AFOQT: Verbal Analogies Review

What Are Analogies Questions?
Analogies are pairs of terms that have a common relationship. Analogies questions are presented in the format, 'A is to B as C is to D,' meaning that terms A and B are related to one another in the same or similar way that terms C and D are related to each other. Terms A and B do not have to be related to terms C and D at all, though they usually will be.
Usually in the question, you will be given terms A, B, and C, and will just have to supply term D from the choices given. Occasionally, you may be given only terms A and B, and you will have to select a pair of terms for C and D.

What Sort of Relationships Will There Be?
Below are some examples of the types of analogies that may appear on the exam. Most of the questions you encounter will be relatively simple relationships, but here is an extensive list of the types of analogies that might show up.

Characteristic
Some characteristic analogies will focus on a characteristic of something else.
Dog : Paw – The foot of a dog is its paw.
Lady : Lovely – A lady has a lovely personality.
Outrageous : Lies – Lies can be described as being outrageous. will focus on something that is NOT a characteristic of something else.
Desert : Humidity – A desert does not have humidity.
Job : Unemployed – A person without a job is unemployed.
Quick : Considered – A quick decision is often not very considered.

Source
Casting : Metal – A casting is made from metal.
Forest : Trees – A forest is composed of trees.
Slogans : Banners – A slogan is printed on banners.

Location
Eiffel Tower : Paris – The Eiffel Tower is a structure in Paris.
Welsh : Wales – The Welsh are the inhabitants of Wales.
Pound : England – The pound is the monetary unit of England.

Sequential
One : Two – These are consecutive numbers.
Birth : Death – These are the first and last events of a life or project.
Spring : Summer – The season of spring immediately precedes summer.

Cause/Effect
Storm : Hail – Hail can be caused by a storm.
Heat : Fire – Heat results from a fire.
Monotony : Boredom – Boredom is a consequence of monotony.

Creator/Creation
Carpenter : House – A carpenter builds a house.
Painter : Portrait – A painter makes a portrait.
Burroughs : Tarzan – Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the novel Tarzan.

Provider/Provision
Job : Salary – A job provides a salary.
Therapist : Treatment – A therapist treats patients.
Army : Defense – An army enables national defense.

Object/Function
Pencil : Write – A pencil is used to write.
Pressure : Barometer – A barometer measures pressure.
Frown : Unhappy – A frown shows unhappiness.

User/Tool
Carpenter : Hammer – A carpenter uses a hammer.
Teacher : Chalk – A teacher uses chalk.
Farmer : Tractor – A farmer drives a tractor.

Whole/Part
Door : House – A door is part of a house.
State : Country – A country is made up of states.
Day : Month – A month consists of many days.

Grammatical Transformation
Ran : Run – These are different tenses of the same verb.
Die : Dice – These are singular and plural forms.
We : Our – These are pronouns related to groups.

Translation
Satan : Lucifer – These are both names for the devil.
Bon Voyage : Farewell – These are the French and English words for goodbye.
Japan : Nippon – These are two names for the same country.

Category
Door : Window – Both a door and a window are parts of a house.
Thigh : Shin – Both a thigh and a shin are parts of a leg.
Measles : Mumps – Both measles and mumps are types of diseases.

Synonym or Definition
These are analogies in which both terms have a similar meaning.
Chase : Pursue – Both of these terms mean to 'go after'.
Achieve : Accomplish – Both of these terms refer to the successful attainment of a goal.
Satiate : Satisfy – Both of these terms mean to gratify a desire.

Antonym or Contrast both terms have an opposite meaning.
Disguise : Reveal – To disguise something is not to reveal it, but to conceal it.
Peace : War – Peace is a state in which there is no war.
Forget : Remember – The word 'remember' means not to forget something.

Intensity either one term expresses a higher degree of something than the other term.
Exuberant : Happy – To be exuberant is to be extremely happy.
Break : Shatter – To shatter is to strongly break.
Deluge : Rain – A deluge is a heavy rain.

What Strategies Can I Use?
A huge vocabulary is not necessary to succeed on analogies questions (though it certainly doesn't hurt). In most cases though, you can determine the answer even if you don't recognize all the words. The strategies listed here will help you develop the ability to recognize basic relationships and apply simple steps and methods to solving them.

Determine the Relationship
Don't focus on the meanings, but rather the relationship between the two words.
To understand the relationship, first create a sentence that links the two words and puts them into perspective. The sentence that you use to connect the words can be simple at first.

Example:
Wood : Fire
Wood feeds a fire.
Then go through each answer choice and replace the words with the answer choices. If the question is easy, then that may be all that is necessary. If the question is hard, you might have to fine-tune your sentence.
Fire : Wood :: Cow : (a. grass, b. farmer)
Using the initial sentence, you would state 'Grass feeds a cow.' This is correct, but then so is the next answer choice 'Farmer feeds a cow.' So which is right? Modify the sentence to be more specific.
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Example: 'Wood feeds a fire and is consumed.'
This modified sentence makes answer choice B incorrect and answer choice A clearly correct, because while 'Grass feeds a cow and is consumed' is correct, 'farmer feeds a cow and is consumed' is definitely wrong.
If your initial sentence seems correct with more than one answer choice, then keep modifying it until only one answer choice makes sense.

