Analogies: Prefixes from Latin

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HSPT Language Skills › Analogies: Prefixes from Latin

Questions 1 - 5
1

Fill is to permeate as satisfy is to __________.

satiate

enjoy

gorge

please

gratify

Explanation

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."

2

Vexed is to calm as after is to __________.

anterior

posterior

crafty

ingenuous

distracted

Explanation

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."

3

Defeat is to vanquish as finish is to __________.

perfect

fulfill

conquer

accept

submit

Explanation

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.

4

Juxtaposed is to location as instantaneous is to __________.

time

scheduling

position

response

answer

Explanation

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.

5

Malicious is to benevolent as extraneous is to __________.

relevant

questionable

idiotic

wasteful

tedious

Explanation

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.

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