She had expected to get an A-plus on the test; when she received an A-minus,
she was nonplussed.
normative
normal; typical; adhering to the status quo (often refers to behavior)
Ms. Smith couldn’t ignore Matt if he screamed, so he screamed for lollipops all
the time, even though this was not normative behavior for a seventeen-year-old.
notorious
famous for something bad; infamous
The nefarious note-person was notorious for leaving nasty notes on people’s
doors.
novel
On the SAT this won’t refer to a literary genre. It will mean new; unusual;
different
Years ago there was no Velcro. Then someone had the novel idea of inventing it.
novice
beginner; person new to something
He was a novice when it came to carpentry—he had no vise.
nuance
subtle variation in color, meaning, or some other quality