Students are reporting that LETHARGIC and ZEALOUS both appeared on recent School Days SAT vocabulary in context questions. LETHARGIC describes someone who lacks energy and enthusiasm. In contrast, ZEALOUS describes someone who is filled with intense enthusiasm for a cause or activity.
Posts on Reddit indicate that test writers used LETHARGIC to describe how disappointed audiences felt after viewing a long and boring movie. Although we don’t know how test writers used ZEALOUS, it is a very positive word that could be used to describe highly committed scientists and reformers. For example, during the Second Great Awakening ZEALOUS reformers such as Dorthea Dix and William Lloyd Garrison worked tirelessly to reform mental health facilities and abolish slavery. My SAT students have described me as a ZEALOUS teacher determined to help them master difficult words and achieve high SAT scores. Guilty as charged!