Select the option that best identifies the sample words for questions 1 through 3.
1. AUGMENT : SUPPLEMENT – These words…
- Have similar meanings.
- Have contradictory meanings.
- Have neither similar nor contradictory meanings.
2. RETRACT : RETRIEVE – These words…
- Have similar meanings.
- Have contradictory meanings.
- Have neither similar nor contradictory meanings.
3. CONFOUND : CONFINE – These words…
- Have similar meanings.
- Have contradictory meanings.
- Have neither similar nor contradictory meanings.
Complete the analogy in the problems below.
4. Mock is to jest as…
- Resume is to cease.
- Bowl is to cereal.
- Encompass is to surround.
- Swelter is to freeze.
- Grass is to green.
5. Faint is to bright as…
- Creep is to crawl.
- Window is to door.
- Bone is to body.
- Cheerful is to happy.
- Crisp is to flaccid.
6. Burden is to encumber as…
- End is to enemy.
- Drip is to bore.
- Collapse is to rebuild.
- Drudge is to idle.
- Chortle is to laugh.
7. Enliven means the opposite of…
- Depress.
- Imagine.
- Accost.
- Refrain.
8. Secede means the opposite of…
- Accessible.
- Recall.
- Merge.
- Bail.
9. Coarse most nearly means…
- Soft.
- Polite.
- Harsh.
- Direction.
10. Alleviate means the opposite of…
- Hover.
- Worsen.
- Intend.
- Large.
11. Select the meaning of the underlined word in this sentence: Dr. Grant ignored Mary’s particular symptoms, instead administering a holistic treatment for her condition.
- Insensitive to the patient’s needs
- Randomly selected
- Specific to the area indicated by the symptoms
- Concerned with the whole body
12. Select the meaning of the underlined word in this sentence: The dermatologist was struck by the symmetric patterns of scarring on the patient’s back.
- Scabbed and oozing
- Painful to the touch
- Occurring in corresponding parts at the same time
- Geometrically shaped
Answers and Explanations
1. A: Augment and supplement have similar meanings. Both words refer to increasing the amount of something. “To augment” is to make bigger, while “to supplement” is to add to something.
2. A: Retract and retrieve have similar meanings. Both words involve taking something back. “To retract” something is to draw it back or withdraw it (for instance, a statement), and “to retrieve” something is to get it back or regain it.
3. C: Confound and confine have different and unrelated meanings. Confound means to confuse, while confine means to restrict or lock up.
4. C: Mock is a synonym of jest. In C, encompass is a synonym of surround, making the correct answer option C. Choices A and D are antonyms. B and E do not represent synonymous relationships.
5. E: Faint is an antonym of bright. In option E, crisp is an antonym to flaccid. While flaccid may not be a word with which you are familiar, it can be deduced by eliminating the other answer choices: answers A and D represent synonyms, while options B and C do not feature antonyms.
6. E: Burden (here used as a verb) is a synonym of encumber, just as chortle is a synonym of laugh. Option E is, therefore, the correct answer. Choices C and D represent antonyms. The word pairs in A and B have no obvious relationship to each other.
7. A: Enliven means “to give life, spirit, or action to,” which is the opposite of depress.
8. C: To secede is to split apart, which is the opposite of merge.
9. C: Coarse, or rough, most nearly means harsh.
10. B: Alleviate means to ease or lessen, which is the opposite of worsen.
11. D: The word holistic as it is used in this sentence means “concerned with the whole rather than the parts”-option D. Many doctors, particularly those who favor an osteopathic approach, try to consider the patient’s health from a holistic perspective; that is, they try to improve health in its entirety rather than simply eliminate specific symptoms.
12. C: The word symmetric as it is used in this sentence means “occurring in corresponding parts at the same time.” Some illnesses will cause symmetric rashes, meaning that both the right and left sides of the body are afflicted with similarly shaped inflammation.