HAMPER is another example of a tricky word with multiple meanings. It can refer to a laundry receptacle used to hold dirty clothes. But HAMPER can also be used to describe a process or activity that is being hindered or impeded. For example, a heavy fog will HAMPER rescue efforts.
In a recent SAT class, I asked my students to suggest an example of HAMPER from their own lives. Their answer surprised me. It turns out that their high school provides each student with an in-class Google Chromebook. Although the computers promote learning, they can also promote cheating. Students can use the Chromebooks to block their teacher’s view of cell phones used to provide AI generated answers for test questions. In an effort to HAMPER this surreptitious practice, their high school now forbids the use of cell phones during class.
HAMPER is now making frequent appearances as the answer to difficult Module 2 vocabulary in context questions. For example, democratic countries often exert little direct control over their economies. This lack of government interference can HAMPER attempts to curb inflation. In a second example, the presence of vast oceans during Earth’s earliest formative stages may have HAMPERED the formation of proteins and other biomolecules found in all living organisms.
HAMPER – to hinder or impede an activity or process