What do ATTENUATE, IDIOSYNCRATIC, and VERISIMILITUDE have in common? Good question! Here’s the answer:
All three words were Wrong Answers on November 7, 2026, vocabulary in context questions! I have repeatedly warned my SAT students and Substack subscribers that ATTENUATE and IDIOSYNCRATIC are High-Frequency Wrong Answers. ATTENUATE appeared as a Wrong Answer in the Microbe PROLIFERATE question while IDIOSYNCRATIC appeared as a Wrong Answer in the NOMINAL Oil Shock question.
VERISIMILITUDE is an interesting addition to our Wrong Answer list. It actually appeared as a distracter three years ago when the College Board first released sample question for the Digital SAT. It turns out that the SAT test writers have long memories. VERISIMILITUDE surprised me by appearing as a Wrong Answer in the PAUCITY blood question.
VERISIMILITUDE is a long word with an easy definition. The prefix VER means true. So VERY good is truly good and a VERDICT in a trial is a true statement. The root SIMIL means similar. So VERISIMILITUDE is a really long way of saying really true or authentic.
ATTENUATE – to make something weaker or less forceful
IDIOSYNCRATIC – peculiar, unique or specific to an individual, group, or thing
VERISIMILITUDE – the quality of seeming true, real, or believable; authentic