All SSAT Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Example And Category
Theft is to crime as __________.
sleep is to exhaustion
disbelief is to obliviousness
procrastination is to laziness
prisoner is to cell
ship is to navigation
procrastination is to laziness
Theft is a form of crime; similarly, procrastination (putting things off) is a form of laziness.
Example Question #2 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy
Virtue is to kindness as vice is to __________.
Caring
Serendipity
Verbosity
Selfishness
Generosity
Selfishness
Kindness is an example of a virtue. A virtue is a morally positive attribute which is opposite in definition to a vice. To solve this analogy you must identify which of the answer choices is an example of a vice. The only morally negative attribute is “selfishness” so this is the correct answer. For clarification serendipity means the accidental discovery of something fortunate; verbosity describes long-winded speech or writing.
Example Question #3 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy.
Altercation is to conversation as tirade is to __________.
situation
misgiving
nonsense
speech
essay
speech
An "altercation" is a form of negative, or hostile, conversation, so to solve this analogy you have to determine which answer choice relates to "tirade" in the same manner. "Tirade" means long and angry speech, so the correct answer is “speech.”
Example Question #4 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy.
Homicide is to crime as tome is to __________.
Movie
Book
Portrait
Essay
Musical
Book
Homicide is a type of crime defined as the act of killing somebody, so to solve this analogy you have to determine into which category a tome belongs. A tome is a particularly long and heavy book so the correct answer is “book.”
Example Question #5 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy.
Dog is to dalmatian as __________.
fork is to spoon
cheese is to cheddar
sandwich is to bread
vegetarian is to meat
melt is to candle
cheese is to cheddar
Since a dalmatian is a type of dog, we're looking for an answer where the second word is a specific variety of the first word. While "sandwich is to bread" may initially look like a decent answer choice because the two words are closely related, bread is a constituent element of a sandwich, not a specific kind of sandwich, so it is not the correct answer. "Cheese is to cheddar," on the other hand, retains the same relationship as "dog is to dalmatian," because cheddar is a type of cheese, just like dalmatian is a type of dog. So, "cheese is to cheddar" is the correct answer.
Example Question #6 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy.
Calligraphy is to handwriting as cuisine is to __________.
food
restaurant
lasagna
drink
culture
food
Since calligraphy is decorative handwriting, it is nearly a synonym of "handwriting." So, we need to pick out an answer choice of which "cuisine" is a near synonym. Since "cuisine" means food cooked in a specific way, often relating to a specific country or culture, "food" is the best answer.
Example Question #87 : Analogies
Complete this analogy.
Stool is to furniture as hammer is to __________.
handyman
tool
sledge
nails
pounding
tool
While very simple seeming, this analogy does link the terms, namely by a member-to-class relationship. As stools are types of furniture, so are hammers types of tools. The other options among the answers are related to hammers—what they do, who uses them, of in other ways; however, none of the other options relates to “hammer” as a general class as “furniture” does to “stool.”
Example Question #7 : Example And Category
Complete this analogy.
Science is to astronomy as __________.
straight is to crooked
chair is to sitting
candy is to truffle
wisdom is to sophistry
skyscraper is to building
candy is to truffle
The best choice is "candy is to truffle." The relationship between "science" and "astronomy" is that astronomy is a type of science (category). Likewise, a "truffle" is a type of candy. Considering the other choices, "skyscraper is to building" shares the correct relationship, but uses an incorrect word order. The relationship in "chair is to sitting" is that a chair is used for sitting. "Wisdom" is part of the definition of "sophistry" as this word means false wisdom or reasoning, so the two words are antonyms, and "straight" and "crooked" are also antonyms.
Example Question #88 : Analogies
Complete this analogy.
Manuscript is to text as apartment is to __________.
efficient
miniscule
housing
rent
loft
housing
In its original usage, the word “manuscript” indicated a type of text written by hand. (The “manu-” portion is related to the word “manual,” which means related to the use of hands—think of “manual labor.” The “-script” portion is related not only to “script” but to “scribe,” “subscription,” and other such words). We now use the word to describe an unpublished version of an author’s work, e.g. the “manuscript” of a soon-to-be-published novel that is still being edited. “Manuscript” is related to “text” as a member to a class, as though to say, “as a manuscript is a type of text, so is an apartment a type of X.” While the word “loft” might seem appropriate, it is at best the opposite of what you need (if not totally unrelated). A “loft apartment” is a type of apartment—an apartment is not a type of loft! The best option, as simple as it might seem, is “housing,” for an apartment is a type of housing.
Example Question #89 : Analogies
Complete this analogy.
Orangutan is to primate as pediatrician is to __________.
patients
doctor
treatment
children
medical
doctor
Primates are the general class of monkeys, apes, humans, and so forth into which we can include orangutans. Thus, we have a case of a specific type being related to its general class. You could think of your bridge sentence as being something like, “As orangutans are types of primates, so are pediatricians types of X.” The only relevant general category offered among your options is “doctor.”
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