Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Quality, Quantity, and Variety

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SSAT Middle Level Verbal › Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Quality, Quantity, and Variety

Questions 1 - 10
1

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

WOEFUL

Pathetic

Frantic

Sturdy

Unhinged

Repulsive

Explanation

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.

2

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

THOROUGH

Comprehensive

Combative

Incomplete

Absent

Haughty

Explanation

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.

3

Synonyms: Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

PIDDLING

Lilliputian

Gauche

Advantageous

Humonogus

Fungus

Explanation

“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.

4

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

BURGEONING

Blooming

Varied

Monotonous

Mediocre

Uniform

Explanation

"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.

5

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

SPORADIC

Occasional

Frequent

Common

Dependable

Immediate

Explanation

"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."

6

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

AGGREGATE

Total

Nothing

Mutual

Firm

Unreliable

Explanation

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.

7

Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

BANAL

Unoriginal

Comfortable

Uncomfortable

Original

None of these answers

Explanation

"Banal" means trite, cliché, and unimaginative; as such, it is most similar in meaning to “unoriginal.”

8

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

HACKNEYED

Trite

Original

Homeless

Destitute

Weird

Explanation

"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.

9

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DECENT

Satisfactory

Insufficient

Unreasonable

Familial

Insane

Explanation

"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.

10

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

MEAGER

Insufficient

Bountiful

Anticipatory

Notorious

Impatient

Explanation

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.

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