HSPT: Synonyms: define the word before you look
Learn to pin down a word's meaning in your own words, use word parts and a quick sentence when it's hazy, and skip the four kinds of near-miss wrong answer.
How do you pick the closest synonym when two choices both seem to fit?
Short answer
Say what the word means in a few plain words before you read the choices, then pick the choice that means the same thing. Cross out opposites, look-alikes and words that are only related.
Know first: Everyday word meanings, Common prefixes such as un-, pre- and re-
Step 1 of 5
A synonym matches the meaning, not the topic
A synonym question gives you one word and asks for the choice closest in meaning to it. The wrong choices are rarely random. Most are words that sit near the right meaning: an opposite, a word about the same topic, or a word that only looks similar.
So the order you work in matters. If you read the choices first, the near-misses pull at you. If you know the meaning first, they fall away.
| Tool | How to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Put it in a sentence | Recall a phrase you've heard the word in, then guess what it means there. | a hearty meal means a large, filling meal |
| Use word parts | Break off a prefix or root you know. | bene means good, so benevolent means kind; in- plus aud (hear) makes inaudible, unable to be heard |
| Check the charge | Decide whether the word feels positive or negative, then drop choices with the other charge. | Malicious starts with mal (bad), so it's negative: meaning to cause harm |
Even a rough sense of the word, such as "negative" or "something about speed," can knock out two choices.
Step 2 of 5
Watch the near-misses fall away
| Kind of wrong answer | What it looks like for frail |
|---|---|
| The opposite | sturdy |
| A related idea | elderly: older people can be frail, but the words don't mean the same thing |
| A look-alike or sound-alike | flail: one letter apart, a different meaning |
| A word from the same scene | pale: a frail person might look pale, but pale describes color, not strength |
Worked example: Closest in meaning to *hasten*
Choose the word closest in meaning to hasten.
- Adelay
- Bhurry
- Charden
- Dfrighten
- 1
Define it first
Hasten means to hurry or to make something happen sooner. A sentence helps: We hastened home before the storm.
- 2
Replace the word
We delayed home reverses the meaning. We hurried home keeps it. We hardened home and we frightened home make no sense.
- 3
Name the wrong choices
Delay is the opposite. Harden is the look-alike, since it shares the -en ending and the ha- start. Frighten only shares the ending.
Answer
hurry. It's the only choice that can replace hasten without changing the sentence's meaning.
Find the wrong step
A student answers this question: Choose the word closest in meaning to candid. (A) sugary (B) frank (C) secretive (D) famous
- 1
Covers the choices and tries to define candid.
- 2
Decides candid looks like candy, so it must mean something sweet.
What went wrong
That's a look-alike guess. Spelling can hint at a meaning, but candy and candid aren't related.
- 3
Picks (A) sugary.
The fix
Use a sentence instead: She gave a candid answer about her mistake. Candid means honest and direct, so the answer is (B) frank. Secretive is the opposite.
Step 3 of 5
Try it yourself
Check yourself · Question 1
Choose the word closest in meaning to loyal.
Answer: C
A loyal person sticks by someone and can be trusted: a loyal dog that waits by the door. Faithful means the same thing.
Trap answer: kingly
Look-alike word
- Why it looks right
- Loyal and royal differ by one letter, so kingly feels connected.
- Why it's wrong
- Shared letters don't make shared meaning. A loyal person sticks by someone, and that has nothing to do with kings.
- The right answer
- faithful, because a loyal person stays true to someone.
Check yourself · Question 2
Choose the word closest in meaning to grave as in The doctor's face was grave.
Answer: B
Grave has two common meanings: a burial place (a noun) and serious or worried (an adjective). In this sentence it describes a face, so it means serious.
Common mistake
Picking the first choice that feels familiar.
- Why it's tempting
- With only a few seconds per question, the first word you recognize seems like a safe bet.
- Do this instead
- Define the word before you read the choices. Then ask whether each choice could replace your definition, and remember that some words have more than one meaning.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Define the word in your own plain words before you look at the choices.
- When the word is hazy, try a phrase you've heard it in, a word part, or its positive or negative charge.
- Cross out opposites, look-alikes and words that are only related to the topic.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
What definition did you give the word in the practice question before you looked at the choices? Which wrong choice came closest, and what kind of near-miss was it?