HSPT Verbal : Analogies: Prefixes from Latin

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HSPT Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #134 : Hspt Verbal Skills

Fill is to permeate as satisfy is to __________.

Possible Answers:

gratify

enjoy

gorge

please

satiate

Correct answer:

satiate

Explanation:

The prefix "per-" comes from the Latin meaning thorough. We see this in words like "perfect" and "pervade." When something permeates something else (e.g. a smell in a room), it completely fills it. Thus, permeate is a kind of "complete filling." To be "satiated" is to be satisfied completely. This is a kind of "complete satisfaction."

Example Question #135 : Hspt Verbal Skills

Juxtaposed is to location as instantaneous is to __________.

Possible Answers:

position

scheduling

answer

response

time

Correct answer:

time

Explanation:

The prefix "juxta-" comes from the Latin meaning close. When two things are juxtaposed, they are bordering on each other (like neighboring plots of land). Just as juxtaposition is a close placement with regard to location, so is being "instantaneous" a kind of being close with regard to time.

Example Question #136 : Hspt Verbal Skills

Vexed is to calm as after is to __________.

Possible Answers:

ingenuous

distracted

posterior

crafty

anterior

Correct answer:

anterior

Explanation:

When someone is "vexed," he or she is annoyed. This is the opposite of being calm. Therefore, we are looking for a word that is an antonym for "after."  he prefix "ante-" comes from Latin and means before. It is found in words like "antechamber" and "antecede." Something that is "anterior" is before something else. This is the opposite of being "after."

Example Question #137 : Hspt Verbal Skills

Malicious is to benevolent as extraneous is to __________.

Possible Answers:

tedious

relevant

wasteful

questionable

idiotic

Correct answer:

relevant

Explanation:

Someone who is malicious is not benevolent. Being benevolent means being "good-willed"—quite the opposite of someone with a malicious will, a bad will! Therefore, we are looking for something that is the opposite of "extraneous." The prefix "extra-" means outside of. Extraneous details are unimportant and irrelevant—as when someone tells you all about the recent weather when you ask him or her to give you an outline of the a class you missed. Therefore, extraneous details are not relevant.

Example Question #138 : Hspt Verbal Skills

Defeat is to vanquish as finish is to __________.

Possible Answers:

conquer

accept

fulfill

perfect

submit

Correct answer:

perfect

Explanation:

To "vanquish" someone is to completely defeat him or her. Therefore, we are looking for a word that intensifies the meaning of "finish," giving the sense of being wholly finished. The prefix "per-" is from a Latin root meaning throughout, though it often means "thoroughly" or "completely." When something is perfected, it is completely made—it is totally finished.

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