Analogies - relationship between words

Educated is to know as rich is to (A) poor. (B) wise. (C) own. (D) money.

(C). The relationship is that of cause and effect. When you are educated, you know; when you are rich, you own. When you are rich, you also have money. An analogy must maintain parallelism in parts of speech. For money to have been the correct answer, the second term would have had to have been a noun such as knowledge.

Soprano is to high as bass is to (A) guitar. (B) bad. (C) low. (D) fish.

(C). The relationship is that of synonyms or definition. A soprano voice is high; a bass voice is low. Bass has a number of possible meanings. You must define the word in light of the relationship of the first two words.

Dizziness is to vertigo as fate is to (A) adversity. (B) order. (C) destiny. (D) pride.

(C). The relationship is that of synonyms. Vertigo is dizziness; destiny is fate. One's fate may well be to suffer adversity, but fate is not necessarily negative.

Addition is to addend as subtraction is to (A) difference. (B) sum. (C) subtrahend. (D) minus.

(C). The relationship is that of the whole to a part. The addend is one term of an addition problem; the subtrahend is one term of a subtraction problem.

Year is to calendar as hour is to (A) decade. (B) minute. (C) clock. (D) month.

(C). This is a functional relationship. Years are measured on a calendar; hours are measured on a clock.

Picture is to see as speech is to (A) view. (B) enunciate. (C) hear. (D) soliloquize.

(C). This is another variety of object-to action relationship. You see a picture; you hear a speech.

Brim is to hat as hand is to (A) glove. (B) finger. (C) foot. (D) arm.

(D)

Net is to fisherman as gun is to (A) bullet. (B) policeman. (C) deer. (D) hunter.

(D). The relationship does not fall into a category with a precise name. The fisherman uses a net for his sport; the hunter uses a gun for his sport. The policeman also uses a gun but not for sport. You must refine your relationship so as to eliminate all but one choice.

Mouse is to rodent as whale is to (A) fish. (B) gigantic. (C) aquatic. (D) mammal.

(D). The relationship is one of definition. A mouse is a rodent; a whale is a mammal.

Food is to nutrition as light is to (A) watt. (B) bulb. (C) electricity. (D) vision.

(D). The relationship is that of cause and effect. Food promotes nutrition; light promotes vision.

Chariot is to charioteer as automobile is to (A) passenger. (B) engine. (C) motor. (D) driver.

(D). The relationship is that of object and actor. The charioteer drives the chariot; the driver drives the automobile. You must consider the action in this analogy in order to differentiate between driver and passenger.

Prostrate is to flat as vertical is to (A) circular. (B) horizontal. (C) geometric. (D) erect.

(D). The relationship is that of synonyms. Prostrate means flat; vertical means erect.

Gasoline is to petroleum as sugar is to (A) sweet. (B) oil. (C) plant. (D) cane.

(D). The relationship is that of the product to its source. Gasoline comes from petroleum; sugar comes from cane.

Square is to triangle as cube is to (A) circle. (B) line. (C) ball. (D) pyramid.

(D). You might loosely state the relationship as four is to three. A square is a four-sided plane figure in relation to a triangle, which is a three-sided plane figure. A cube is a solid figure based on a square; a pyramid is a solid figure based on a triangle.

Obese is to eat as elected is to (A) advertise. (B) run. (C) count. (D) fraud.

(B). This is an essential cause-and-effect relationship. You cannot become obese if you do not eat; you cannot be elected if you do not run.

Attorney is to trial as surgeon is to (A) doctor. (B) operation. (C) patient. (D) anesthesia.

(B). This is an object-to-action relationship. An attorney performs at a trial; the surgeon performs at an operation.

Letter is to word as song is to (A) story. (B) music. (C) note. (D) orchestra.

(C)

Man is to boy as woman is to (A) child. (B) sister. (C) girl. (D) offspring.

(C)

France is to America as meter is to (A) gallon. (B) degree. (C) yard. (D) pound.

(C). The relationship cannot be defined by looking at the first two words alone. After you look at the third word and see that it is a European measure of length (metric), you might then look for another measure of length. Because the only choice offered is yard, you might state the relationship as European is to American as it applies to countries and measures of length.

Volcano is to crater as chimney is to (A) smoke. (B) fire. (C) flue. (D) stack.

(C). The relationship is functional. The crater is the vent for a volcano; the flue is the vent for a chimney.

Words are to books as notes are to (A) songs. (B) letters. (C) pianos. (D) fragrances

(A). The relationship is of parts to wholes. Words are parts of books; notes are parts of songs.

Sky is to ground as ceiling is to (A) floor. (B) roof. (C) top. (D) plaster.

(A). The relationship is one of antonyms. Sky is the opposite of ground; ceiling is the opposite of floor.

Abacus is to calculator as propeller is to (A) jet. (B) airplane. (C) mathematics. (D) flight.

(A). The relationship is sequential. An abacus is an earlier, more primitive calculator; a propeller is an earlier, less sophisticated means of propulsion than a jet.

Acute is to chronic as temporary is to (A) persistent. (B) sick. (C) pretty. (D) narrow.

(A). The relationship is that of antonyms. Acute means sudden and short; chronic means always present. Temporary is the opposite of persistent.

Retreat is to advance as timid is to (A) bold. (B) cowardly. (C) fearful. (D) shy.

(A). The relationship is that of antonyms. Retreat is the opposite of advance; timid is the opposite of bold.

Fly is to spider as mouse is to (A) cat. (B) rat. (C) rodent. (D) trap.

(A). The relationship is that of the eaten to the eater. The fly is eaten by the spider; the mouse is eaten by the cat. You have to refine this analogy to eating in order to solve it. If you were to consider only catching, then you would not be able to distinguish between the cat and the trap.

Honor is to citation as speeding is to (A) citation. (B) hurry. (C) race. (D) stop.

(A). This analogy is probably more difficult than any you will get. The trick lies in the fact that citation has two distinct meanings. The relationship is that of cause to effect. When you are to be honored, you receive a citation, which is a formal document describing your achievements. When you are stopped for speeding, you receive a citation, which is an official summons to appear in court.

Present is to birthday as reward is to (A) accomplishment. (B) medal. (C) punishment. (D) money.

(A). This is a purpose relationship. The purpose of a present is to celebrate a birthday; the purpose of a reward is to celebrate an accomplishment.

Pungent is to odor as shrill is to (A) whisper. (B) sound. (C) piercing. (D) shriek.

(B). The relationship is that of adjective to the noun it modifies. An odor may be described as pungent, though there are many other adjectives that may also be used. A sound may be described as shrill, though certainly not all sounds are shrill. Shriek is not the best answer because a shriek is always shrill.

Distracting is to noise as soothing is to (A) medicine. (B) music. (C) volume. (D) bleeding.

(B). The relationship is that of effect to its cause. Noise is distracting; music is soothing.

Petal is to flower as fur is to (A) coat. (B) rabbit. (C) warm. (D) woman.

(B). The relationship is that of part to whole. A petal is part of a flower; fur is part of a rabbit. Fur might be part of a coat, but it is not a necessary part, so rabbit makes a better analogy.

Team is to league as player is to (A) piano. (B) team. (C) tournament. (D) football.

(B). The relationship is that of the part to the whole. The team is part of the league; the player is part of the team.

Father is to brother as mother is to (A) daughter. (B) sister. (C) aunt. (D) niece.

(B). The relationship of father to his same-sex sibling, brother, is analogous to the relationship of mother to her same-sex sibling, sister