Analogies - SSAT Upper Level Verbal

When something is "comprehensible," it is understandable. You likely use the word “comprehend,” which is a related form of the same root. When someone “comprehends” something, he or she “grasps” it completely. The word “apprehend” can mean to understand, though it usually means to grasp a hold of in the physical sense. They come from the same general root. We can say that “unintelligible” and “comprehensive” are antonyms, so we must look for an antonym for “jocund.” The word generally means cheerful. Among the options, do not be fooled by “angry.” A jocund person is probably not angry, but more appropriately are they said to be without humor or humorless. This is the better answer.

The word “defensible” can be thought of as meaning something like defendable, though it specifically means able to be justified. For instance, we would speak of “a defensible thesis,” meaning thereby that some argument is coherent and able to be defended against objections. When something is “tenable,” it is able to be “held” against objections. Thus, something “untenable” cannot be upheld (and is thereby indefensible). Thus, this analogy is one of antonyms. In contrast to being “enraged,” the best opposed word would be “serene.” Someone who is “serene” is not agitated at all but instead is at peace and is calm. This is quite different from the state of being enraged.

Someone who is “inept” lacks skill or is without abilities (if the word is taken in its most negative sense). The word “aptitude” means natural ability in some regard or for some task. Thus, the word “capable” is an antonym to “inept,” meaning that this analogy requires you to find an antonym for “literal.” When something is described or interpreted in a literal manner, it is understood in its most basic sense without adding additional interpretation (such as symbolic or allegorical interpretations). Thus, the best option for an antonym among those provided is “symbolic,” which is quite opposite to a literal interpretation.

A pedant is a person who shows a great deal of learning to the point of being tedious and boring—going through every detail almost in a ridiculous fashion. Thus, “tedious” is an adequate description for a pedant. Someone who “transgresses” goes beyond the boundaries of the law. The “trans-” prefix means across (as in “transfer,” meaning, to carry across), and the “-gress” comes from the Latin for to step. It is related to many words like “grade,” “gradual,” “progress,” and “digress.” The options “judged” and “sentenced” might apply to a transgressor after a court case that acknowledges the guilt. In any case, a transgressor in general can be said to be guilty even before this is acknowledged in a court. This is the best description among those provided.

A pedestrian is someone who travels by walking. You likely use the word to describe people walking in a town in contrast to those who are using motor vehicles or bicycles. The word actually comes from the Latin for “foot” and is related to the similar sounding beginning of the word “podiatrist”—a doctor specializing in care of the foot. Thus the bridge sentence for our analogy could be written as, “Just as a pedestrian travels by walking, so a mariner travels by X.” A “mariner” is a sailor. The word is derived from the Latin for “sea” and is related to the English words “marine” and “submarine.” A sailor travels by sailing.

The word “credence” means belief in the truth of something. If someone is "trustworthy," we are likely to give credence to his or her words or claims. Something "malicious" is evil or ill-intentioned and harmful. Such a thing or person deserves to be feared, which adequately fulfills the parallel for this analogy.

A shield could be used by someone to defend themselves, so it could be described as “defensive,” or “used or intended to defend or protect.” So, we need to pick out an answer choice that is an adjective that describes a sword. While “protective” and “offensive” might each look like a potentially correct answer choice, “protective” means “capable of or intended to protect,” and does not describe a sword, so “protective” cannot be the correct answer. “Offensive,” however, is an adjective that can mean “meant for use in attack” when being used of a weapon, and because “offensive” aptly describes a sword just as “defensive” aptly describes a shield, “offensive” is the correct answer.

The word “pulmonary” comes from the Latin word for the lungs. It is used to in English to describe physical conditions related to these organs, as when someone has pulmonary embolism, which is a type of blockage of blood to the lung. Just as “pulmonary” describes the lungs, “cardiac” describes conditions related to the heart.

Someone who is “laconic” uses few words. “Shy” is not necessarily synonymous with “laconic,” so a good way to understand this analogy is to form a sentence like, “As someone who is shy is likely to be laconic, so is someone who is depressed likely to be X.” The word “lachrymose” means tearful or likely to weep. The word is taken from the Latin for tear or to cry. The “tear ducts” that produce fluid in the eye are called the lacrimal glands. To be “depressed” is not synonymous with being “lachrymose,” but just like the case with shyness and being laconic, it is likely that someone who is depressed will be given to weeping.

Someone who is “gauche” lacks social capacities and thus can be said to lack grace. Such a person is likely awkward in public, not knowing how to be subtle when he or she needs be or how to be polite in a tactful manner—though no harm is intended by their tactless actions. The bridge sentence could be constructed, “As someone who is gauche lacks grace, so does someone who is corrupt lack X.” A corrupt person is, among other things, likely to lack honesty—at least about reality itself, for he or she will try to twist and corrupt all things to his or her perverse will.

When someone is neglectful, they do not care or provide care where it is needed. The analogy could be expressed as a lack: “As something neglectful lacks care, so does something adulterated lack X.” Although we use the term “adultery” to describe someone who has committed an act against marriage, the word “adulterate” comes from the Latin meaning to corrupt, in the sense of to ruin the purity of. We could adulterate a sample of water by adding foreign elements (and so forth). Thus, something that is adulterated lacks its appropriate purity.

When something is "sterilized," it is completely clean and thus does not have any bacteria on or in it. (Something “sterile” is likewise so completely clean.) Thus, the analogy could be written, “As something sterilized has no bacteria, something disrobed has no X.” The word “disrobed” is as obvious as it appears. It merely means having taken off one’s clothes, meaning that such a person lacks clothes.

The word “immaculate” comes from the combination of the “i-” prefix used as a privation (i.e. not) to the root which means stained, spotted, or dirty. Thus, the word means not stained, and generally is used to mean completely clean. Thus, the analogy could be rewritten, “Just as something immaculate lacks any dirt, so does something innocent have no X.” An innocent person lacks guilt, which is the best answer among those provided.

A vacuum is a space lacking matter. Thus, the analogy could be rewritten as, “Just a vacuum lacks matter, so does something unintelligible lack X.” When something is unintelligible, it makes little or no sense and cannot be understood. It could thus be said to lack meaning for someone trying to understand it.

"Feral" means wild and untamed and is a quality generally associated with a wolf so to solve this analogy you have to determine which of these answer choices is generally associated with a dog. A dog is generally “domesticated” which means accustomed to living with or near people. For clarification, the other four answer choices are all loosely synonyms of feral.

Euphony is a pleasing sound, so to solve this analogy you have to determine which of these answer choices is an unpleasant sound. The correct answer is “vociferous,” which means loud and unpleasant noise. For clarification, mellifluous is a synonym of euphony; adulation is praise; exalt means to praise or celebrate.

One might describe a cat as fast. Therefore, the correct answer will be a trait that a sloth has. Sloths do not move very much, and so they are "sedentary," which means lacking movement, stationary, or inactive.

The word "nomadic" can be a characteristic of a tribe. Therefore, the correct answer will be an answer choice that can be described as "permanent." The word "permanent" is used as the opposite of "nomadic," so in this context it means non-moving or consistently located in the same location. The noun that is best described by this word is "city," which is therefore the correct answer.

The word "volatile" can be descriptive of a volcano's level of activity. Therefore, the correct answer will be able to describe a lake's level of activity. While the words "large" and "opaque" describe a lake's physical characteristics, they do not describe its level of activity. The words "predictable" and "commonplace" also fail to describe a lake's level of activity. The only word that does is "placid," the correct answer. Placid means calm.