All HSPT Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #2591 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CANDID
Caustic
Prevalent
Corporal
Ubiquitous
Impartial
Impartial
"Candid" means impartial, open, or honest. "Caustic" means burning or sarcastic. "Corporal" means bodily or physical. "Prevalent" means accepted or widespread. "Ubiquitous" means ever-present or pervasive.
Example Question #71 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
WINDFALL
Exhale
Increase
Trip
Jackpot
Misfortune
Jackpot
"Windfall' is a noun that is defined as "an unexpected, unearned, or sudden gain or advantage" or "a piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money." While "trip" may sound like a potentially correct answer because "windfall" is created from a combination of the words "wind" and "fall," "windfall" does not mean "to knock something over with wind" or have anything to do with falling, so neither "blow over" nor "trip" can be the correct answer. "Jackpot," a noun meaning "a large cash prize in a game or lottery, esp. one that accumulates until it is won," is the closest synonym to "windfall" amongst the listed answer choices, so it is the correct answer.
Example Question #41 : Hspt Verbal Skills
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
BEWILDER
Anger
Vex
Collide
Blind
Confuse
Confuse
Although “bewilder” is a verb, we often use it in its perfect passive participle form, “bewildered,” or in its present active participle form, “bewildering.” When it is used in the former sense, it means perplexed or confused. For example, we can say, “He was utterly bewildered by the questions being asked by the child, for he could only understand the sorts of questions asked by people who were his own age.” When used as a verb, “bewilder” merely means to cause confusion or perplexity. For example, one could say, “Questions bewilder the man and make him extremely confused and angry.”
Example Question #71 : Synonyms: Verbs About Communicating, Arguing, And Understanding
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
VACILLATE
Teeter
Swagger
Reflect
Decide
Hesitate
Hesitate
The word “vacillate” is akin to “oscillate,” meaning “to sway or swing.” In the case of vacillate the “swinging to and fro” is implied as being between two options. It is a person who vacillates, not a pendulum. For this reason, it means something like “hesitate” or to be “ambivalent or undecided.” For example, you could say, “After considering both sides of the argument, Maria could not help but vacillate between choosing either option, for both seemed very appealing.
Example Question #25 : Synonyms: Other Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ABATE
Disown
Spurn
Diminish
Leave
Reject
Diminish
The word “abate” most directly means to become less intense. For instance, one could say, “Although Robert was quite angry at his friends, with time, this emotion abated, being replaced with a much calmer state of mind.” In its English origins, the word had a legal usage meaning to put a stop to. Since “abate” distantly has a root in the Latin for to beat, the word could be taken (in a broader sense) as indicating the beating back of something intense.
Example Question #41 : Hspt Verbal Skills
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
OVERWROUGHT
Annoying
Overactive
Anxious
Jittery
Inconsistent
Anxious
When someone is “overwrought,” that person is excited or anxious. While that might cause someone to be jittery or even annoying, the best option among those given is the mere direct definition, “anxious.” The word would be used in a sentence like, “Having arrived at the long-feared day, Jonathan was so overwrought that he could not even sleep because of his agitated nerves.”
Example Question #63 : Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Personality Traits
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PRODIGAL
Gluttonous
Talented
Wasteful
Famous
Amazing
Wasteful
You might confuse “prodigal” with “prodigy” or “prodigious.” The former means “being very talented,” especially when that person is very young. For instance, one can speak of Mozart as being a “child prodigy,” having shown great musical talent from his youth. Something “prodigious” is impressive and of great magnitude. When something is “prodigal,” it is “great” in the sense of being wasteful. The Biblical story about the “Prodigal Son” is about a son who spends all of his money wastefully before coming home to seek forgiveness. He is called “prodigal” because of this wastefulness.
Example Question #42 : Hspt Verbal Skills
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
SAGACIOUS
Arrogant
Effluent
Astute
Complaisant
Barefaced
Astute
"Sagacious" and "astute" both mean smart or judicious. "Arrogant" means haughty or overly proud. "Barefaced" means shameless or open. "Complaisant" means agreeable or easy-going. "Effluent" means drainage or outflow.
Example Question #43 : Hspt Verbal Skills
Select the word that is most nearly the same in meaning as the word in capital letters.
MUNDANE
Boring
Exciting
Intelligent
Plausible
Common
Common
The definition of "mundane" is everyday or ordinary, making "common" the only possible choice.
Example Question #321 : Synonyms: Adjectives And Adverbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PLATITUDINOUS
Unhelpful
Tedious
Annoying
Overused
Boring
Overused
You might be more familiar with the word “platitude” than with “platitudinous.” The former is the related noun form of the same base. A “platitude” is an expression, often moral in nature, that has been so overused that it has lost its meaning. You might know someone who recites such expressions as, “Everything happens for a reason.” Such remarks either tell you nothing or often just frustrate you when horrible things happen. They provide little consolation or direction. Although a “platitudinous” expression could be called “annoying,” it is most properly said to be something “overused.” The annoyance follows on the fact that overuse has totally shorn it of its meaning and significance.