Synonyms

1 · What the question looks like

The Verbal Reasoning section starts with synonyms. Each question shows one word in capital letters and four choices. Pick the choice that means most nearly the same.

Example: CANDID (A) sweet (B) frank (C) hidden (D) careful. A candid answer is honest and direct, so "frank" is closest.

2 · Define it first

Cover the choices and say what the word means in your own words. "LETHARGIC: slow, without energy." Then look for the match: sluggish.

If you read the choices first, a word that sounds familiar can pull you in before you have thought about the meaning.

3 · Where have you heard it?

Many hard words live in familiar phrases. "A unanimous vote" (everyone agreed), "a tentative plan" (not final), "mitigating circumstances" (making something less serious).

Put the word into the phrase, then swap in each choice. The one that keeps the meaning is the answer.

4 · Roots do a lot of the work

bene good, mal bad, chron time, ver true, loqu/locu speak, amb both or around, cred believe, voc call, fid faith, pac peace, vor eat.

LOQUACIOUS (loqu = speak) means talkative. CREDULOUS (cred = believe) means too quick to believe, gullible.

5 · Prefixes

in-, im-, un-, dis-, a- mean not. circum- around, pre- before, post- after, sub- under, super- above, inter- between, re- again or back.

INDELIBLE = not able to be deleted: permanent. Careful: INFLAMMABLE means easy to set on fire, the same as flammable. Prefixes are clues, not proof.

6 · Positive or negative charge

Even when you cannot define a word, you can often tell whether it sounds good or bad. DISPARAGE feels negative (dis-), so cross out praise and support.

Then choose among what is left: to disparage is to belittle.

7 · Same part of speech

The answer is the same part of speech as the capitalized word. -ous, -ive, -ful, -ent, -ible usually mark adjectives; -tion, -ment, -ity, -ance mark nouns; -ize, -ate, -fy often mark verbs.

If the word is a verb, a noun choice is almost never the answer.

8 · The traps

The antonym: for SCARCE, "abundant" is there because it is linked in your memory. The look-alike: ELICIT is not "illicit"; to elicit is to draw out. The same topic: for NAUTICAL, "ocean" and "fish" go with the sea, but nautical means having to do with ships and sailing.

9 · Close but not the same strength

Some choices are near the meaning but too strong or too weak. ANNOYED is not "furious". FRUGAL (careful with money) is not "stingy" in tone, and certainly not "poor".

When two choices both seem right, pick the one that could replace the word in the most sentences.

10 · Second meanings

If no choice matches your meaning, think of another one. TEMPER can be a mood, but as a verb it means to soften or moderate ("temper your criticism"). COUNTENANCE is a face, but to countenance something is to allow it.

11 · Pacing

The section has 40 questions in 20 minutes, about 30 seconds each. Synonyms should go quickly. If you do not know a word, use roots and charge, make your best choice, and keep moving; there is no penalty for a wrong answer.