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Verbal Reasoning · Word relationships
Verbal reasoning: synonyms
A free preview from the Athena Learning Library — the same lesson registered students learn from.
In this lesson: Identify synonyms and antonyms by testing word meanings in context.
The idea
A synonym is a word with the same or a very similar meaning to another word. Rapid and swift both mean fast, and begin and start mean almost the same thing. Synonyms are not always exactly equal: huge is stronger than big, and glad is a little softer than joyful, but they belong to the same family of meaning.
An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning. Hot and cold are antonyms, as are ancient and modern, and brave and cowardly. Read the question carefully: many mistakes happen because a question asks for the opposite and the answer gives a similar word instead.
A reliable test is to place each choice in a sentence and see whether the meaning still fits. Beware of words that belong to the same topic but do not share the meaning. A knight is connected with brave, but knight is not a synonym for brave.
Worked example
Which word is closest in meaning to brave: timid, courageous, quiet or clumsy?
- Brave means not afraid and ready to face something hard.
- Timid means shy and easily frightened, which is close to the opposite.
- Courageous means showing courage, which matches brave closely.
Answer: courageous
Watch out
- Choosing a word from the same topic, such as knight for brave, instead of a true synonym.
- Giving a synonym when the question asks for an antonym, or the reverse.
- Ignoring shades of meaning when two choices seem close.
Quick check
Try these on your own first — then reveal each answer.
1. Give a synonym for 'begin' that starts with the letter s.
2. Which word is the antonym (opposite) of ancient: old, modern or antique?
Practise this concept
Reading is the first step — the concept sticks when your child answers questions on it. Registered students practise graded questions for this lesson, with instant marking and worked explanations, and the lesson is marked complete in their progress.