1 · What the question looks like
Each synonym question shows one word in capital letters and four choices. Pick the choice that means most nearly the same as the capitalized word.
Example: FRAGILE (A) heavy (B) delicate (C) ancient (D) colorful. Something fragile breaks easily, so "delicate" is the closest.
2 · Say your own meaning first
Before you look at the choices, say what the word means in your own words. "RELUCTANT: not wanting to do something." Then find the choice that matches: unwilling.
If you look at the choices first, a familiar word can pull you in.
3 · Put it in a sentence
If you half-know a word, think of where you have heard it. "The hikers were weary after the long climb." Weary means tired.
Then try each choice in your sentence. The one that keeps the meaning is the answer.
4 · Prefixes
un-, in-, im-, dis- mean "not": unable, invisible, impatient, dishonest. re- means "again": rebuild. pre- means "before": preview. mis- means "wrongly": misjudge.
IMMOBILE is "not mobile", not able to move: motionless.
5 · Roots
bene = good (benefit), mal = bad (malfunction), port = carry (portable), spect = look (inspect), dict = say (predict), aud = hear (audible), vis/vid = see (visible).
AUDIBLE = able to be heard: loud enough to hear.
6 · Suffixes tell you the part of speech
-ous, -ful, -ive, -able usually make adjectives (describing words): cautious, hopeful, creative, reliable. -tion, -ness, -ment make nouns. -ly makes adverbs.
The answer has the same part of speech as the capitalized word. If the word is an adjective, a noun choice is almost never right.
7 · Positive or negative?
Even if you do not know a word, you may sense whether it is good or bad. MALICIOUS sounds negative (mal = bad), so cross out the positive choices.
Of what is left, pick the one that fits best: spiteful.
8 · Trap: the opposite
Test writers often put the antonym among the choices, because it is connected to the word in your memory. For SCARCE, "plentiful" is a trap; the answer is rare.
9 · Trap: the look-alike and the same-topic word
ADAPT looks like "adopt", but adapt means adjust. VOYAGE is about travel, so "ship" and "ocean" feel right, but a voyage is a journey.
A choice that goes with the word is not the same as a choice that means the word.
10 · Words with more than one meaning
If no choice fits your meaning, think of a second meaning. BOLT can be a lock or a dash: if "dash" is a choice, that is it.
When two choices both seem close, pick the one that would fit in more of the same sentences.
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