SSAT and ISEE Tutor Terri K. of Prepped & Polished, LLC in South Natick, Massachusetts teaches you five power strategies and one bonus tip for the SSAT and ISEE Synonym section.

  1. When you know the stem word, cover the choices. Think of the word phrase or definition closest in meaning to the stem word. Then look for that word among the answer choices.
  2. If you don’t know the stem word, put it in context.
  3. If the stem word is positive then the answer choice must be positive. If the stem word is negative then the answer choice must be negative.
  4. Use prefixes and suffixes to provide clues to figure out the meaning of words.
  5. Use all the power strategies to help you eliminate. Cross out answers that are farthest from the meaning of the stem word. On the ISEE always guess. On the SSAT guess after eliminating at least two answer choices.

BONUS TIP: The best way to excel on the SSAT and ISEE synonyms is to READ and look up unfamiliar words right away to increase vocabulary knowledge.

Today, I’m going to share some power strategies with you to help you master synonyms on the ISEE and the SSAT. Synonym questions make up 50% of the verbal reasoning portion on both tests. It’s to your advantage to assimilate these power strategies and make them work for you.

Let’s talk a little bit about the format. All synonym questions have a stem word in capital letters, followed by 4 answer choices on the ISEE and 5 answer choices on the SSAT. Your task is to select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the stem word.

Power Strategy #1: Think of the closest word

When you know the stem word, cover the answer choices, and then think of a word, phrase, or definition closest in meaning to the stem word. Then, look for that word among the answer choices. For ‘bizarre,’ you think to yourself, “Strange is close in meaning,” and then you’re going to uncover the answer choices. ‘Lonely’ doesn’t work, so do ‘unable’ and ‘found.’ The closest in meaning to ‘strange’ is ‘odd’; there’s your answer.

Power Strategy #2: Think of a context

If you don’t know the stem word, try to think of a context that you know. Have you heard the word before? Have you read the word before?

Let’s try two examples. ‘Abate’: Maybe you’ve heard a weather person say, “The storm will abate by midnight,” and you took that to mean ‘reduce in intensity’ or ‘lessen.’ Let’s see if any of the choices match that. Not ‘pretend,’ not ‘finalize,’ not ‘endanger,’ or ‘oppose.’ ‘Decrease’ would be the right answer. How about ‘surrogate’? Perhaps you’ve heard of a surrogate mother, a substitute mother, and we actually see that word for Choice E. We know right away, right off the bat, that that’s the correct answer. Done.

Power Strategy #3: Positive/Negative

If a stem word is positive, then the answer choice must be positive. If a stem word is negative, the answer choice must be negative.

Let’s look at an example: ‘Belligerent’ is a negative word. I don’t know if you’re familiar with ‘bell-,’ a word part, but that means war-like. Belligerent is a negative word. It helps if you put + and – signs next to the words to see which are positive and which are negative.

We can get rid of A, C, and E right off the bat, and we’re less ‘messy’ and ‘antagonistic.’ Belligerent is closest in meaning to antagonistic, so D is the correct answer.

Power Strategy #4: Word Parts

Word parts can give you powerful clues to figure out the meaning of words. Prefixes come at the beginning of words, suffixes are at the end, and a root can be in any part of the word.

Let’s look at a few examples. Apathy: The prefix ‘A’ means without, ‘-pathy’ means feelings or emotions, so ‘without feelings or emotions’. Let’s look at the choices: Sorrow, ability, sickness, inconvenience; indifference is the closest in meaning to ‘without feelings’, so E would be the correct answer.

How about monotonous? ‘Mono’ means one and ‘tone’ has to do with sound. If you heard one sound over and over, it would be annoying and it would also be repetitious. We know that D, ‘repetitious,’ would be the correct answer, and that’s how word parts can help you.

Power Strategy #5: Eliminate

Use all of the power strategies to help you eliminate. Cross out answers that are farthest from the meaning of the stem word. This is a real timesaver and will keep you on track. Remember on the ISEE, always guess. There’s no penalty for guessing, so you can even take a wild guess if you don’t know the answer. On the SSAT, guess after eliminating at least 2 answer choices.

Bonus tip

Here’s a bonus tip for you: Of course, the best way to excel on the SSAT and ISEE with synonyms is to read all kinds of material, whether it be literature, magazines, editorials, or newspapers. Look up unfamiliar words right away and add them to your growing vocabulary. You never know; you might see one of those words on the ISEE or SSAT synonym portion.

Are you preparing for the SSAT or ISEE? Which of Terri’s power strategies did you find most helpful?

Post your tips/comments below.

Become a Fan on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter