SSAT Upper Verbal practice test

Rapid means fast or moving at high speed. Early is a time-related near miss because something can happen early without happening rapidly, while slow is the antonym.

In this secondary sense, fresh means new or recent. Modern is a time-related near miss because something modern may already be familiar or well established, while stale is the antonym in this sense.

Brisk means quick and energetic. The strongest trap is mild, which can describe weather but misses the speed in brisk.

Neutral means unbiased, not favoring either side. Involved can threaten neutrality but is not the meaning; biased, uncertain, and provocative are not synonyms.

Equal means equivalent in value, amount, or status. Similar is a same-field near miss because similar things may still differ, while unequal is the antonym.

Retain means keep or continue to hold. The strongest trap is discard, the opposite of keeping.

Compassionate means sympathetic and caring toward others. Fair is positive, but it means just rather than emotionally caring.

Systemic means affecting or involving an entire system, so system-wide is the closest choice. Orderly is a system-related near miss, while isolated is the antonym.

Precise means exact. Detailed is the strongest near miss because something can include many details without being exact, while vague is the antonym.

To exasperate someone is to irritate or frustrate that person greatly.

Despair is complete hopelessness. Sorrow is an emotion-related near miss because sadness does not always involve losing all hope, while hope is the antonym.

Feasible means possible and practical enough to carry out. Efficient is a planning-related near miss because a possible plan may still waste time or resources, while impossible is the antonym.

Timid means fearful or lacking courage, so fearful is the best match. Quiet describes someone who makes little noise or speaks little, not necessarily someone who lacks courage; bold is the opposite of timid.

A factor is an element or contributing part of a result. The strongest trap is answer, which may result from factors but is not one.

Valid means sound, logical, or legally acceptable. The strongest trap is popular, which does not prove correctness.

In this secondary sense, green means inexperienced. Curious is a near miss because curiosity may lead someone into a new activity without indicating a lack of experience, while skilled is the antonym.

To abate is to become less intense or to reduce in force.

Warranted means justified or supported by good reason. False is too absolute; a warranted claim has support even if someone questions it.

SCRUTINIZE means examine. The other choices preserve the part of speech or general register but do not match the word’s precise meaning.

Paramount means chief or highest in importance. Incidental, inferior, permanent, and elaborate do not mean of first importance.

A hapless person is unlucky or unfortunate, often through no fault of their own.

When a time or situation is ripe, it is ready for action. Fruitful is a same-field near miss because a ready situation may not produce good results, while premature is the antonym.

A knoll is a small hill or rounded rise in land.

Facile can mean effortless or too easily achieved, often with a shallow quality.

To wheedle is to coax or persuade with flattery or soft words.

Ostensibly means apparently or according to what seems to be true. Conceivably concerns what is possible rather than what appears true, while genuinely is the strongest opposite.

To abnegate is to deny, renounce, or reject something formally.

A portent is an omen, usually one suggesting that something important or troubling is coming. A coincidence may seem meaningful without actually predicting anything, while reassurance points away from impending danger.

To evince a quality is to display or show it clearly.

Superannuated means outdated, obsolete, or no longer useful because of age.

A spoke is part of a wheel. Similarly, a petal is part of a flower.

A petal is part of a flower; a spoke is part of a wheel. The bridge is part to whole.

Pleased is less intense than ecstatic; concerned is less intense than alarmed. The relationship is lesser to greater intensity.

Devoted is fond taken to an extreme degree, just as saturated is damp taken to an extreme degree — both run from milder to more intense along one dimension. Happy:content is the near-miss: same dimension but the intensity runs the wrong way (content is milder than happy). Loud:audible is also reversed (audible is the baseline). Bright:dim is an antonym, and cool:pleasant is not a degree pair at all. Only damp:saturated escalates like the stem.

An atlas is a collection of maps; an album is a collection of photographs.

An orator gives a speech; a dancer performs a ballet.

An aquarium contains fish; an album contains photographs.

Distraught is a much stronger degree of being upset, just as ravenous is a much stronger degree of being hungry. Ravenous : hungry reverses the escalation, while upset : worried stays in the emotional domain without a comparable increase in intensity.

Austere and stark are near synonyms; severe and harsh are near synonyms. Fertile/barren are antonyms, keel/ship are part-whole, weaver/tapestry are agent-object, and erosion/canyon are cause-effect.

A page is part of a volume; a tile is part of a mosaic.

A monastery houses monks; a convent houses nuns.

A centrifuge is a device used to separate; a filter is a device used to strain.

A tap is less forceful than a pound; a murmur is quieter than a shout. The relationship is lesser to greater intensity.

Arduous and grueling are near synonyms; difficult and taxing are near synonyms. Lenient/strict are antonyms; petal/blossom is part-whole; chef/meal is agent-object; drought/famine is cause-effect.

A sieve is characteristically perforated; a sponge is characteristically porous. Both objects have openings that help them function. The other choices describe damage or an unwanted condition rather than a defining feature.

A shepherd uses a crook as a characteristic tool of the trade, just as a farmer uses a hoe. Sawdust is a byproduct, not a tool; an orchestra is a group a violinist joins; a flower is what a gardener tends; a leak is a problem a plumber fixes — none names the worker’s tool.

An anvil is characteristically heavy; a tortoise is characteristically slow. The relationship is object to defining trait.

A vane indicates wind; a thermometer indicates temperature.

A postscript is an added closing part of a letter; an epilogue is a closing part of a novel.

Pliant and rigid are opposites; lenient and severe are opposites in the same adjective-to-adjective direction. The distractors are synonyms, reversed, or object-to-trait associations.

Something cryptic is difficult to understand; something illegible is difficult to read.

A scepter traditionally symbolizes sovereignty, and a cornucopia traditionally symbolizes abundance. Scepter : gold names an object and a possible material, while cornucopia : horn classifies the symbol by its physical form.

A forge transforms metal; a kiln transforms clay.

A lubricant is applied to reduce friction, and a coolant is applied to reduce heat. Fuel creates combustion, glue creates adhesion, and a magnet causes attraction; a sponge causes absorption rather than reducing it. Only coolant and heat name an agent that lessens its object.

A pacifist rejects war; a teetotaler rejects alcohol. Both people avoid the second term on principle.

An apothecary prepares a tincture. Similarly, a vintner produces wine. Botanist : flora pairs a scientist with a domain of study, chemist : beaker a worker with a tool, patient : remedy a recipient with a treatment, and pharmacist : pharmacy a worker with a workplace.

A valediction is the formal closing formula that expresses farewell; a salutation is the formal opening formula that expresses greeting.

A martinet is characterized by excessive rigor or strictness. A miser is characterized by parsimony, or extreme unwillingness to spend.

Parsimony restrains spending; reticence similarly restrains speech or verbal expression.

A vestibule is a preliminary part of a building; a preface is a preliminary part of a book.