Synonyms, Antonyms, and Changes in Intensity - SSAT Upper Level Verbal

Polemical is a synonym of argumentative so to solve this analogy you need to find the best available synonym for serene. Serene means quiet and peaceful.

Convivial and gregarious both mean friendly and sociable. You therefore need to identify which of the answer choices is the best available synonym for amiable. Amiable means pleasant and friendly so the correct answer is affable.

Seminal is a synonym of original, so to solve this analogy you have to determine the best available synonym for elucidate. To elucidate something is to clarify or make clear. For clarification, mollify, assuage, pacify, and calm are all synonyms of one another.

"Tropical" is a type of climate that would generally be very hot, and frigid means very cold; to solve this analogy you are looking for the opposite of the type of temperatures that would be associated with a polar climate. A polar climate would likely be very cold, so the correct answer is the antonym of cold, “hot.”

"Doleful" means very sad, and "jubilant" means very happy, so to solve this analogy you know you must identify the best available antonym for "tentative," which means to be unsure and careful as a result of that uncertainty.

The best choice is "mean." The relationship between "grandiloquent" and "simple" is that they are antonyms. The word "grandiloquent" means speaking in a lofty or pompous style. Grandiloquence typically involves complex language. "Simple" is the opposite of "complex." Likewise, "mean" is the opposite of "nice."

When you avert something, you prevent it. When you augment something, you increase it.

"Placid" and "tranquil" are synonyms, as are "noxious" and "toxic."

Corpulent is a synonym for fat, so to solve this analogy you need to find the best possible synonym for diminutive. Since diminutive means tiny the best possible answer choice is small.

"Inclement" is a synonym for stormy so to solve this analogy you have to identify the best available synonym for ingenious. Ingenious means particularly clever or inventive so the correct answer is “clever.” For clarification, impervious means not able to be penetrated; winsome means charming.

Stoic means not showing one's feelings or not complaining. Emotional means showing very strong feelings. Stoic is the opposite of emotional. Silent is the opposite of noisy. Thus, the two sets of words have the same relationship.

Subtle means hard to detect or not immediately obvious. Thus, it is the opposite of obvious.

One definition of cold is unfriendly. Thus, it is the opposite of friendly.

In both pairs, the first word is the opposite of the second word.

Comely is an adjective that means cute or good-looking. This is an antonym of repulsive which means disgusting; therefore to complete the second part of the analogy you are required to find the best possible antonym for miserable. Miserable means very sad. The correct answer is ecstatic which means very happy.

"Inveterate" and habitual are synonyms that both mean fixed in practice, firmly established. So, to solve this analogy you have to determine the best available synonym for iniquity. Iniquity means sin or evil.

To "laud" something means to praise it. To "condemn" something means to criticize it or declare it to be incorrect. These two meanings are opposites, so to solve this analogy, look for the antonym of "disparage." "Disparage" means criticize or express disdain or disgust. The best available antonym for criticize is "praise."

"Inconspicuous" means difficult to notice which is an antonym for "obtrusive," which means highly noticeable. You must therefore identify the best available antonym for "glacial," which describes something very slow moving (like a glacier); thus the best antonym is “very fast.”

Since a fortune is a lot of money and a pittance is "a very small or inadequate amount of money paid to someone as an allowance or wage," "fortune" and "pittance" are opposites, and we need to pick out a word that is an opposite of "excess." Since "excess" means "an amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable," we should pick out a word that has to do with not having enough of something. While "paucity" and "decline" may both look like correct answers, decline is a verb, so it can't be the correct answer, as we need a noun. Since "paucity" means "the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity," "paucity" is the answer choice that is closest to being an antonym of "excess," so "paucity" is the correct answer.

"Ebullience" is a noun that means "the quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance," and "lassitude" is a noun that means "a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy." Since the two words are antonyms, we need to pick out another pair of words that are also opposites. Since "ennui" means "a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement," "interest" is its opposite. Since "ennui is to interest" is the only answer choice whose words are antonyms, "ennui is to interest" is the correct answer.

"Deter" is a verb meaning discourage or prevent. Since "deter" is an antonym of "encourage," we need to pick out an answer choice which includes two words that have opposite meanings. While "condone is to approve" might look like a good answer choice, "condone" actually means accept and support. Since "condone" and "allow" are synonyms, "condone is to allow" cannot be the correct answer. The answer choice "cease is to start," however, includes a pair of antonyms: "cease" is a verb meaning end, making it an antonym of "start." Because "cease" and "start" are antonyms just like "deter" and "encourage" are antonyms, "cease is to start" is the correct answer.

Bucolic refers to the country and urban to the city. Similarly, rural is countrified, or unsophisticated, and cosmopolitan is of the city or sophisticated.