Similar Choices
If you don't know the word, don't worry. Look at the answer choices and just use them. Remember that three of the answer choices will always be wrong. If you can find a common relationship between any three answer choices, then you know they are all wrong. Find the answer choice that does not have a common relationship to the other answer choices and it will be the correct answer.
Tough : Rugged :: Hard : (a. soft, b. easy, c. delicate, d. rigid)
In this example the first three choices are all opposites of the term 'hard'. Even if you don't know that rigid means the same as hard, you know it must be correct, because the other three all had the same relationship.
They were all opposites, so they must all be wrong. The one that has a different relationship from the other three must be correct. So, don't worry if you don't know a word. Focus on the answer choices that you do understand and see if you can identify common relationships. Even identifying two-word pairs with the same relationship (for example, two-word pairs that are both opposites) will allow you to eliminate those two answer choices, for they are both wrong.
A simple way to remember this is that if you have two or more answer choices that have the exact same relationship, then they are both or all wrong.
Example: (a. neat, b. orderly)
Since the two answer choices above are synonyms and therefore have the same relationship with the matching term, then you know that they both must be wrong, because they both can't be correct, and for all intents and purposes they are the same word. B. sure to read all of the choices. You may find an answer choice that seems right at first, but continue reading and you may find a better choice.
Difficult words are usually synonyms or antonyms (opposites). Whenever you have extremely difficult words that you don't understand, look at the answer choices. Try and identify whether two or more of the answer choices are either synonyms or antonyms. Remember that if you can find two-word pairs that have the same relationship (for example, they are both synonyms) then you can eliminate them both.
Eliminate choices as soon as you realize they are wrong, but be careful! Make sure you consider all of the possible answer choices. Don't worry if you are stuck between two that seem right. By eliminating the other two possible choices, your odds are now 50/50. Rather than wasting too much time, play the odds. You are guessing, but guessing wisely, because you've been able to knock out some of the answer choices that you know are wrong. If you are eliminating choices and realize that the answer choice you are left with is also obviously wrong, don't panic. Start over and consider each choice again. There may easily be something that you missed the first time and will realize on the second pass.

Word Types
The correct answer choice will contain words that are the same type of word as those in the word pair.
Artist : Paintbrush
In this example, an artist is a person, while a paintbrush is an object. The correct answer will have one word that describes a person and another word that describes an object.
Hedge : Gardener :: Rock : (a. wind, b. sculptor)
In this example, you could create the sentence, 'Gardener cuts away at hedges.' Both answer choices seem correct with this sentence, 'Wind cuts away at rocks' through the process of erosion, and 'sculptor cuts away at rocks' using a hammer and chisel. The difference is that a gardener is a person, as is a sculptor, while the wind is a thing, which makes answer choice B correct.

Nearly and Perfect Opposites
When you have determined which pair of terms you should work with, and know that the provided pair is an opposite, then you must find the opposite of the remaining unmatched term. Nearly opposite may often be more correct, because the goal is to test your understanding of the nuances, or little differences, between words. A perfect opposite may not exist, so don't be concerned if your answer choice is not a complete opposite. Focus upon edging closer to the word. Eliminate the words that you know aren't correct first. Then narrow your search. Cross out the words that are the most similar to the main word until you are left with the one that is the least similar.

Prefixes
Take advantage of every clue that the word might include. Prefixes and suffixes can be a huge help. Usually they allow you to determine a basic meaning. Pre- means before, post- means after, pro – is positive, de- is negative. From these prefixes and suffixes, you can get an idea of the general meaning of the word and look for its opposite. Beware though of any traps. Just because con is the opposite of pro, doesn't necessarily mean congress is the opposite of progress!

Positive vs. Negative
Many words can be easily determined to be a positive word or a negative word. Words such as despicable, and gruesome, bleak are all negative. Words such as ecstatic, praiseworthy, and magnificent are all positive. You will be surprised at how many words can be considered as either positive or negative. If you recognize a positive/negative relationship between the given pair of terms, then focus in on the answer choices that would duplicate that positive/negative relationship with the remaining term.

Word Strength
When analyzing a word, determine how strong it is. For example, stupendous and good are both positive words. However, stupendous is a much stronger positive adjective than good. Also, towering or gigantic are stronger words than tall or large. Search for an answer choice with either the same or opposite strength (depending on the relationship of the matched terms) to the remaining term.

Type and Topic
Another key is what type of word is the unmatched term. If the unmatched term is an adjective describing height, then look for the answer choice to be an adjective describing height as well. Match both the type and topic of the main word. The type refers the parts of speech, whether the word is an adjective, adverb, or verb. The topic refers to what the definition of the word includes, such as descriptive sizes (large, small, gigantic, etc.).

