Synonyms: Prefixes from Latin - SSAT Middle Level Verbal

"Circumspect" is derived from the Latin for to look around, so the best meaning is "cautious," as in, "The administration was very circumspect about the responses they gave to the media's questions."

"Superfluous" is an adjective that means "unnecessary, especially through being more than enough." So, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "unnecessary." "Essential," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "essential" means "absolutely necessary; extremely important," making it an antonym, not a synonym, of "superfluous." "Redundant," however, is an adjective that means "no longer needed or useful; superfluous," and because "redundant" is the answer choice that is closest in meaning to "superfluous," "redundant" is the correct answer.

"Convivial" is an adjective that means "friendly, lively, and enjoyable" when being used to describe an atmosphere or event, and "cheerful and friendly; jovial" when being used to describe a person. So, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "friendly." "Hostile," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "hostile" means "unfriendly; antagonistic," making it an antonym, not a synonym, of "convivial." "Affable," however, is an adjective that means "friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to," and because "affable" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "convivial," "affable" is the correct answer.

The word “indispensable” consists of the negative prefix “in-,” which means “not,” and the word “dispensable,” so we can infer that it means “not dispensable.” That inference would be correct, as “indispensable” is an adjective that means “absolutely necessary,” so we need to pick out a word that means something like “necessary.” “Superfluous,” then, cannot be the correct answer, because “superfluous” means “unnecessary, especially through being more than enough,” making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “indispensable.” “Essential,” however, is an adjective that means “absolutely necessary; extremely important,” and because “essential” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “indispensable,” “essential” is the correct answer.

“Insignificant” is an adjective that can mean “too small or unimportant to be worth consideration,” “without power or influence” when used of a person, or “meaningless.” So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “unimportant,” “without power,” or “meaningless.” That means that “noteworthy” cannot be the correct answer, because “noteworthy” means “interesting, significant, or unusual,” making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “insignificant.” “Petty,” however, is an adjective that means “ of little importance; trivial,” and because “petty” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “insignificant,” “petty” is the correct answer.

"Ubiquitous" means existing or being everywhere.

Words you may not know:

• "Scarce" means not abundant.
• "Urbane" means having sophistication or elegance, a quality often associated with cities. The root "urb-" (as in urban) means city.

"Contradict" means to oppose or to assert the contrary. It contains the roots "contra-", which means "against," and "dict-", which means to speak.

Words you may not know:

• "Corroborate" means to make certian; confirm.
• "Captivate" means to catch the attention of.

“Deflate” is a verb that can mean “let air or gas out of something,” “be emptied of air or gas,” or “cause someone to suddenly lose confidence,” so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “let air or gas out of something,” “be emptied or air or gas,” or “cause someone to lose confidence.” That means that “inspire” cannot be the correct answer, because “inspire” means “fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something,” making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “deflate.” “Dispirit,” however, is a verb that means “to cause to lose enthusiasm or hope,” and because “dispirit” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “deflate,” “dispirit” is the correct answer.

"Revival" means Recovery; Death means the end of one's life; Monument is usually a figure or symbol that represents something or someone; Province is a territory usually part of a larger state or country; and Possibility is a potential outcome.

"Submerged" means underwater; Dry means without water; Brief means temporary; Mandatory means required; and Tedious means boring.

"Decode" means to translate; to hide means to move away from the open; to secure means to get possession of; to defend means to protect; and to infer means to imply.

"Disregard" means to ignore.

"Incompetent" means unskilled or incapable.

"Recall" means to remember.

"Unrest" means turmoil. "Peace" and "calmness" are antonyms of "unrest" and mean tranquiity . "Enjoyment" means pleasure or amusement. "Democracy" is a representative government.

One can infer that "dissatisfied_"_ means not satisfied because it is a combination of the negative prefix "dis-", which means not, and the word "satisfied." "Unhappy" is the answer choice that is closest in meaning to "dissatisfied," so "unhappy" is the correct answer.

"Monotonous" means boring or dull. "Fresh" means new or recent. "Exciting" means causing interest or excitement. "Enormous" means extremely big. "Successful" means triumphant or accomplishing a goal.

"Distasteful" means unpleasant. "Agreeable" means pleasant, so it is an antonym, not a synonym, of "civil," and cannot be the correct answer. None of the other answers are close in meaning to "distasteful": "praiseworthy" means of high quality or worthy of praise or worrisome, "well-mannered" means having good manners or polite , and "excessive" means _more than is necessary_or too much.

"Unaware" means unknowing. "Informed" means knowing, so it cannot be the correct answer, because it is an antonym, not a synonym, of "unaware." None of the other answers are close in meaning to "unaware": "obvious" means overt or palpable; "complete" means lacking nothing necessary; and "precise" means exact.