INIMICAL and INURED seem like they might have similar meanings. They are both short words that begin with the letters IN. Plus, both words “sound” negative. However, INIMICAL and INURED and actually two very different words. INIMICAL means to cause harm while INURED means to become used to something unpleasant.
Finding illustrations of INIMICAL and INURED is relatively easy. For example, doctors and health officials all agree that smoking is INIMCAL to a person’s health. Cultural anthropologists all agree that Eskimos are INURED to living in cold weather.
Unfortunately, SAT test writers rarely use everyday examples to illustrate challenging vocabulary words. Instead, they prefer to design passages based upon unfamiliar academic topics. The desert pupfish provides an excellent illustration of this preference.
The desert pupfish is a small but hardy fish that lives in streams and ponds in the deserts of Arizona and California. It is able to tolerate extreme conditions including water saltier than the oceans and temperatures that can soar above 100 degrees. These harsh conditions led many students to conclude that pupfish are INURED or used to difficult environmental conditions. But as always key words and context provide the keys that will unlock correct answers.
The passage explains that recent increases in water temperature and plummeting oxygen levels are harming the pupfish’s chances of survival. INIMICAL best fits this context because it describes a harmful relationship between the environment and the pupfish’s continued existence.
INIMICAL – harmful and unfavorable
INURED – accustomed to something unpleasant