All SSAT Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #45 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FORTIFY
Delineate
Encase
Strengthen
Trap
Weaken
Strengthen
"Fortify" means strengthen, so "strengthen" is the correct answer. "Fortify" is derived from the Latin word "fortis," which means strong; English words like "fort" and "fortitude" are derived from the same root.
Example Question #46 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PERFORATE
Puncture
Deviate
Wield
Impale
Administer
Puncture
The prefix "per-" means through or go through, so “perforate” means to make a hole through something, or “puncture.” To provide further help, “wield” means carry and use as a weapon; “administer” means manage or oversee; “impale” means stab, which is close in meaning to “perforate,” but not the closest; finally, "deviate" means vary from a path, plan, or trajectory.
Example Question #47 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PRESCIENCE
Revision
Foresight
Understanding
Preliminary
Testing
Foresight
“Prescience” means foresight or the ability to know what will or might happen in the future. This is closest to “foresight,” which means the ability to know about events before they happens. You can infer the meaning of these words from their prefixes: "pre-" and "fore-" both mean before. It is important not to get distracted by the word root "science" in "prescience," as it could lead you to choose “testing," an incorrect answer. “Revision” means editing (literally the act of looking at something again), and “preliminary” means initial or done first in order to prepare for something, which you may be able to infer from the word's use of the prefix "pre-," which means before. “Understanding” is similar to “prescience” in that it suggests knowing something, but “understanding” is not associated with knowing about future events before they happen.
Example Question #48 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
DICTATE
Feel
Speak
Hear
Touch
Smell
Speak
The prefix "dict-" means related to speaking and speech, so “dictate” is closest in meaning to "speak." More specifically, "dictate" means speak aloud words that you wish someone else to write down. You might “dictate” something to your assistant to write down.
Example Question #49 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INSOMNIA
Sleeplessness
Withering
Offense
Inspection
Poem
Sleeplessness
"Insomnia" is related to the Latin root "somnus," meaning sleep. Adding the negative prefix "in-" makes "insomnia," the inability to sleep, which we also call "sleeplessness."
Example Question #46 : Synonyms: Roots From Latin
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
HOMOGENEOUS
Unique
Varied
Attempted
Uniform
Corresponding
Uniform
The prefix "homo-" means same, and in this instance, that is sufficient information; “homogenous” means of the same kind, so "uniform" (identical) is the best answer choice.
Example Question #51 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PANDEMONIUM
Misery
Mayhem
Discovery
Bliss
Orderliness
Mayhem
The prefix "pan-" means everything, and appears in words like “Pangaea” and “pandemic.” In this context, it means a state where everything is going wrong, or “mayhem." ("Pandemonium" was first used in Milton's Paradise Lost to mean "the place where all demons live," which one might be able to infer from the word's use of the root "demon.") To provide further help, “bliss” is happiness and contentedness; “orderliness” means tidiness and the quality of being well organized; and “misery” is great sadness.
Example Question #52 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INCONGRUOUS
Dangerous
Protective
Jaunty
Social
Ill-fitting
Ill-fitting
"Incongruous" means inappropriate, out of place, or ill-fitting, so "ill-fitting" is the correct answer.
Example Question #53 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INTERMEDIATE
Middle
Elite
Bottom
Priceless
Intentional
Middle
"Intermediate" means middle.
Example Question #54 : Synonyms: Roots
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PREDISPOSITION
Disinclination
Mar
Repudiate
Tendency
Renounce
Tendency
A “predisposition” is a tendency or liability to think or feel a certain way about something. For example, someone from a violent past might be “predisposed” to violence in the present. The correct answer is thus "tendency," as "tendency" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "predisposition."As for the other answer choices, a “disinclination” is the opposite of a “predisposition”— it is something you are not liable to do; “repudiate” and “renounce” both mean to reject or declare that something is wrong and stop participating in it; and “mar” is a verb that means ruin or make worse.
All SSAT Middle Level Verbal Resources
