{"id":20476,"date":"2019-09-19T18:09:07","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T23:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=20476"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:40:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:40:35","slug":"the-ssat-synonyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/ssat\/the-ssat-synonyms\/","title":{"rendered":"The SSAT: Synonyms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Synonyms appear on all levels of the SSAT. At its most basic level, a synonym is a word that is similar in meaning to another defined word. Fast<\/em> is a synonym for quick<\/em>. OK, that makes sense. Unfortunately, if synonyms were that easy on the SSAT, the test wouldn\u2019t tell admissions officers very much.
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The Format<\/h3>
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\nThe synonyms you\u2019ll see on your actual test will be much more challenging than the example above, but they\u2019ll all follow the same logic. You\u2019ll see a word in capital letters (we call this the stem word), and it will be followed by five other words. One of them will be the synonym of the given word, and the others will not.
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EXAMPLE<\/h6>
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\nAUTHENTIC:
\n(A) genuine
\n(B) valuable
\n(C) ancient
\n(D) damaged
\n(E) historical
\nWhich of these words means authentic? Maybe you \u201cjust knew\u201d that the answer was (A), genuine, and maybe you didn\u2019t. Either way, you need a method that will work for you on both the easy and the hard Synonym questions.
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The Kaplan 3-Step Method for Synonyms<\/h3>
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\nStep 1:\u00a0<\/strong>Define the stem word.
\nStep 2:\u00a0<\/strong>Find the answer choice that best fits your definition.
\nStep 3:\u00a0<\/strong>If no choice fits, think of other definitions for the stem word and go through the choices again.
\nLet\u2019s take another look at the previous example, using the 3-Step Method.
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Step 1: Define the Stem Word<\/h4>
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\nWhat does authentic mean? Something authentic is something real, such as an authentic signature, rather than a forgery. Your definition might look like this: Something authentic can be proven to be what it claims to be.
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Step 2: Find the Answer Choice that Best Fits Your Definition<\/h4>
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\nGo through the answer choices one by one to see which one fits best. Your options are: genuine, valuable, ancient, damaged, and historical. Something authentic could be worth a lot or not much at all, old or new, in good shape or bad, or even recent or historical. The only word that really means the same thing as authentic is (A), genuine.
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Step 3: If No Choice Fits, Think of Other Definitions for the Stem Word and Go Through the Choices Again<\/h4>
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\nIn the previous example, one choice fit, but take a look at another one:
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EXAMPLE<\/h6>
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\nGRAVE:
\n(A) regrettable
\n(B) unpleasant
\n(C) serious
\n(D) careful
\n(E) lengthy
\nSay you defined grave<\/em> as a burial location. You looked at the choices and didn\u2019t see any words like tomb<\/em> or coffin<\/em>. What to do? Move to step 3 and go back to the stem word, thinking about other definitions. Have you ever heard of a \u201cgrave situation\u201d? Grave<\/em> can also mean serious or solemn, and you can see that (C), serious<\/em>, now fits the bill perfectly. If none of the answer choices seem to work with your definition, there may be a secondary definition you haven\u2019t yet considered.
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Avoiding Pitfalls<\/h3>
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\nOK, so we lied just a little bit. The 3-Step Method should always be the basis for tackling every question, but there are a few other things you need to know to perform your best on Synonyms. Fortunately, there are only two big pitfalls to watch out for.
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