something with exact detail), and VINDICATE (to prove that an action is justified).
OBVIATE – to remove a difficulty or problem
APUSH BONUS EXAMPLE:
In the early 1800s, shipping agricultural goods from the newly settled region around the Great Lakes to Eastern sea ports meant hauling heavy wagons across rough Appalachian Mountain roads. This transport was excruciatingly slow, unreliable, and cost upwards of $100 per ton. The construction of the 363-mile Erie Canal OBVIATED the immense cost, extreme slowness, and high risk of overland freight transport through the Appalachian Mountains. Barges pulled by horses along towpaths could now carry tons of grain, timber, and flour for under $10 per ton!