The Verbal section of the GRE contains approximately 6-8 analogy questions, which present two words that are related in some way. You job is to :
a) discover the relationship
b) find another pair of words that is related in the same way
Example:
WAGGISH : LAUGHS ::
(A) risible: yawns
(B) bilious : smiles
(C) lachrymose : tears
(D) ribald : moans
(E) frown grin
The correct answer is C. A remark that is waggish is designed to produce laughs. Likewise, something that is lachrymose (sad) will produce tears.
What does the colon mean:
Single colon (:) means "is related to"
Double colon (::) means "in the same way that"
To answer analogy questions, use the following strategy:
1) Before looking at the answer choices, think of a short sentence that describes the relationship between the two words.
Example: RACKET: TENNIS
A racket is used to play tennis
2) Find the pair of words in the answers that can be substituted for the original pair.
Example:
RACKET: TENNIS
(A) type : book
(B) ball : soccer
(C) glove : baseball
(D) club : golf
(E) board : chess
In this case, our sentence "A racket is used to play tennis" eliminates only one answer choice, (A) .
3) If more than one answer choice fits your paraphrase, make your statement more specific.
We must write a more specific sentence that demonstrates the relationship between the words Racket and Tennis:
A racket is used to strike a ball in the game of tennis.
This more specific sentence allows us to eliminate all the answer choices except D. Just as a club is used to strike a golf ball, a racket is used to strike a tennis ball.
4) Eliminate answer choices that do not have a clear and obvious relationship. Always consider the meaning of the word being used. In difficult analogy problems, rare or esoteric meanings of words are commonly used.
5) If one of the given words has more than one part of speech, determine how it is being used in the analogy. The parts of speech will be consistent in analogy problems. If the given pair of words is an adjective and a noun, then each answer pair will be an adjective and a noun, in that order.
6) Carefully scrutinize answers pairs that remind you of the original pair, but have a different relationship. The correct answer pair will have the same relationship as the original pair, but the words in the answer will usually be in an entirely different category.
Example:
EXCERPT : NOVEL ::
(A) critique : play
(B) review : manuscript
(C) swatch : cloth
(D) foreward : preface
(E) recital : performance
The correct answer to this problem is C. An excerpt is part of a novel, just as a swatch is part of a cloth. However, many testakers are distracted by choices B and D, which contain words that ALSO relate to novels.
7) Be aware of the most common types of analogies that appear on the test:
a) Synonyms
provisions : supplies
potent : omen
diligent : assiduous
b) Antonyms
assist : hinder
enthrall : bore
incomparable : equal
c) Member and class
aria : song
robin : bird
slipper : shoe
d) Degree of Intensity
walk : run
drizzle : rain
grow : burgeon
e) Part to a whole
professors : faculty
page : book
limb : tree
f) Definition (one word defines the other)
shark : scavenger
lion : carnivore
refuge : sanctuary
g) Lack of / Absence of
amoral : ethics
anonymous : name
destitute : wealth
h) Manner or style
promenade: walk
prattle : speak
sashay : walk
i) Function or purpose
pencil: writing
tractor : plowing
hyphen : join
j) Action and significance
smile : happiness
frown : disappointment
bow : reverence
k) Pertaining to
didactic : teach
forensic : debate
ontology : being
l) Symbol and representation
period : stop
Trojan horse : deception
brackets : enclose
m) Different Connotations of words
interrogate : question
conspire : collaborate
bias : inspire
n) Cause and effect
sun : sunburn
overeating : indigestion
debt : overspending
o) Product and source
curtains : cloth
window : glass
fireplace : brick
p) Spatial order
epilogue : story
postscript : epistle
intermission : play
q) Time order
outline : essay
blueprint : house
crawling : walking
r) Worker and tool
welder : torch
musician : piano
artist : paintbrush
s) Worker and workplace
chef : kitchen
judge: courtroom
farmer : meadow
t) Worker and creation
artist : sketch
architecht : blueprint
composer : etude
u) Action to object
play : clarinet
incise : knife
drain : colander
The following plan of attack for defining words:
a) Define the stem word. If you don't know the precise definition of the word in capital letters, an approximate definition will probably be sufficient. Most words are built or derived from other words with which you may be more familiar:
Examples:
a) tempestuous Related Words temper
b) perturbation Related Word: perturbed
c) severance Related Word: sever
b) Put the word in context. When we speak, we use words in phrases in sentences, rather than in isolation. Yet words that we understand fully in sentences may appear unfamiliar when we view them out of context. When you see a word on the GRE, put it in a familiar context to better understand its meaning.
