HSPT Verbal : Analogies: Prefixes
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analogies: Prefixes
Fill is to permeate as satisfy is to __________.
gratify
gorge
enjoy
satiate
please
satiate
The prefix "per-" comes from the Latin meaning thorough. We see this in words like "perfect" and "pervade." When something permeates something else (e.g. a smell in a room), it completely fills it. Thus, permeate is a kind of "complete filling." To be "satiated" is to be satisfied completely. This is a kind of "complete satisfaction."
Example Question #2 : Analogies
Juxtaposed is to location as instantaneous is to __________.
position
response
scheduling
answer
time
time
The prefix "juxta-" comes from the Latin meaning close. When two things are juxtaposed, they are bordering on each other (like neighboring plots of land). Just as juxtaposition is a close placement with regard to location, so is being "instantaneous" a kind of being close with regard to time.
Example Question #3 : Analogies
Vexed is to calm as after is to __________.
ingenuous
crafty
posterior
distracted
anterior
anterior
When someone is "vexed," he or she is annoyed. This is the opposite of being calm. Therefore, we are looking for a word that is an antonym for "after." he prefix "ante-" comes from Latin and means before. It is found in words like "antechamber" and "antecede." Something that is "anterior" is before something else. This is the opposite of being "after."
Example Question #4 : Analogies
Malicious is to benevolent as extraneous is to __________.
tedious
questionable
idiotic
wasteful
relevant
relevant
Someone who is malicious is not benevolent. Being benevolent means being "good-willed"—quite the opposite of someone with a malicious will, a bad will! Therefore, we are looking for something that is the opposite of "extraneous." The prefix "extra-" means outside of. Extraneous details are unimportant and irrelevant—as when someone tells you all about the recent weather when you ask him or her to give you an outline of the a class you missed. Therefore, extraneous details are not relevant.
Example Question #2 : Analogies: Prefixes
Defeat is to vanquish as finish is to __________.
fulfill
submit
conquer
accept
perfect
perfect
To "vanquish" someone is to completely defeat him or her. Therefore, we are looking for a word that intensifies the meaning of "finish," giving the sense of being wholly finished. The prefix "per-" is from a Latin root meaning throughout, though it often means "thoroughly" or "completely." When something is perfected, it is completely made—it is totally finished.
Example Question #5 : Analogies: Determining Meaning From Prefixes, Suffixes, And Roots
Impress is to dazzle as decorate is to __________.
bedeck
blandish
inculcate
festive
cover
bedeck
The word "bedeck" generally means decorate. However, the prefix "be-" can also function as an intensifier meaning thoroughly. To "bedeck" something is to decorate it thoroughly. To be "bedecked" is to be covered or decorated very completely. Just as something dazzling is very illuminated, so too is something bedecked "very decorated."
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