TEAS Vocabulary practice questions

Word meaning from context clues, prefixes, suffixes and roots, connotation and precise word choice. Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in Writing is 10 of the 33 scored questions in TEAS English and Language Usage.

scored questions

10

of English's score

30%

for all of English

37 min

1. 01English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingRead the sentence: "The committee's ruling was anything but capricious; every vote followed weeks of data review and was tied to written criteria." As used in the sentence, the word capricious most nearly means:+−

   • A. unpredictable and lacking a sound reason (correct)
   • B. unanimous and made in public
   • C. controversial among staff
   • D. slow and expensive

   "Anything but" signals the opposite of a decision grounded in data and written criteria, so capricious means arbitrary or impulsive. "Controversial" is tempting, but nothing in the sentence concerns how people reacted.

2. 02English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingA nurse's patient had a blood pressure of 160/95 before receiving a medication and 128/82 fifty minutes afterward. The nurse wants to document this precisely without claiming that the medication caused the change. Which sentence does this best?+−

   • A. The patient's blood pressure fell to 128/82 fifty minutes after the medication.
   • B. The medication lowered the patient's blood pressure from 160/95 to 128/82 in fifty minutes.
   • C. Fifty minutes after receiving the medication, the patient's blood pressure had fallen from 160/95 to 128/82. (correct)
   • D. The patient's blood pressure fell from 160/95 to 128/82 after receiving the medication.

   Only C gives the starting value, the ending value, and the elapsed time without asserting a cause. A omits the starting value, B claims causation, and D omits the time interval.

3. 03English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingWhich word has roughly the same denotation as "thin" but the most positive connotation when used to describe a person's build?+−

   • A. skinny
   • B. scrawny
   • C. gaunt
   • D. slender (correct)

   "Slender" suggests a graceful, attractive thinness. Skinny, scrawny and gaunt all describe thinness but suggest weakness or poor health.

4. 04English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingThe root mort means "death." The prefix im- means "not." The suffix -al forms adjectives meaning "relating to," and the suffix -ity forms nouns meaning "state or quality of." Which word names the state of not being subject to death?+−

   • A. mortality
   • B. immortal
   • C. immortality (correct)
   • D. mortify

   Im- (not) + mort (death) + -ity (state of) gives immortality. "Immortal" has the right prefix but is an adjective, and "mortality" is the state of being subject to death, the opposite meaning.

5. 05English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingRead the sentence: "The lab technician isolated a resistant strain of bacteria from the sample." In which sentence does the word "strain" have the same meaning as in the sentence above?+−

   • A. Lifting the heavy patient put a strain on her back.
   • B. The researchers bred a hardy strain of wheat that withstood drought. (correct)
   • C. The constant noise began to strain his patience.
   • D. She heard a strain of music drifting from the lobby.

   In the original, strain means a specific variety of an organism, as in a strain of wheat. The other sentences use strain to mean physical stress, to test or stretch, and a passage of music.

6. 06English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingRead the sentence: "The mentor was affable with her students but implacable about deadlines: she never granted an extension, no matter how persuasive the excuse." As used in the sentence, the word "implacable" most nearly means+−

   • A. impossible to soften or persuade (correct)
   • B. quick to lose her temper
   • C. fair-minded
   • D. forgetful

   The contrast with "affable" and the clue that no excuse could win an extension show she cannot be moved. "Quick to lose her temper" is tempting, but the sentence describes firmness, not anger.

7. 07English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingChoose the word that most precisely completes the sentence: "After three nurses requested time off, the supervisor ___ the weekend schedule so that every shift was covered."+−

   • A. revised (correct)
   • B. did
   • C. handled
   • D. got

   "Revised" names the specific action of changing a schedule. "Handled" is tempting but vague, because it does not say what was done to the schedule.

8. 08English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingThe prefix inter- means "between" and intra- means "within." The word part costal refers to the ribs, cranial refers to the skull, and muscular refers to muscle. Which choice defines both terms correctly?+−

   • A. intercostal: between the ribs; intramuscular: between muscles
   • B. intracranial: within the skull; intercostal: within the ribs
   • C. intramuscular: within a muscle; intracranial: between skull bones
   • D. intercostal: between the ribs; intracranial: within the skull (correct)

   Inter- plus costal means between the ribs, and intra- plus cranial means within the skull. Each of the other choices pairs one correct definition with one that swaps inter- and intra-.

9. 09English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingRead the sentence: "The council's decision to postpone the vote was pragmatic rather than idealistic: with two members absent, any result would have been challenged as unfair." As used in the sentence, the word "pragmatic" most nearly means+−

   • A. practical (correct)
   • B. hasty
   • C. hopeful
   • D. timid

   The colon explains the choice as a sensible response to a real problem (absent members), and it is contrasted with "idealistic," so pragmatic means practical. "Timid" is partly tempting because the council avoided voting, but the sentence presents the delay as a reasoned step, not a fearful one.

10. 10English · Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in WritingWhich of the following sentences are free of unnecessary repetition? Select all that apply.+−

    • A. After the error, the pharmacist reverted back to the original protocol.
    • B. The committee reviewed the policy and approved it unanimously. (correct)
    • C. Each applicant must submit a brief written statement. (correct)
    • D. The patient's past history includes two prior surgeries.
    • E. The two nurses collaborated together on the new schedule.
    • F. Staff should arrive ten minutes early to receive the handoff report. (correct)

    B, C and F contain no repeated meaning. "Reverted back" (revert already means go back), "past history" (history is already past) and "collaborated together" (collaborate already means work together) are redundant.

Keep practicing

Sources

1. ATI: ATI TEAS exam details (sections, questions, sub-areas)

Updated November 6, 2026