Examples:
a) savant "idiot savant" means genious
b) gratuitous "gratuitous violence" means unnecessary
c) requiem "requiem for a heavyweight" means a rest
c) Test the word for positive or negative connotations.
i) Any word that starts with "de-", "dis-" or "anti-" is usually negative. This includes degradation, discrepancy, debase, antipathy
ii) Words that include the concept of going up are usually positive, while those that include the concept of going down are usually negative.
Positive examples: elevate, ascend, adulation, illustrious
Negative examples: decline, suborn, derision, consecrate
d) Watch out for words that look similar, but have different meanings.
Examples: ambulance/ambulatory, suffer/suffrage, friend/fiend, platitude/gratitude, inspired/insipid, vicious/viscous, noble/ignoble
e) Don't overlook rare meanings of words, as they are commonly used on the GRE. The parts of speech in an analogy problem will be consistent throughout the problem. If the given word is a verb, all of the answer choices will also be verbs. This helps you to quickly determine if the word is being used in a secondary sense, as common words have different meanings if they are used as verbs, nouns or adjectives.
Words that are commonly used as both nouns and verbs:
curb document table harbor
rent steep flower bolt
champion air bustle
10 Analogy Questions (w/ Solutions)
1. TRUSS: SUPPORT::
(A) calcium: bone
(B) fence: barrier
(C) tile: patio
(D) wood. burn
(E) tobacco: cigarette
2. REEL: TAPE ::
(A) ball: string
(B) turntable: record
(C) tire: wheel
(D) skein: yarn
(E) spool: thread
3. SHINGLE: ROOF::
(A) rind: melon
(B) armor: knight
(C) feather: wing
(D) patch: cloth
(E) canopy: bed
4. RHETORIC : ORATOR::
(A) legerdemain : magician
(B) baggage: immigrant
(C) justice: lawyer
(D) map: cartographer
(E) tractor: farmer
5. INDISPUTABLE: QUESTION ::
(A) unlikely: know
(B) amoral: perform
(C) incredible: prove
(D) immutable: change
(E) insoluble: submerge
6. UNSCATHED: DAMAGE ::
(A) ameliorated: improvement
(B) obliterated: invisibility
(C) rolled: flatness
(D) shaken: homogeneity
(E) arid: dampness
7. PROTRACTION: DURATION::
(A) extension: length
(B) retraction: instant
(C) corruption: truth
(D) taxation: wealth
(E) altercation: shape
8. PORTRAIT : CARICATURE::
(A) serialization: novel
(B) drama: musical
(C) theater: vaudeville
(D) saga: epic
(E) characterization : parody
9. STARS: GALAXY::
(A) cells: prison
(B) sand: dune
(C) nuclei: atom
(D) eggs : nest
(E) hair: head
10. ATROPHY : INACTIVITY::
(A) resistance : timidity
(B) frown : anger
(C) growth : youth
(D) rot : refrigeration
(E) debt : overspending
Solutions to Analogy Questions
1. B is correct. A truss is used as a support.
Likewise, a fence is used as a barrier.
2. E is correct. A reel is an object that tape winds around.
Likewise, a spool is an object that thread winds around.
3. C is correct. Many shingles make up the outer covering of a rook.
Likewise, many feathers make up the outer covering of a wing.
4. A is correct. Rhetoric is a skill used by an orator.
Likewise, legerdemain is a skill used by a magician.
5. D is correct. Something indisputable cannot be questioned.
Likewise, something immutable cannot be changed.
6. E is correct. Somthing unscathed lacks damage.
Likewise, something arid lacks dampness.
7. A is correct. A protraction is an increase in duration.
Likewise, an extension is an increase in length.
8. E is correct. An exaggerated portrait is a caricature.
Likewise, an exaggerated characterization is a parody.
9. B is correct. Stars make up a galaxy.
Likewise, sand makes up a dune.
10. E is correct. Atrophy is caused by inactivity.
Likewise, debt is caused by overspending.
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