SSAT Middle Level Verbal › Synonyms: Nouns for People
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MARAUDER
Plunderer
Jockey
Connoisseur
Exemplar
Offspring
"Marauder" is a plunderer, or someone who raids people for profit.
"Offspring" means child of someone, or progeny.
"Connoisseur" means someone who is an expert in arts or matters of taste.
"Exemplar" is someone who is imitated.
"Jockey" is a professional horse racer.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
RUFFIAN
Hoodlum
Cherub
Scribe
Pontiff
Spectator
A "ruffian" is a "hoodlum," a troublemaker or a delinquent.
None of the other words are synonymous with ruffian:
"Spectator" means a bystander or someone who views an event or a spectacle.
"Pontiff" means the pope, or the leader of the Catholic Church.
A "scribe" is someone who makes hand-written copies of texts. Scribes still exist, but were more common in the time before the printing press was invented.
A "cherub" is a very cute baby, or a chubby angel child with wings.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
FIREBRAND
Radical
Professor
Explorer
Voyage
Continent
A "firebrand" is a person who incites a revolution or some great change, so "radical," which can mean a revolutionary, is the correct answer. A "professor" is a person who teaches students at a college or university. An "explorer" is a person who travels and discovers new lands. A "voyage" is a long trip, usually made by ship. A "continent" is a very large body of land.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CHEMIST
Alchemist
Celtic
Cavalier
Cellist
Calvinist
"Chemists" and "alchemists" are people who work with chemical processes. Both words also share a root: chem-. The other words may also describe kinds of people, but they are not at all related to the word chemical.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
ANTAGONIST
Adversary
Actress
Director
Producer
Hero
"Antagonist" is an antonym of "protagonist." Whereas a "protagonist" is a hero, an "antagonist" is a villain. The answer choice that is closest in meaning to "villain" is “adversary," which means enemy or opponent.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
BARD
Poet
Sharp
Craftsman
Mayor
Witty
A "bard" is a poet.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PHYSICIAN
Doctor
Henchman
Queen
Churl
Rascal
"Physician" means "a doctor."
"Henchman" means a ruthless subordinate, usually a criminal.
"Rascal" means a dishonest or unscrupulous person.
"Churl" means someone who is rude and surly.
"Queen" is a female monarch.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
SURROGATE
Substitute
Protagonist
Adversary
Foe
Antagonist
"Surrogate" means replacement or substitute, so "substitute" is the correct answer. For clarification, "protagonist" means hero in a story and is the antonym of "antagonist," which means villain in a story, while "adversary" means opponent and "foe" means enemy.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ANTAGONIST
Opponent
Ally
Supervisor
Follower
Comrade
"Antagonist" is defined as an adversary, rival, or foe. Of the answer choices, "opponent" has the closest meaning.
Synonyms: choose the answer that is closest in meaning to the word in question.
Peasant
Worker
Royalty
Bird
Church
Sculpture
"Peasant" means worker; Royalty usually refers to the King, his family, and his court; Bird is a type of animal; Church is a place of worship; and Sculpture is art usually carved out of a solid material.