Determining Meaning from Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots - SSAT Middle Level Verbal

The suffix "-phobia" means a fear of and the word "arachnid" is the Latin term for the biological family containing spiders, so “arachnophobia” is a fear of spiders. To solve this analogy, you have to determine what “agoraphobia” is the fear of. The correct answer is “public spaces,” as the prefix ­"agor-" means related to outside or open spaces. To help you remember this prefix, just think of an "agora," an open-air public space found in an ancient Greek city.

The suffix ­"_-_ology" means the study of and the prefix “psych-” means related to the mind, so “psychology” is the study of the human mind. To solve this analogy, you have to determine of what “geology” is the study. The correct answer is "rocks," because the prefix "geo-" means related to the Earth or things that come from the Earth, like rocks, making "geology" the study of rocks and minerals and the physical history of the Earth.

The suffix "-phone" means related to language or speaking and the prefix ­"anglo-" means related to England or the English. An “Anglophone” is an English speaker and a “Francophone” is a French speaker. The prefix "franco_-"_ means related to France or the French. So, "French" is the correct answer.

The prefix derma- means related to skin, so “dermatology” is medicine focused around skin-treatment. To solve this analogy you need to determine which part of the body is covered by “optometry.” The prefix opt- means to do with sight or looking so “optometry” is medicine focused around eyesight or “eyes.”

The suffix -phobia means related to fear, and the prefix ergo- means related to work, so “ergophobia” is a fear of work. To solve this analogy you need to determine what “arachnophobia” is the fear of. The prefix arach- means related to spiders, so the correct answer is fear of “spiders.”

The prefix ­"terra_-" means related to the Earth and the prefix "celes-"_ means related to heaven, the sky, or outer space. As “terrestrial” is to Earth, so “celestial” is to space, so "space" is the correct answer. For clarification, “terrestrial” means of this Earth or observed on this Earth, and “celestial” means of space or observed in space or the heavens.

If you are “manic,” you are very excited, energetic, or emotional. “Frenzied” is a synonym of “manic” and means the same thing. The answer choice that is closest in meaning to “stupefied” is “dazed.” They both mean made stupid, groggy, or insensible.

An octopus has eight legs, as you might be able to infer because the word "octopus" contains the prefix "octo_-"_ at the beginning of the word. "Octo_-" means eight, and appears in other words like "octagon" (an eight-sided shape). To solve this analogy, if you don't know how many legs a centipede has, you can still arrive at the correct answer by using the prefix "cent-"_ as a clue to infer this information. "Cent-" means one hundred and appears in other words like "centimeter" (a unit of measurement that is one-hundredth of a meter) and "century" (a span of time of one hundred consecutive years).

A "quadrilateral" is a shape with four sides; you might be able to infer this because the word contains the root "quad," which means four and appears in other words like "quadratic." So, to solve this analogy, you have to determine how many sides a hexagon has. The correct answer is “six," which you might have inferred because the root "hex" means six.

"Piscine" is an adjective that means of or relating to fish. The prefix "pisc-" often means that the word will describe characteristics of fish and appears in other words like the name of the constellation "Pisces," which is thought to look like two fish. To solve this analogy, you have to determine which animal is described by the adjective "leonine." The correct answer is “lion."

The prefix ­"anglo-" means of or related to the English; the prefix "franco-" means of or related to the French. The suffix "–phobia" means fear. So "Anglophobia" is the fear of English people and "Francophobia" is the fear of French people.

The suffix -phile means love and the prefix Anglo­- means related to England or the English. So Anglophile describes someone who loves the English. To solve this analogy, you have to determine which country a Grecophile loves. You might have guessed, based on the first few letters, that the correct answer is “Greece.” It is Greece, the country, not Greek, the nationality, because the word "England" was used in the first comparison, not "English."

The suffix, -phobe, (or -phobia), means fear, and the prefix, Sino-, means related to China or the Chinese. So a "Sinophobe" is someone who is afraid of China; in order to solve this analogy you have to determine which country a "Francophobe" is afraid of. The correct answer is “France.” The prefix, Franco-, means related to France or the French.

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number thirteen. The suffix "_-_phobia" describes a fear. So, to solve this analogy, you have to determine what "heliophobia" is the fear of. The correct answer is “sunlight,” as you may have determined from the prefix "helio-,"which means related to the sun or sunlight and is found in other words like "heliocentric" (having the sun at the center, used to describe the modern view of the solar system).

The prefix "ando_-_" means related to men, so in this instance, the word “andocentric” means having a world view centered around men and masculine ways of viewing things. “Geocentric” means having to do with an astronomical model that centers around the preeminence of the Earth. The prefix "geo-­" means related to the Earth. So, the correct answer is "Earth."

A nine-sided shape is called a "nonagon," and an eight-sided shape is called an "octagon." The prefix "non_-" suggests that the word will have to do with the number nine. Likewise, the prefix "oct-"_ suggests that the word will have to do with the number eight. (For an example of this, just think of how an "octopus" has eight legs!)

A triangle is a three-sided shape, which you can infer because the prefix "tri-" means three. So, to solve this analogy, you have to determine how many sides a pentagon has. The prefix "penta-" means five, so the correct answer is “five.”

The suffix "_-_phile" means lover of and the prefix "bibl-"means related to books, so we can see that “bibliophile” means a lover of books. To solve this analogy, you need to determine what a “zoophile” is a lover of. The correct answer is “animals.” The prefix "zoo-" means related to animals, so whenever you see it in a word, it is reasonable to assume that the word will have something to do with animals.

"Polychromatic" means having many different colors, while the term "monochromatic" means having only one color or shades of white, grey, and black. You can infer these definitions because of the words' prefixes and root: "poly-" means many, "mono-" means one, and the root "chrom" means having to do with color; it is derived from the Greek word chroma, which means "color." So, "polychromatic" and "monochromatic" are antonyms, or opposites, and to solve the analogy, you need to pick out the answer choice which consists of antonyms. "Ascending" means going or rising up, whereas "descending" means going or sinking down, so just as "polychromatic" and "monochromatic" are opposites, so are "ascending" and "descending," making "ascending is to descending" the correct answer.