All SSAT Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #181 : Synonyms: Verbs
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
ENVELOP
Loop
Discard
Enjoyable
Stationary
Surround
Surround
"Envelop" means to wrap up or cover. "Surround" is the right choice, as it means to enclose, encompass, or encircle.
Example Question #182 : Synonyms: Verbs
Synonyms: Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
LOLL
Droop
Funny
Lull
Drake
Drop
Droop
If something “lolls,” then it hangs loosely. This is similar in meaning to “droop,” which means to sag or hang loosely. To clarify the other terms, a "lull" is a period of inactivity; a “drake” is a male duck.
Example Question #183 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ABATE
Concise
Burn
Spin
Power
Diminish
Diminish
"Abate" means to lessen or make less severe, so "diminish" is the best option. One might write, "When the two children were arguing, the return of their mother immediately abated the situation, as neither wanted to upset her with their yelling."
Example Question #184 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MINCE
Prevent
Amalgamate
Yelp
Dice
Return
Dice
“Mince” is a verb that is often used to refer to meat and means grind up into small pieces, but it can also mean walk too fastidiously with tiny steps; so, we need to pick out a verb that means something like make into small pieces or walk fastidiously. So, that means that “amalgamate” cannot be the correct answer, because “amalgamate” is a verb that means unite multiple things into one thing, making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “mince.” “Dice,” however, when used as a verb, can mean cut up into tiny cubes, and because “dice” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “mince,” “dice” is the correct answer.
Example Question #185 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PILFER
Steal
Punch
Explain
Challenge
Poison
Steal
"Pilfer" means steal, so "steal" is the correct answer.
Example Question #186 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ENCUMBER
Allay
Restriction
Hamper
Dovetail
Alleviate
Hamper
"Encumber" is a verb that means "restrict or burden someone or something in such a way that free action or movement is difficult," so we need to find another word that means something like "burden." While "restriction" might look like a good answer because "restriction" and "encumbrance" are synonymous, "restriction" is a noun and "encumber" is a verb, so "restriction" cannot be the right answer. However, "hamper," when used as a verb, means ": to slow the movement, progress, or action of someone or something." Because "hamper" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "encumber," "hamper" is the correct answer.
Example Question #187 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PARTITION
Conjoin
Separate
Embellish
Participate
Scare
Separate
“Partition” is a word that can be used as a noun or a verb, but because all of the answer choices can be used as verbs, we will need to consider “partition” as a verb. When used as a verb, “partition” means “divide into parts,” so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “divide.” That means that “conjoin” cannot be the correct answer, because “conjoin” means “join; combine,” making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “partition.” “Separate,” however, is a word that when used as a verb can mean “cause to move or be apart” or “form a distinction or boundary between two things,” and because “separate” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “partition,” “separate” is the correct answer.
Example Question #188 : Synonyms: Verbs
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
JOSTLE
Leap
Stampede
Shove
Twirl
Position
Shove
“Jostle” is a verb that means either “push, elbow, or bump against (someone) roughly, typically in a crowd” or when used in the phrase “jostle for,“ “struggle or compete forcefully for.” So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “push roughly” or something like “compete forcefully for.” While “leap” and “twirl” might each look like a potentially correct answer because each verb describes a movement a person might make, and “jostle” also describes a movement, neither “leap” nor “twirl” means the same thing as “jostle,” so neither can be the correct answer. “Shove,” however, is a verb that means “push (someone or something) roughly,” and because “shove” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “jostle,” “shove” is the correct answer.
Example Question #189 : Synonyms: Verbs
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
DILUTE
Weaken
Insinuate
Strengthen
Shorten
Elongate
Weaken
If you "dilute" something, you make it weaker, so "weaken" is the correct answer. For clarification, "strengthen" means make stronger, "insinuate" means imply or suggest, and "elongate" means to make longer and is an antonym of "shorten," which means to make shorter.
Example Question #190 : Synonyms: Verbs
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
DOUSE
Flee
Gather
Baffle
Soak
Display
Soak
"Douse" means to pour liquid on something, so "soak" is the correct answer. "Flee" means to run away or to escape. "Baffle" means to confuse. "Display" means to show. "Gather" means to come together or to collect.