Qualities and Features - SSAT Upper Level: Verbal

Since someone who is bald has no hair, we need to pick out an answer choice that is an adjective and describes someone who has no money. While "tightfisted" might seem like a good answer choice because it has to do with money, "tightfisted" actually means miserly. Since "tightfisted" doesn't mean having no money, it can't be the correct answer. "Destitute," on the other hand, is an adjective which can mean either extremely poor or lacking necessities. Since someone who is destitute lacks money just as someone who is bald lacks hair, "destitute" is the correct answer.

Since "frozen" is an adjective that correctly describes "ice cream," we need to pick out an answer choice that is something accurately described by the adjective "porous," which means having holes in it through which things may pass. While "rock" may seem like a potentially correct answer, only certain types of rocks are porous; however, all nets are porous, so "net" is the better answer, and the correct one.

If you regard things with credulity, you find nothing unbelievable. If you regard things with apathy, you find nothing interesting.

To be craven is to lack bravery. To be scarce is to lack abundance.

Torrid describes the weather in the tropics, and frigid describes the weather in the arctic.

A recluse is someone who is defined as being solitary or apart from society. An artist is someone who is defined as being creative. Thus, the two relationships between the pairs of words are the same.

“Grain” is a noun that can mean the way in which fibers are arranged in wood, so grain is a pattern that is found in wood and we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word describes a visual feature of the second. While “breed is to dog” and “motif is to wallpaper” might each look like a potential correct answer, “breed” is synonymous with type of dog, and since “grain” does not mean type of wood, “breed is to dog” cannot be the correct answer; however, “motif” is a noun that means an ornamental pattern, and because a motif is a visual pattern found on wallpaper while grain is a visual pattern found on wood, “motif is to wallpaper” is the correct answer.

"Oppression" is an experience of people under an "autocracy," so to solve this analogy you must identify which answer choice is an experience of people under a "democracy." This should lead you to the correct answer, “liberty.” For clarification, "autocracy" is a government in which one person holds unlimited power.

“Sugar” is a noun that means “a sweet crystalline substance.” So, because sugar tastes sweet, we need to pick out an answer choice that is a noun representing a food that tastes spicy. While all of the potential answer choices are foods, only “jalapeño” (“a very hot green chili pepper”) is a food that tastes spicy. So, because jalapeños are spicy just as sugar is sweet, “jalapeño” is the correct answer.

“Metallic” is an adjective that means “of, relating to, or resembling metal or metals.” So, something that is metallic can be made of metal, meaning that we need to pick out an answer choice that describes the material that something that is “ceramic” consists of. While all of the answer choices except for “bowl” refer to materials, “ceramic” specifically means “made of clay and hardened by heat,” so “clay” is the correct answer.

A philanthropist is someone who is charitable so the relationship can be established as the following: Charitable behavior is something that would be expected of a philanthropist so what kind of behavior is likely to be expected of a priest? This should lead to the correct answer which is “spiritual.” For clarification, "spiritual" means focused on religious or divine matters; "miserly" means not generous and is an antonym of charitable; "temerity" is a type of boldness or audacity; "eloquent" refers to a type of speech that is stylish and easily understood.

A glutton is someone who is greedy and selfish; restraint means ability to control oneself and prevent oneself from over-indulgence. A glutton is someone who would not show restraint so to solve this analogy you must identify what kind of behavior a braggart would be unlikely to demonstrate. A braggart is someone who boasts and is arrogant (think “brag”) so you can determine that a braggart would not demonstrate “modesty.”

An oration is a speech, often one given at a ceremony. It comes both from the Latin for to pray as well as more distantly from the word for mouth. (Think of words like “oral” and “adore.”) Thus, an oration is a type of spoken communication. We could write a bridge sentence like, “As an oration is something that is spoken, so is a transcript something that is X.” A transcript is a written version of some communication. For instance, a transcript of a television show is the written version made for people to read after the show has aired.

A pedant is a person who shows a great deal of learning to the point of being tedious and boring—going through every detail almost in a ridiculous fashion. Thus, “tedious” is an adequate description for a pedant. Someone who “transgresses” goes beyond the boundaries of the law. The “trans-” prefix means across (as in “transfer,” meaning, to carry across), and the “-gress” comes from the Latin for to step. It is related to many words like “grade,” “gradual,” “progress,” and “digress.” The options “judged” and “sentenced” might apply to a transgressor after a court case that acknowledges the guilt. In any case, a transgressor in general can be said to be guilty even before this is acknowledged in a court. This is the best description among those provided.

A pedestrian is someone who travels by walking. You likely use the word to describe people walking in a town in contrast to those who are using motor vehicles or bicycles. The word actually comes from the Latin for “foot” and is related to the similar sounding beginning of the word “podiatrist”—a doctor specializing in care of the foot. Thus the bridge sentence for our analogy could be written as, “Just as a pedestrian travels by walking, so a mariner travels by X.” A “mariner” is a sailor. The word is derived from the Latin for “sea” and is related to the English words “marine” and “submarine.” A sailor travels by sailing.

The word “credence” means belief in the truth of something. If someone is "trustworthy," we are likely to give credence to his or her words or claims. Something "malicious" is evil or ill-intentioned and harmful. Such a thing or person deserves to be feared, which adequately fulfills the parallel for this analogy.

A shield could be used by someone to defend themselves, so it could be described as “defensive,” or “used or intended to defend or protect.” So, we need to pick out an answer choice that is an adjective that describes a sword. While “protective” and “offensive” might each look like a potentially correct answer choice, “protective” means “capable of or intended to protect,” and does not describe a sword, so “protective” cannot be the correct answer. “Offensive,” however, is an adjective that can mean “meant for use in attack” when being used of a weapon, and because “offensive” aptly describes a sword just as “defensive” aptly describes a shield, “offensive” is the correct answer.

The word “pulmonary” comes from the Latin word for the lungs. It is used to in English to describe physical conditions related to these organs, as when someone has pulmonary embolism, which is a type of blockage of blood to the lung. Just as “pulmonary” describes the lungs, “cardiac” describes conditions related to the heart.

Someone who is “laconic” uses few words. “Shy” is not necessarily synonymous with “laconic,” so a good way to understand this analogy is to form a sentence like, “As someone who is shy is likely to be laconic, so is someone who is depressed likely to be X.” The word “lachrymose” means tearful or likely to weep. The word is taken from the Latin for tear or to cry. The “tear ducts” that produce fluid in the eye are called the lacrimal glands. To be “depressed” is not synonymous with being “lachrymose,” but just like the case with shyness and being laconic, it is likely that someone who is depressed will be given to weeping.