SYNONYMS APTITUDE QUESTIONS

A synonym is a word or phrase that conveys the same meaning as the given word. There are multiple synonyms for a single word.

Synonym questions can be asked in the form of reading comprehension, sentence completion, or just a simple synonym question.

The guidelines for learning synonyms are:

1. Prefix and Suffix

Every English word has a root, prefix, or suffix, so the simplest method is to identify that root, analyse it, and then derive the meaning of the word.

The following are some examples:

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
pre-	before	prefix, preschool
Semi-	half	Semicircle, Semifinal
re-	again, back	Rewrite, Return

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ee	An individual has done something	Employee, Trainee
-or	A person who is something	Doctor, Investigator
-ful	Full of	Grateful, Wonderful

2. Word Family / Tree

Word families are similar to a family tree as they start with the main word and then branch out with related words. The main word has a similar meaning to the parent or root word.

Let us look at an example: “Test” as a word.

Now we must associate other words that branch out from the word “Test."

Examination, Assessment, Evaluation

3. Word Charge

In order to answer any question based on vocabulary, you must first understand the charge that the word carries. The word charge for both the question and the answer will be the same for synonyms.

These charges can be:

Positive – words that give positive connotations: happy, help, good, etc.

Negative – words with a pessimistic tone: sad, hostile, bad

Neutral – words that do not have a strong connotation: cat, strange, reading,

These guidelines on learning the tricks and following the rules will assist you to answer any synonym-based question.