SSAT Upper Level Verbal : Identifying Synonyms

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #32 : Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Emotional States

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

CONTRITE

Possible Answers:

Discreet

Remorseful

Transparent

Dignified 

Diminutive 

Correct answer:

Remorseful

Explanation:

Contrite means remorseful and filled with the desire to repent.  

Example Question #32 : Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Emotional States

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

IRATE

Possible Answers:

Melancholy

Rapid

Legal

Longitudinal

Furious

Correct answer:

Furious

Explanation:

Irate means very angry or furious.

Example Question #901 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

SENSATIONAL

Possible Answers:

Muted

Tactile

Garrulous

Shocking 

Thought-provoking 

Correct answer:

Shocking 

Explanation:

Sensational means causing great public excitement, or shocking.

Example Question #902 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

VOLATILE

Possible Answers:

Stoic

Mercurial

Seasoned

Charismatic

Bothersome

Correct answer:

Mercurial

Explanation:

“Volatile” is an adjective that can mean “easily evaporated” when referring to a substance, “liable to change rapidly and unpredictably,” or when describing a person, “displaying rapid changes of emotion.” So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “easily evaporated,” “changing rapidly,” or “rapid change of emotion.” That means that “stoic” cannot be the correct answer, because “stoic” means “enduring hardship without showing one’s feelings,” a meaning very distant from that of “volatile.” “Mercurial,” however, is an adjective that can mean “subject to unpredictable changes of mood or mind” when describing a person, and because “mercurial” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “volatile,” “mercurial” is the correct answer.

Example Question #903 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

PENSIVE

Possible Answers:

Verifiable

Sociable

Uplifting

Hurried

Thoughtful

Correct answer:

Thoughtful

Explanation:

"Pensive" means thoughtful or reflective. The root wood, "pensare," means to consider.

Example Question #904 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

VEHEMENT

Possible Answers:

Malignant

Passionate

Rebellious

Dominant

Plausible

Correct answer:

Passionate

Explanation:

"Vehement" means passionate or angry.

Example Question #905 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

ABJECT

Possible Answers:

Heavy

Erroneous

Unforgettable 

Miserable

Scared

Correct answer:

Miserable

Explanation:

"Abject" means utterly hopeless or miserable.

Example Question #906 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

PETULANT

Possible Answers:

Logical

Gifted

Irritable

Delicious

Unsound

Correct answer:

Irritable

Explanation:

"Petulant" means irritable or impatient.

Example Question #907 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

APATHETIC

Possible Answers:

Lawless

Aggressive

Motivated

Ignorant

Uninterested

Correct answer:

Uninterested

Explanation:

"Apathetic" means uninterested or indifferent.

Example Question #908 : Identifying Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

ELATED

Possible Answers:

Immediate

Delicious

Joyful

Tedious

Saddened

Correct answer:

Joyful

Explanation:

"Elated" means very happy or overjoyed.

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