SSAT Middle Level Verbal : Synonyms

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #991 : Synonyms

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

PARTITION

Possible Answers:

Conjoin

Separate

Embellish

Participate

Scare

Correct answer:

Separate

Explanation:

“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 #992 : Synonyms

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

JOSTLE

Possible Answers:

Stampede

Position

Leap

Shove

Twirl

Correct answer:

Shove

Explanation:

“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 #993 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DILUTE

Possible Answers:

Strengthen 

Shorten 

Insinuate

Elongate 

Weaken 

Correct answer:

Weaken 

Explanation:

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 #994 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DOUSE

Possible Answers:

Baffle

Soak

Display

Flee

Gather

Correct answer:

Soak

Explanation:

"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.

Example Question #995 : Synonyms

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

HOIST

Possible Answers:

Confuse

Attend

Destroy

Lift

Swing

Correct answer:

Lift

Explanation:

"Hoist" means to lift or to lift using a rope. "Swing" means to sway or to move back and forth. "Destroy" means to end or to demolish. "Confuse" means bewilder. "Attend" means be present at.

Example Question #996 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DEVIATE

Possible Answers:

Renegade

Degenerate

Falter

Deviant

Detour 

Correct answer:

Detour 

Explanation:

If you “deviate,” you do something that is different from what is usual or expected,so you make “a detour” from what is normal. To further help you, "degenerate” is similar in meaning to "deviant" and means a person who takes a detour from what is accepted by society; a “renegade” is a person who is disloyal or someone who does not respect orders; “to falter” is to begin to fail or weaken.

Example Question #997 : Synonyms

Synonyms: choose the word with the meaning closest to the word in question.

Recline

Possible Answers:

to quit

to observe

to stand up

to lie down

to reject

Correct answer:

to lie down

Explanation:

"Recline" means to lie down.

Example Question #997 : Synonyms

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

WAVER

Possible Answers:

Exhume

Gamble

Desert

Tremble

Fray

Correct answer:

Tremble

Explanation:

"Waver" is a verb that means to tremble or it means to be indecisive, depending on context.

"Gamble" means to bet money or to play games of chance.

"Fray" means to come apart at the edges, and refers to objects that involve stitching or cloth.

"Desert" means to abandon somebody or to escape or flee.

"Exhume" means to dig up a corpse.

Example Question #998 : Synonyms

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

THWART

Possible Answers:

Pretend 

Protect 

Preside 

Provoke 

Prevent 

Correct answer:

Prevent 

Explanation:

To "thwart" most nearly means to prevent someone from undertaking an attempted action or to foil a plan.

Example Question #999 : Synonyms

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

PALPITATE

Possible Answers:

Bawl

Straggle

Oust

Percolate

Throb

Correct answer:

Throb

Explanation:

"Palpitate" means to throb or to pulse.

"Bawl" means to cry or to sob loudly.

"Percolate" means filtering liquid through something

"Straggle" means to walk slowly or to wander in an irregular manner.

"Oust" means to expel someone or to kick someone out.

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