SSAT Upper Level Verbal › Synonyms: Adjectives Describing Appearance, Materiality, and Sensory Imagery
Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
BLOATED.
Swollen
Skinny
Forlorn
Diminished
Effervescent
If something is “bloated” it is fat and swollen. For clarification, "effervescent" means bubbly and energetic; "forlorn" means to feel sad and pitiful; "diminished" means made smaller.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
PULCHRITUDE
Beauty
Exit
Conception
Nightmare
Removal
"Pulchritude" means beauty, so "beauty" is the correct answer. None of the other answers are close in meaning to "pulchritude": "exit" means departure; "conception" means start; "nightmare" means bad dream; and "removal" means elimination.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
DISTENDED
Swollen
Leery
Enthralled
Emaciated
Abstruse
The adjective "distended" means enlarged due to pressure, swollen, bloated. Additionally, "leery" means wary, cautious and careful; "enthralled" means captivated by, deeply interested in and attracted to; "abstruse" means esoteric, arcane, hard to understand; "emaciated" means extremely skinny, very thin and skeletal.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
WIZENED
Shriveled
Rotund
Outlandish
Puerile
Geriatric
"Wizened" means "shriveled," age-worn, and wrinkled, and is often used to describe elderly people or things. It is not, however, a direct synonym for "geriatric" (elderly). "Puerile' means juvenile, immature. "Outlandish" means bizarre or strange. "Rotund" is a synonym for "plump."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CREPUSCULAR
Twilight
Rotund
Burnished
Ordinary
Dulcet
"Crepuscular" describes the "twilight" or dusk. "Dulcet" means sweet-sounding or mellifluous. "Ordinary" means average or normal. "Burnished" means polished or shined by careful rubbing, and "rotund" is a synonym for "plump."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ARID
Dry
Commendable
Malleable
Shocking
Weak
Arid means extremely dry.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
POLISHED
Glossy
Tarnished
Scratched
Dull
Bruised
"Polished" is a synonym for "glossy" and refers to the shining appearance of an item. The other answer choices are antonyms of the word "polished."
Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
ALGID.
Feverish and cold
Hot and bothered
Amiable and outgoing
Reserved and timid
Happy and serene
The term, “algid,” is used to describe an episode experienced during a fever where the individual feels cold and clammy. The best answer is “feverish and cold.” For clarification, "amiable" means friendly; "timid" means shy; "serene" means peaceful.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
TOUCHABLE
Tangible
Tangled
Triangular
Tantalizing
Edible
"Touchable" and "tangible" are synonyms referring to items that have a physical presence. The other words do not have meanings that are related to "touchable."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
OROTUND
Sonorous
Feisty
Querulous
Sordid
Pulchritudinous
"Orotund" is a synonym for "sonorous," pleasant-sounding. "Pulchritudinous" describes visual beauty. "Sordid" means filthy, and "querulous" means irritable, cranky. "Feisty" is another word for spunky, spirited.