SSAT Middle Level Verbal : SSAT Middle Level Verbal

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DETEST

Possible Answers:

frighten

ask

hate

invent

cease

Correct answer:

hate

Explanation:

Detest is most similar to hate, as in "Although I like most meats, I detest veal."

Example Question #11 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

ECCENTRIC

Possible Answers:

peculiar

shrewd

gigantic

agreeable

splendor

Correct answer:

peculiar

Explanation:

"Eccentric" most nearly meanspeculiar or odd, as in "The lady who owned ten cats was eccentric in her ways."

Example Question #13 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

SANCTITY

Possible Answers:

rapturous

even-tempered

durable

rational

holiness

Correct answer:

holiness

Explanation:

The word most similar to "sanctity" isholiness, as in "The site of the grave was a place of sanctity for the soldier's family."

Example Question #14 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

TENET

Possible Answers:

domain

doctrine

industry

abuse

knowledge

Correct answer:

doctrine

Explanation:

The word most similar to "tenet" isdoctrine, as in "The tenets of Catholicism assert that the Pope is leader of the Catholic church."

Example Question #12 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

MISGIVING

Possible Answers:

destruction

doubt

grateful

apparatus

distribution

Correct answer:

doubt

Explanation:

"Misgiving" most nearly meansdoubt, as in a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the result of something. A student who did not do well on an exam may have some misgivings about his or her final grade.

Example Question #13 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

APLOMB

Possible Answers:

religion

composure

weather

effect

zeal

Correct answer:

composure

Explanation:

"Aplomb" most nearly meanscomposure as in self-confidence or assurance, especially during a stressful situation. For example, you might say that "the hostages showed great aplomb while trapped in the bank."

Example Question #17 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

EGREGIOUS

Possible Answers:

furtive

pristine

somber

terse

flagrant

Correct answer:

flagrant

Explanation:

"Egregious" most nearly meansflagrant, as in something that is very bad and obvious. You might say that "the egregious typos in the story made the plot hard to follow."

Example Question #18 :Synonyms

The following question consists of one word followed by five words or phrases. You are to select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

RECLUSE

Possible Answers:

tactic

waft

hermit

restitution

jargon

Correct answer:

hermit

Explanation:

"Recluse" most nearly meanshermit. A recluse is someone who likes to be alone and leads a solitary life.

Example Question #1 :Analogies

Sweater is to yarn as __________.

Possible Answers:

snowball is to snow

fine is to charge

sugar is to candy

petal is to flower

coyote is to rabbit

Correct answer:

snowball is to snow

Explanation:

A sweater is typically made of yarn, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is an object and the second word a material one would expect to make up that object. While “snowball is to snow” and “sugar is to candy” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “sugar is to candy” cannot be the correct answer because sugar is not made up of candy—the answer choice’s words are in the incorrect order relative to the example, so it cannot be the correct answer. One might correctly expect a snowball to be made of snow, though, just as one might expect a sweater to be made of yarn, so “snowball is to snow” is the correct answer.

Example Question #2 :Analogies

Water is to droplet as snow is to __________.

Possible Answers:

blizzard

storm

flake

drift

snowman

Correct answer:

flake

Explanation:

“Droplet” is a noun defined as “a very small drop of a liquid,” so water might be measured in droplets as its smallest unit visible to the naked eye. So, we need to pick out a noun that conveys the smallest unit of snow that one might observe with the naked eye. While “flake” and “drift” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “drift” refers to “a large mass of snow, or leaves piled up or carried along by the wind,” not a single small unit of snow, so it cannot be the correct answer. “Flake,” however, when used as a noun, can mean “a snowflake,” which is “a flake of snow, especially a feathery ice crystal, typically displaying delicate sixfold symmetry.” So, because a flake is the smallest unit of snow visible to the naked eye, just as a droplet is the smallest unit of water visible to the naked eye, “flake” is the correct answer.

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