Form a Sentence
Many words seem more natural in a sentence. Specious reasoning, irresistible force, and uncanny resemblance are just a few of the word combinations that usually go together. When faced with an uncommon word that you barely understand, try to put the word in a sentence that makes sense. It will help you to understand the word's meaning and make it easier to determine its relationship. Once you have a good descriptive sentence that utilizes a main term or answer choice properly, plug in the answer choice or main term and see if a solid relationship can be established.

Use Logic
Ask yourself questions about each answer choice to see if they are logical.
Aromas : Smelt :: Poundings : (a. seen, b. heard)
Would poundings be 'seen'? Or would pounding be 'heard'? It can logically be deduced that poundings are heard.

The Trap of Familiarity
Don't just choose a word because you recognize it. On difficult questions, you may only recognize one or two words. There won't be any made up words on the test, so don't think that just because you only recognize one word means that word must be correct. If you don't recognize three words, then focus on the one that you do recognize. Is it correct? Try your best to determine if it fits the sentence you've created that shows the relationship between terms. If it does, that is great, but if it doesn't, eliminate it. Each word you eliminate increases your chances of getting the question correct.

Tough Questions at the remainder before moving on.

Read Carefully
Understand the analogy. Read the terms and answer choices carefully. Don't miss the question because you misread the terms. There are only a few words in each question, so you can spend time reading them carefully. Yet a happy medium must be attained, so don't waste too much time. You must read carefully, but efficiently.

Brainstorm
If you get stuck on a difficult analogy, spend a few seconds quickly brainstorming. Run through the complete list of possible relationships.
Break down each answer choice into all of the potential combinations with the two possible analogous terms. Since there are four answer choices and each answer choice could form a pair with one of two terms, then there are only eight possible relationships to test. Look at each relationship and see if it would make sense. Test with sentences to determine if any relationship can be established. By systematically going through all possibilities, you may find something that you would otherwise overlook.

Practice Questions

1. STIRRUP is to EAR as ATRIUM is to a. blood b. ventricle c. vestibule d. heart e. chamber

2. DWELLING is to CONDOMINIUM as MEAL is to a. entree b. brunch c. appetizer d. plate e. dessert

3. FRAGRANT is to SMELL as MELLIFLUOUS is to a. sound b. pleasant c. fluid d. taste e. soothing

4. BRACELET is to JEWELRY as POMEGRANATE is to a. seeds b. edible c. fruit d. acidic e. citrus

5. LOUD is to DEAFENING as HAPPY is to a. ecstatic b. glad c. morose d. content e. depressed

6. FACILE is to EASY as LOQUACIOUS is to a. silent b. difficult c. friendly d. lacking e. talkative

7. ABATE is to INCREASE as ABHOR a. despise b. love c. tolerate d. abdicate e. hate

8. QUILLS is to PORCUPINE as TUSKS is to a. proboscis b. horn c. ivory d. elephant e. nose

9. DUPLICITY is to DECEPTION as AVARICE is to a. greed b. money c. average d. accumulate e. benevolent

10. WHISPER is to YELL as TAP is to a. water b. pat c. dance d. jab e. jump

11. EUCALYPTUS is to TREE as IRIS is to a. tulip b. purple c. eye d. face e. flower

12. IRKSOME is to TEDIOUS as INTRIGUING is to a. fascinating b. silly c. unlikely d. impossible e. irritating

Practice Answers

1. D: This is a 'part to whole' analogy. Just as the stirrup is a part of the ear, so is the atrium a part of the heart.

2. B: In 'type' analogies, one word in the stem names a category that encompasses the other. Just as a condominium is a type of dwelling, so is brunch a type of meal.

3. A: This analogy is that of adjective to noun. Fragrant is an adjective modifying the noun smell in a positive way. Mellifluous is an adjective modifying the noun sound in a positive way.

4. C: In this 'type' analogy, one word in the stem names a category that encompasses the other. A bracelet is a type of jewelry, just as a pomegranate is a type of fruit.

5. A: In this analogy of relative degree, the second term in each pair indicates a more intense degree of the first term. Deafening is a more intense version of loud, just as ecstatic is a more intense version of happy.

6. E: This analogy is based on synonyms. Just as facile and easy mean about the same thing, so do loquacious and talkative.

7. B: This analogy is based on antonyms. Just as abate means the opposite of increase, so does abhor mean the opposite of love.

8. D: This analogy names prominent features of each animal. Quills are a prominent feature of a porcupine, just as tusks are a prominent feature of an elephant.

9. A: This is another synonym-based analogy. Duplicity and deception mean about the same thing, just as avarice and greed do. You might have been tempted to choose D, which suggests something that an avaricious person might do, but greed is the better answer since it is a noun, as avarice is.

10. D: This is an analogy of relative degree. A yell is a much louder version of a whisper, just as a jab is a much harder version of a tap.

11. E: This is an analogy indicating types, since a eucalyptus is one type of tree, and an iris is one type of flower.

12. A: In this analogy based on synonyms, irksome means about the same as tedious, just as intriguing means about the same as fascinating.