SSAT Middle Level Verbal › Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Quality, Quantity, and Variety
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
WOEFUL
Pathetic
Frantic
Sturdy
Unhinged
Repulsive
The adjective "woeful" means terribly sad and pitiful, pathetic and tragic. Additionally, "repulsive" means gross, disgusting, not attractive; "frantic" means hurried, stressed; "sturdy" means reliable, strong and firm, unlikely to fall over or break; "unhinged" means disturbed, mentally imbalanced, crazy.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
THOROUGH
Comprehensive
Combative
Incomplete
Absent
Haughty
The adjective "thorough" means complete, finished and including every possible detail. This is closest in meaning to "comprehensive." Additionally, "combative" means argumentative, inclined to start conflict; "incomplete" means not finished; "haughty" means prideful and arrogant; "absent" means not here, not present.
Synonyms: Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
PIDDLING
Lilliputian
Gauche
Advantageous
Humonogus
Fungus
“Piddling” means small or unimportant. “Lilliputian” also means small; it comes from the book Gulliver's Travels and began to be used in language in the early 1700s. To help you, the suffix “-ous” means characterized by. “Gauche” means unpolished, clumsy, or inelegant. “Humongous” means extremely large. “Fungous” means the same as fungal.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
BURGEONING
Blooming
Varied
Monotonous
Mediocre
Uniform
"Burgeoning" means blooming or prospering.
"Uniform" means all-alike, when used as an adjective; as a noun it means a set of clothing that is mandatory to wear in a certain setting like school or sports.
"Mediocre" means average, commonplace, decent.
"Varied" means diverse.
"Monotonous" means all the same.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
SPORADIC
Occasional
Frequent
Common
Dependable
Immediate
"Sporadic" is an adjective defined as occurring at irregular intervals. The term "occasional means occurring, appearing, or done infrequently. This makes "occasional" the correct answer as a synonym "sporadic."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
AGGREGATE
Total
Nothing
Mutual
Firm
Unreliable
The noun and adjective "aggregate" refers to the sum of multiple parts, the total, the whole. To "aggregate" means to form or calculate a whole from multiple parts. Additionally, "mutual" means shared; "unreliable" means not reliable, not trustworthy, not responsible.
Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
BANAL
Unoriginal
Comfortable
Uncomfortable
Original
None of these answers
"Banal" means trite, cliché, and unimaginative; as such, it is most similar in meaning to “unoriginal.”
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
HACKNEYED
Trite
Original
Homeless
Destitute
Weird
"Hackneyed" means trite, unoriginal or old-fashioned, so "trite" is the correct answer. For clarification, "destitute" means very poor, "original" means first or authentic, "homeless" means not having a home, and "weird" means eerie or strange.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
DECENT
Satisfactory
Insufficient
Unreasonable
Familial
Insane
"Decent" means satisfactory. "Insufficient" means lacking in quantity and "unreasonable" means not reasonable, as one can infer from the word being a combination of the negative prefix "un-," which means not, and "reasonable." As for the other answers, neither of them are close in meaning to "decent": "familial" means of or relating to family, and "insane," being a combination of the negative prefix "in-," which means not, and "sane," means not sane, or suffering from a severe mental illness.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MEAGER
Insufficient
Bountiful
Anticipatory
Notorious
Impatient
There is a false root word (eager) which should not be misidentified here. The true meaning of meager is most nearly "not enough" or insufficient. "Bountiful" is an antonym to "meager." "Anticipatory" means something that anticipates or precedes something else. To be "notorious" is to be famous or renowned for a dubious reason.