Analogies on the GRE

The Verbal section of the GRE contains approximately 7 analogy questions, which present two words that are related in some way. You must:

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 the colons 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) forward : 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 test takers 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

architect : blueprint

composer : etude

u) Action to object

play : clarinet

incise : knife

drain : colander

8) Boost your vocabulary.

Analogies are probably the hardest type of question to improve on, as they depend on the inherent strength of your vocabulary. Other than trying to memorize a dictionary (which we do NOT recommend), there aren't many short-term ways to quickly learn hundreds or thousands of new words. A large vocabulary is built over time, usually by voracious reading.

This does not mean that it is hopeless, however. This website (www.IvyLeagueAdmission.com) includes the following lists:

a) the 180 most common words featured on the GRE (definitions plus illustrative sentences)

b) groups of related words

c) tricky look-alike words that test makers love

d) the most common roots, prefixes and suffixes for GRE vocabulary words

We consider these lists valuable preparation for sentence completion and analogy test questions. Study this list each day during the weeks just before taking the GRE and learn as many new words as possible. We suggest 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 genius

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. Something 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.