SSAT Upper Level Verbal : Synonyms

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #899 : Identifying Synonyms

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

SKEPTICAL

Possible Answers:

Fetid

Doubting

Agreeable

Quirky

Ready

Correct answer:

Doubting

Explanation:

Skeptical means having doubt.  

Example Question #900 : Identifying Synonyms

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

INFURIATED

Possible Answers:

Overwhelmed

Splattered

Excluded

Enraged

Hoodwinked

Correct answer:

Enraged

Explanation:

Infuriated means made extremely angry, or enraged.

Example Question #941 : Synonyms

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

CONTRITE

Possible Answers:

Transparent

Dignified 

Discreet

Remorseful

Diminutive 

Correct answer:

Remorseful

Explanation:

Contrite means remorseful and filled with the desire to repent.  

Example Question #943 : Synonyms

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

IRATE

Possible Answers:

Furious

Melancholy

Legal

Longitudinal

Rapid

Correct answer:

Furious

Explanation:

Irate means very angry or furious.

Example Question #942 : Synonyms

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

SENSATIONAL

Possible Answers:

Muted

Thought-provoking 

Tactile

Garrulous

Shocking 

Correct answer:

Shocking 

Explanation:

Sensational means causing great public excitement, or shocking.

Example Question #943 : Synonyms

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

VOLATILE

Possible Answers:

Bothersome

Seasoned

Charismatic

Stoic

Mercurial

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 #944 : Synonyms

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

PENSIVE

Possible Answers:

Uplifting

Verifiable

Thoughtful

Hurried

Sociable

Correct answer:

Thoughtful

Explanation:

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

Example Question #945 : Synonyms

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

VEHEMENT

Possible Answers:

Passionate

Rebellious

Plausible

Dominant

Malignant

Correct answer:

Passionate

Explanation:

"Vehement" means passionate or angry.

Example Question #946 : Synonyms

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

ABJECT

Possible Answers:

Miserable

Erroneous

Heavy

Scared

Unforgettable 

Correct answer:

Miserable

Explanation:

"Abject" means utterly hopeless or miserable.

Example Question #947 : Synonyms

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

PETULANT

Possible Answers:

Delicious

Logical

Unsound

Irritable

Gifted

Correct answer:

Irritable

Explanation:

"Petulant" means irritable or impatient.

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