Ancient Roman engineers constructed aqueducts that still inspire contemporary water-supply systems across arid regions.
古罗马工程师建造的渡槽至今仍启发着干旱地区现代供水系统的设计。
Art critic Simone Duval praises a museum's decision to display contemporary sculptures alongside ancient artifacts, arguing that the juxtaposition reveals surprising continuities in how humans across eras represent the body.
From a Cross-Text Connections question · Craft and Structure
- The number zero as a placeholder was used by ancient Babylonian and Mayan mathematicians.
From a Rhetorical Synthesis question · Expression of Ideas
Contrary to the common assumption that ancient Roman concrete was inferior to modern concrete, recent analysis of Roman harbor structures that have survived intact for two thousand years suggests that certain volcanic-ash mixtures used by Roman builders actually grow stronger over time when exposed to seawater.
From a Central Ideas and Details question · Information and Ideas
Which choice best defines “ancient”?
D — Very old. “ancient” means very old.
Which word means “very old”?
A — ancient. “ancient” means very old.
ancient — very old. In Chinese: 古代的.
ancient is pronounced /ˈeɪnʃənt/.
Ancient Roman engineers constructed aqueducts that still inspire contemporary water-supply systems across arid regions. (古罗马工程师建造的渡槽至今仍启发着干旱地区现代供水系统的设计。)
old, antique, primitive — all close in meaning to ancient (very old).
modern, recent — each the opposite of ancient (very old).
Yes. ancient is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
anci(ancient)+ent(adjective)