The SSAT verbal section: synonyms and analogies

Updated November 3, 2026

The verbal section is the fastest part of the middle level SSAT: 60 questions in 30 minutes, about 30 seconds each. The first 30 are synonyms and the last 30 are analogies. Both reward vocabulary, but both also have methods that work on words your child only half knows.

How it's laid out

PartQuestionsWhat it asks
Synonyms30Which choice means most nearly the same as the word in capitals
Analogies30Which pair is related the same way as the first pair

Questions get harder as the section goes on, so the first ones in each part are worth answering carefully.

Pacing

  1. 1Answer what your child knows right away. Many synonyms take 10 seconds.
  2. 2On a hard one, cross out what's clearly wrong. If at least one choice is gone, guess and move on.
  3. 3If nothing can be crossed out, skip it. A wrong answer costs a quarter point.
  4. 4Leave time for the analogies. They take longer than synonyms.

Synonyms in short

Use the word in a sentence, feel whether it's positive or negative, and break it into parts. Watch for choices that go with the word but don't mean it. More in synonym strategies.

Question 1

RESILIENT most nearly means:

  1. Aable to recover
  2. Bunwilling to bend
  3. Ceasily damaged
  4. Deager to compete
  5. Eslow to act
Show the answer

A, able to recover. Resilient means able to recover or bounce back after difficulty. Unwilling to bend describes stiffness, while resilient things bend and spring back.

Question 2

PRUDENT most nearly means:

  1. Agenerous
  2. Bsensible
  3. Cstrict
  4. Dtimid
  5. Efortunate
Show the answer

B, sensible. Prudent means showing sensible, careful judgment about consequences. Timid means easily frightened, which is fear rather than good judgment.

Question 3

MITIGATE most nearly means:

  1. Alessen
  2. Beliminate
  3. Cpostpone
  4. Doverlook
  5. Epredict
Show the answer

A, lessen. Mitigate means make something less severe or less harmful. Eliminate goes too far, because it means remove completely.

Analogies in short

Make a sentence that links the first pair, then test every choice with the same sentence. Check the direction, and ignore choices that are just about the same topic. More in how to solve analogies.

Question 1

Verify is to accuracy as...

  1. Ainvestigate is to curiosity
  2. Bpreserve is to age
  3. Cevaluate is to quality
  4. Dsimplify is to difficulty
  5. Epersuade is to agreement
Show the answer

C, evaluate is to quality. Verifying checks how accurate something is, and evaluating checks how good its quality is. Curiosity may be the reason someone investigates, but it is not the thing being checked.

Question 2

Archipelago is to islands as...

  1. Aocean is to water
  2. Bshore is to sand
  3. Cgalaxy is to stars
  4. Dcaptain is to sailors
  5. Eharbor is to boats
Show the answer

C, galaxy is to stars. An archipelago is a group of islands, and a galaxy is a group of stars. A harbor is a place where boats stay, not the name for a group of them.

Question 3

Dislike is to loathe as...

  1. Aadore is to like
  2. Bfear is to dread
  3. Cbeg is to ask
  4. Dsprint is to stroll
  5. Ehurl is to toss
Show the answer

B, fear is to dread. To loathe is to dislike something intensely, and to dread is to fear something intensely. Adore/like is about feelings too, but it goes from stronger to milder.

Build the vocabulary

Word lists help most when the words come back in real questions. Start with the vocabulary lists by grade, with printable flashcards, and word roots. Rookling's practice brings back the words your child misses until they stick.

Questions parents ask

How long is the SSAT verbal section?
30 minutes for 60 questions on the middle level SSAT: 30 synonyms, then 30 analogies.
Which is harder, synonyms or analogies?
It depends on the child. Synonyms lean on vocabulary. Analogies lean on spotting the relationship, which is very learnable with practice.

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