Verbal Reasoning · 4 min read
Verbal Reasoning · Synonym Questions · Word Parts: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots
The Verbal Reasoning section measures how well you understand words and how words work together in a sentence. It has 34 questions to answer in 20 minutes, so you have a little more than half a minute for each one. You will see two types of questions: Synonyms, where you choose the word that means the same or almost the same as a word in capital letters, and Sentence Completions, where you choose the word that best fills a blank in a sentence.
Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. Each synonym question shows one word in capital letters followed by four answer choices. Your job is to choose the word that means the same or almost the same as the capitalized word. The words range from everyday terms to more challenging academic vocabulary, so these questions test your vocabulary knowledge directly.
HAPPY: (A) sad (B) joyful (C) angry (D) tired
The correct answer is (B) joyful, because joyful means the same as happy.
Strategies for Synonym Questions
Define the word first
If you know the word, think of its meaning before you look at the choices. Then find the choice that matches your definition.
Use the word in a sentence
Make up a short sentence with the capitalized word, then try each answer choice in its place. The correct answer keeps the sentence's meaning the same.
Look for word parts
Many words contain prefixes, suffixes, and roots that give clues to their meaning. Learning these word parts helps you figure out unfamiliar words.
Eliminate wrong answers
Cross out choices you know are wrong. Each one you remove makes it easier to find the correct answer among the choices that remain.
Watch for look-alikes
Some choices look or sound like the capitalized word but mean something different. Focus on meaning, not on spelling or sound.
A prefix is added to the beginning of a root word and changes or adds to its meaning. A suffix is added to the end of a word and often changes its part of speech. A root is the core part of a word that carries its main meaning. Put the parts together and you can often work out the meaning of a word you have never seen.
Essential Prefixes
| Prefxi | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un- | not opposite , | unhappy(nothappy) unfair unclear unlikely uncomfortable , , , , |
| re- | again back , | redo(doagain) return(comeback) rebuild rewrite replay , , , , |
| pre- | before | preview(viewbefore) preheat prepay preschool prehistoric , , , , |
| mis- | wrong badly , | mistake misunderstand misspell mislead misplace , , , , |
| dis- | not opposite , | disagree disappear dislike dishonest disconnect , , , , |
| in-, im-, il ir- -, | not | incorrect impossible illegal irregular invisible , , , , |
| over- | toomuch above , | overflow overeat overlook overseas , , , |
| under- | below notenough , | underground underweight underwater underline , , , |
| sub - | under below , | submarine(underthesea) subway subzero subtitle , , , |
| trans- | across | transport(carryacross) transfer translate transform transparent , , , , |
Essential Suffixes
| Suffxi | Meaning | Examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ful | fullof | helpful careful beautiful wonderful thankful , , , , | ||
| -less | without | helpless careless fearless homeless harmless , , , , | ||
| -able -ible , | abletobe | readable breakable visible possible comfortable , , , , | ||
| -er -or , | onewhodoes | teacher actor writer visitor worker , , , , | ||
| -tion -sion , | actof stateof , | action education decision attention invention , , , , | ||
| -ly | inacertainway(makes | quickly slowly happily carefully suddenly , , , , | ||
| -ness -ment | adverbs) stateofbeing(makesnouns) actof resultof , | happiness kindness darkness sadness weakness , , , , agreement movement excitement payment treatment , , , , | 1 |
Essential Root Words
| Root | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| spect | look see , | inspect(lookinto) respect spectator(onewholooks) spectacle , , , , |
| suspect | ||
| port | carry | transport(carryacross) import export portable report , , , , |
| dict | say speak , | predict(saybefore) dictionary dictate contradict(speakagainst) , , , , |
| verdict | ||
| scrib script , | write | describe prescription inscribe manuscript subscribe , , , , |
| rupt | break | interrupt(breakbetween) erupt(breakout) disrupt abrupt corrupt , , , , |
| struct | build | construct(buildtogether) instruct structure obstruct destruction , , , , |
| ject | throw | reject(throwback) inject project(throwforward) object subject , , , , |
| tract | pull drag , | attract(pulltoward) subtract tractor extract(pullout) distract , , , , |
| graph | write draw , | photograph(lightwriting) autograph biography paragraph telegraph , , , , |
| phon | sound | telephone(soundfromfar) microphone symphony phonics , , , , |
| saxophone |
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