HSPT Verbal : HSPT Verbal Skills

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HSPT Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for fasten is __________.

Possible Answers:

unlatch

attend

fuse

reluctance

couple

Correct answer:

unlatch

Explanation:

To fasten something is to latch or attach it to something else. When you fasten a chest-strap on a book bag, you latch together two clips, joining them together at one connection point. The opposite of such an action of fastening is “unlatching,” which quite obviously means “to remove a latch or undo a latching.”

Example Question #3 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for haste is __________.

Possible Answers:

obtuse

slack

delay

speed

sloth

Correct answer:

delay

Explanation:

When someone is in haste, that person acts in a very speedy manner, often in an over-hurried manner. To “make haste” is to act rapidly to accomplish something. “To delay” is the opposite of making haste. While someone who is slothful or slacking might be less likely to make haste, the only direct antonym among the possible answers is “delay.”

Example Question #4 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for torrent is __________.

Possible Answers:

illegal

licit

flow

river

trickle

Correct answer:

trickle

Explanation:

A torrent is a very forceful movement of water. When something flows “torrentially,” it does so with great speed and quantity. In contrast to this, a trickle is a small flow of water—an apt antonym. The options “river” and “flow” mean to trap you by mere association with water. The options “illegal” and “licit” likewise are traps since the word “torrent” is associated with a type of computer file sharing method that is sometimes used in a legally questionable manner.

Example Question #2 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for variegated is __________.

Possible Answers:

misled

shelved

piney

iteration

monotonous

Correct answer:

monotonous

Explanation:

For this word, following your hunch likely will help if you do not know the vocabulary. The primary sense of the word “variegated” is “multicolored,” particularly meaning that those colors are arranged in an irregular pattern. This is often used to describe certain types of multicolored leaves.  If you saw the word “varied” in the word “variegated,” you would potentially be able to answer this without having direct knowledge of “variegated.” Only “monotonous” is sufficiently opposed to the notion of variety for our needs. Something monotonous has a single character—a single tone (color, sound, etc). It can describe a voice that does not change its pitch as well as a picture that has a single color.

Example Question #2 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for dormant is __________.

Possible Answers:

active

poisonous

medicinal

toxic

building

Correct answer:

active

Explanation:

When something is “dormant” it could be said to be “sleeping.” A closer meaning to the standard English usage of the word would be “inactive.” It does have a relation, however, to the notion of sleeping, as could be inferred by its relationship to the word “dormitory,” which means “sleeping room” or “building for sleeping.” In contrast with inactivity or “dormancy,” only “active” functions as an adequate antonym.

Example Question #3 : Antonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, Or Location

An antonym for linger is __________.

Possible Answers:

silence

annoy

dawdle

depart

persist

Correct answer:

depart

Explanation:

When something lingers, it remains in a given area, as when a smell lingers in the kitchen after cooking or a guest lingers for some time after dinner, talking about many things and not leaving the house; therefore, in a very broad sense, you could say that “to linger” means “to stay.” The best contrast with this among the options provided is “depart,” meaning “to leave.”

Example Question #111 : Antonyms

An antonym for quiescent is __________.

Possible Answers:

mob

argumentative

lively

rabble

restful

Correct answer:

lively

Explanation:

The word “quiescent” is related to “quiet,” which is itself related to the Latin for “to rest or be at peace.” Something “quiescent” is at rest in the sense of not being active. For instance, a “quiescent volcano” is a volcano currently dormant or in a state of inactivity. In contrast to such inactivity, “lively” is an appropriate antonym.

Example Question #581 : Hspt Verbal Skills

An antonym for seize is __________.

Possible Answers:

imprison

latch

grasp

attentive

release

Correct answer:

release

Explanation:

To "seize" something is to grasp on to it, often suddenly and with force. A number of the options provided as potential answers are potential synonyms. The only antonym among them is “release.”

Example Question #582 : Hspt Verbal Skills

An antonym for evolving is __________.

Possible Answers:

straight

rotating

fossils

orbit

static

Correct answer:

static

Explanation:

Something that is "evolving" is changing or adapting over time. The word literally means to unroll or roll out. The “-volve” portion is the same as that which his found in “revolve” and the “e-” prefix means out. In contrast to something that is evolving, something "static" merely “stands still”; that is, it does not change. The word comes from the Latin for to stand. The “static” on a television screen is a single pattern that doesn’t seem to change (since it has no discernable pattern).

Example Question #21 : Antonyms: Verbs

An antonym of "absorb" is __________.

Possible Answers:

amuse

evaporate

weary

scorch

rarefy

Correct answer:

weary

Explanation:

A number of the options—"scorch," "rarefy," and "evaporate"—all are trying to make you read "absorb" in the sense of absorbing a liquid (like a sponge); however, the verb "absorb" can also mean to engross or deeply interest. In contrast to such an interesting thing, something that "wearies" someone makes his or her interest wane and disappear. This latter option is by far the best among those provided.

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