Synonyms, Antonyms, and Changes in Intensity - SSAT Elementary Level Verbal

“Carve” is a verb that can mean “cut (cooked meat) into slices for eating” or “cut (a slice of meat) from a larger piece,” while “slice” is a verb that can mean “cut (something, especially food) into slices.” So, that means that “carve” an “slice” are synonyms, and that we need to pick out an answer choice that consists of a pair of synonyms. “Hurt” is a word that when used as a verb means “to cause injury,” while “pain” is a word that when used as a verb means “to cause mental or physical pain.” So, because “hurt” is a synonym of “pain” just like “carve” is a synonym of “slice,” “hurt is to pain” is the correct answer.

"Frigid" means very cold, so "cold" is the correct answer. "Warm" has the opposite meaning—it means having a moderate heat. "Comfortable" means encouraging relaxation; "foggy" means murky or cloudy; and "beautiful" is used to describe a good-looking person or thing.

"Odd" and "eccentric" have similar meanings. The only pairs of words that have a similar relationship is "beautiful is to gorgeous."

"Clever" is a synonym of "smart," so to solve this analogy, you have to figure out which of the answer choices is a synonym of "dim." "Dim" means not very smart or stupid, so "stupid" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are synonyms of "dim": "timid" means shy; "wise" means very clever; and "brilliant" means extremely smart or great.

"Frigid" means very cold, so "cold" and "frigid" are synonyms. So, to solve the analogy, you need to pick out an answer choice that means the same thing as "sweltering." "Sweltering" means very hot or stifling, so the correct answer is "hot."

"Weary" means very tired, so to solve this analogy you have to figure out which answer choice that tragic is an emphasized version of. Tragic means very sad, so "sad" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, "honest" means truthful; and "desirable" means able to be desired, or wanted.

"Miniscule" means very tiny, so "miniscule" is a synonym of tiny, and "miniscule" is a more intense version of "tiny." So, to solve this analogy, you have to figure out the best available synonym of "stupendous," in particular, a word that "stupendous" is an intense version of, like "miniscule" is a more intense version of "tiny" because it means very tiny. Stupendous means really great or amazing, so "amazing" is the correct answer. To help you, "defiant" means not willing to give in to someone else’s commands.

The word "adhesive" means sticky or tacky . Therefore, "sticky" is the word that most closely matches its definition. "Frank" means open or honest, and is therefore unrelated to the definition of "adhesive." Neither "warm" nor "unpleasant" are related to the definition of "adhesive," either.

The word "rigid" means not able to change its shape. For instance, a piece of putty can be stretched and changed. Such a thing is "flexible." So too are certain drinking straws flexible—they have that little top section that can be bent. When they do not have this, they are generally "rigid" (though you can bend them more than, for example, a pencil, which is very rigid). When something is "inflexible," it is not able to be flexed or bent. This is just what it is like to be "rigid." The "in-" prefix in "in-flexible" is really a form of the "un-" prefix that means not or non-. This is the best answer among those provided. Do not be tricked by the other answers, some of which describe character traits that many associate with "rigid" personalities. Even if every person with a "rigid" personality was judgmental, these two words would still indicate two different things—one, the being inflexible or unchanging, and the other, the being critical.

Since "cold" and "hot" are opposites, we're looking for an answer choice in which the two words are opposites. Since "day" is the opposite of "night," "day is to night" is the correct answer.

Both sets of words are antonyms.

Both sets of words are antonyms.

Both sets of words are antonyms.

Both of the sets are antonyms.

Both sets are antonyms.

Since "messy" is the opposite of "organized," we need to pick out an answer choice that is the opposite of "awake." While "asleep" and "tired" may both look like potentially correct answers, "asleep" is the better answer, because the opposite of tired would be a word like "energetic," not "asleep." Since "asleep" is an antonym of "awake," just like "messy" is an antonym of "organized," "asleep" is the correct answer.

Since "hungry" and "full" are opposites, we need to pick out another pair of words which are also opposites. Since "exhausted" ("very tired") is an opposite of "energetic," "exhausted is to energetic" is the correct answer.

Since "urban" means "in, relating to, or characteristic of a city or town," and "rural" means "in, relating to, or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town," the two words are opposites. So, we need to pick out an answer choice which includes two words that are opposites. Two answer choices include two adjectives, "left is to right" and "sorry is to apologetic," and "sorry is to regretful" cannot be the correct answer because "sorry" means the same thing as "regretful." "Left is to right" is the correct answer because just like urban is the opposite of rural, left is an opposite of right.

"Welcome," when used as an adjective, means "of a guest or new arrival: gladly received," and "excluded" is an adjective that means "deny (someone) access to or bar (someone) from a place, group, or privilege," so the two words are antonyms. That means that we need to pick out an answer choice that consists of two antonyms. "Ready" cannot be the correct answer, then, because "ready" is a synonym, not an antonym, of "prepared." "Unready," however, is an antonym of "prepared," just like "welcome" is an antonym of "excluded," so "unready" is the correct answer.

“Backward” and “forward” are opposites, or antonyms, so we need to pick out an answer choice that also consists of a pair of antonyms. While “famished is to hungry” and “never is to always” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “famished” is an adjective that means “extremely hungry,” so “famished” and “hungry” are actually synonyms, not antonyms, so “famished is to hungry” cannot be the correct answer; however, “never” and “always” are opposites, just like “backward” and “forward” are opposites, so “never is to always” is the correct answer.