All HSPT Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #282 : Hspt Verbal Skills
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the comparison.
Start is to commence as end is to __________.
begin
focus
conclude
amend
destroy
conclude
"Start" and "commence" are synonyms, just as "end" and "conclude" mean similar things.
Example Question #51 : Synonyms, Antonyms, And Changes In Intensity
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the comparison.
Stranger is to outsider as familiar is to __________.
well-known
bizarre
unfortunate
special
odd
well-known
"Stranger" and "outsider" are both synonyms, just as "familiar" and "well-known" have similar meanings.
Example Question #152 : Analogies
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the comparison.
Mute is to silent as loud is to __________.
placid
quiet
forlorn
unhurried
deafening
deafening
"Mute" and "silent" are both synonyms, just as "loud" and "deafening" have similar meanings.
Example Question #153 : Analogies
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the analogy.
Decent is to polite as improper is to __________.
spotless
decorous
chaste
worthy
misbehaving
misbehaving
"Decent" and "polite" are synonyms, just as "improper" and "misbehaving" are similar in meaning.
Example Question #154 : Analogies
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the analogy.
Senile is to decrepit as juvenile is to __________.
forsaken
joyous
youthful
unknown
elderly
youthful
"Senile" and "decrepit" are synonyms, just as "juvenile" and "youthful" have similar meanings.
Example Question #155 : Analogies
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the analogy.
Autonomous is to independent as dependent is to __________.
subservient
venerated
resptable
aloof
crushed
subservient
"Autonomous" and "independent" are synonyms, just as "dependent" and "subservient" have similar meanings.
Example Question #156 : Analogies
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the analogy.
Panic is to dismay as composure is to __________.
musical
bewilderment
confidence
savvy
confusion
confidence
"Panic" and "dismay" are synonyms, just as "composure" and "confidence" have similar meanings.
Example Question #52 : Synonyms, Antonyms, And Changes In Intensity
Fib is to lie as rivulet is to __________.
water
lake
trickle
stream
drizzle
stream
A fib is generally a small, insignificant lie; therefore, the bridge sentence for this analogy would be, “Just as a fib is an insignificant or small type of lie, so to a rivulet is a small type of X.” While it might seem too tempting to think a “rivulet” is a small stream, this actually is the case. The “-let” suffix is used to alter its base and express the notion of being “small.” For instance, a “booklet” is literally a small book. (They aren’t just called that by happenstance!) None of the other options capture this relation of “small version to larger or more general type.”
Example Question #53 : Synonyms, Antonyms, And Changes In Intensity
Elated is to thrilled as grin is to __________.
simper
frown
smirk
beam
joy
beam
When someone is “elated,” he or she is said to be so happy that he or she is “carried out of himself.” (This is somewhat like the word “ecstasy,” which literally means standing outside of oneself). Elation is thus a state of extreme joy—something at least relatively synonymous with being “thrilled.” Thus, we are looking for a synonym for the word “grin.” Among the options, the only word that is synonymous to “grin” is “beam.” This might seem strange at first, but consider “grin” taken as a verb—“to grin.” Although the word “beam” can also mean something completely different—e.g. the wooden beams in a house—as a verb, it can also mean to smile broadly and openly. Perhaps you have seen the present participle: “A beaming smile.”
Example Question #54 : Synonyms, Antonyms, And Changes In Intensity
Complete this analogy.
Deciduous is to arboreal as bodily is to __________.
volume
corpulent
vivacious
corporeal
vituperative
corporeal
"Deciduous" plants are those which lose their leaves annually (as opposed to pine and other evergreen trees that retain their needles throughout the winter and into the spring). The word literally comes from Latin roots meaning to fall downward. The “de-” prefix means down from (as in “descend”) and the “-ciduous” is related to the same and similar forms found in “cadence” and “accident.” Etymology aside, the analogy is one of member-to-class. Something deciduous is a type of arboreal plant. ("Arboreal" meaning pertaining to trees). Thus, something “bodily” is best called something “corporeal.” None of the other options name the general class of bodily things. The word "corpulent," which is close (and clearly related in its roots) means fat—like having a lot of “body.”