OBSOLETE means no longer in use. For example, typewriters, rotary phones, and phone booths were all ubiquitous features of daily life during the 1980s and 1990s. But modern digital alternatives like the personal computer and the smartphone have rendered all these once popular machines OBSOLETE.
OK, so far, no problem! But as always, cunning SAT test writers have devised a way to confuse students with an unexpected twist. For example, a recent vocabulary in context question puzzled students by stating that the results of an ongoing scientific study are “by no means OBSOLETE.”
What does “by no means OBSOLETE mean?” Although it seems unusual, scientific students often do produce results that are by no means OBSOLETE. For example, initial research showed that the human digestive and nervous systems are actually linked. Now that scientists have moved past the discovery phase, this field of research is far from OBSOLETE. Doctors are waiting for more long-term data to help them move from the “interesting observation” phase to the development of actual medical treatments.
This confusing and unexpected passage produced a debate between students who correctly chose OBSOLETE and those tempted by UNSUBSTANTIATED. OBSOLETE means no longer in use. In contrast, UNSUBSTANTIATED means lacking evidence and therefore unproven.
OBSOLETE – no longer in use; outdated; defunct
UNSUBSTANTIATED – lacking evidence and therefor unproven