Specific Terminology - SSAT Middle Level Verbal

Feminine is an adjective used to described qualities associated with women so to solve this analogy you have to determine which of these answer choices is an adjective associated with men. The correct answer is “masculine.” For clarification, "abhorrent" means detestable.

A "bachelor" is a "man" who is not married. So, to solve this analogy you need to figure out which of these is used to describe a "woman" who is not married. The correct answer is "maiden." Additionally, a "widow" is a woman whose husband has died; "duke" and "duchess" are male and female members of the aristocracy; a "scholar" is a learned person who studies something for an occupation.

A "fraternity" is a brotherhood, a name for a group of men with shared interests who are part of the same organization. So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is used to describe the same situation when applied to a group of "women." The correct answer is "sorority." Additionally, "paternity" means fatherhood and "maternity" means motherhood.

"Duke" and "baron" are both male titles in the European system of aristocracy, whereby landed individuals have inordinate amounts of power. "Baroness" is the name given to a female "baron." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is a word given to a female "duke." The correct answer is "duchess." Additionally, "nobility" is another name for "aristocracy."

"Purr" describes a noise that cats make—it's even defined as "a low continuous vibratory sound, typically that made by a cat or vehicle." So, since cats purr, we need to pick out an answer choice that describes an animal that roars. Of the potential answer choices, only lions roar, so "lion" is the correct answer.

A "predator" is an animal that hunts and kills other animals, and a shark is a classic example of a predator that eats seals. So, to solve the analogy, we need to pick out an answer choice that means an animal that gets eaten by a predator. This is the definition of the word "prey," so "prey" is the correct answer. In this relationship between the shark and the seal, the shark is the predator and the seal is the prey.

"Pig" is the name given to an animal, and "pork" the name given to the meat that animal provides. So, we need to pick out a word that is used to describe the meat a cow provides. While "beef," "calf," and "steer" all have to do with cows (a "calf" is a young cow and a "steer" a term for a male cow), "beef" is the correct answer, as meat from a cow is called "beef" just as meat from a pig is called "pork."

"Armada" is a noun that means "a large group of ships or boats," so we need to pick out a word that describes what, in a large group, constitutes a flock. "Seagulls," "wolves," and "dinosaurs" might all seem like potential answers because they are all animals, but since "flock" means "a number of birds of one kind feeding, resting, or traveling together," "seagulls" is the correct answer, since seagulls are a type of bird.

A group of ships is called a "fleet," so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the second word is a noun describing a group of the first word’s noun. While both “herd is to deer” and “fish is to school” might look like potentially correct answers, “herd is to deer” cannot be the correct answer because a “deer” is not what one calls a group of "herds," but the other way around. A school is what one calls a group of fish, however, just like how a fleet is what one calls a group of ships, so “fish is to school” is the correct answer.

“Ewe” is a noun that means a female sheep, while “ram” is a word that when used as a noun can mean a male sheep. So, because “hen” is a noun that can mean a female chicken, we need to pick out an answer choice that means a male chicken. Both “rooster” and “bird” might look like potentially correct answers, but “bird” specifies a general category into which "hen" could fit, along with other types of birds besides chickens, and it could also refer to an organism of either sex, so it cannot be the correct answer because we’re specifically looking for a word that means a male chicken. “Rooster,” however, is a noun that means a male chicken, and because “rooster” is the name given to a male chicken while “hen” is the name given to a female chicken, just like “ram” is the name given to a male sheep and “ewe” the name given to a female sheep, “rooster” is the correct answer.

A shark uses its teeth to bite things, so we need to pick out an answer that describes what part of a snake it uses to bite things. While “fangs” and “scales” might each look like a potentially correct answer because each refers to a part of a snake’s body, a snake uses its fangs, not its scales, to bite things. Because a snake uses its fangs to bite things just as a shark uses its teeth to bite things, “fangs” is the correct answer.

A rabbit could be the prey of a hawk, meaning that a hawk might eat a rabbit, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes an animal that might be the prey of a frog, or is something that a frog might eat. While “dragonfly” and “heron” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “heron” cannot be the correct answer because a heron might eat a frog, but a frog would be very unlikely to eat a heron. A frog might eat a dragonfly, though, just as a hawk might eat a mouse, so “dragonfly” is the correct answer.

"Canine" is an adjective that means of or related to dogs. So to solve this analogy, you have to determine which animal the word "feline" relates to. "Feline" means of or related to cats, so the correct answer is “cat.”

Lions live together in "prides," so to solve this analogy you have to determine what term is given to a group of sheep. The correct answer is “herd.”

"Bovine" is an adjective that means of or related to cows, so to solve this analogy, you have to determine which of the answer choices is an adjective that means of or related to cats. The correct answer is “feline," because "feline" means of or related to cats. For clarification, "equine" means of or related to horses and "lupine" means of or related to wolves. "Feral" means wild and is an antonym of "domesticated," which means tame.

"Canine" is an adjective that means of or pertaining to dogs, so to solve this analogy you have to determine which of the answer choices is an adjective related to horses. Equine means of or related to horses, so the correct answer is “equine.” For clarification, "feline" means of or related to cats, "bovine" means of or related to cows, and "ursine" means of or related to bears.

"Lupine" is an adjective that means relating to wolves. You might be able to infer this because the scientific (Latin) name for the common wolf is "canis lupus." So, to solve this analogy, you have to determine which animal is describe by the adjective "ursine." The correct answer is “bear," which you might be able to infer because "ursidae" is the scientific (Latin) name for the family of animals that contains bears, and the constellation called "ursa major" means big bear.

"Feline" is an adjective that means related to cats, so to solve this analogy, you have to determine which of these answer choices is the correct animal noun described by the adjective "simian." The correct answer is “monkey.” "Simian" is to "monkey" in the same way "feline" is to "cat."

Fish use gills to breathe, so to solve this analogy you have to determine which body part it is that humans use to breathe. The correct answer is “lungs.”

“Canine” means related to dogs, so to solve this analogy, you have to determine the animal with which the word "bovine" is associated. The correct answer is a “cow.” Incidentally, "bovine" can also mean cow-like or describe someone who is cow-like in the sense of moving slowly and not being very smart.