Use these analogy practice questions to strengthen your ability to identify relationships between words. Before looking at the answer choices, describe the relationship in the first pair as precisely as possible, then choose the option that follows the same pattern.
Topics Covered
- Degree and intensity
- Creator and product
- Antonyms
- Synonyms
- Tool and function
- Young and adult forms
- Instrument and measurement
- Process and affected material
- Field of study and subject
- Part and whole
Sample Questions
- A. Silence : Sound
- B. Drizzle : Downpour
- C. Speak : Listen
- D. Voice : Throat
- E. Quiet : Sleep
Show Answer
Whisper and shout are the same general kind of action at very different levels of intensity.
Drizzle and downpour have the same relationship: both are forms of rain, but a downpour is much more intense.
- A. Library : Book
- B. Pilot : Airport
- C. Poet : Poem
- D. Teacher : Student
- E. Carpenter : Hammer
Show Answer
A cartographer creates a map.
A poet creates a poem, so both pairs have a creator-to-product relationship.
- A. Rare : Uncommon
- B. Plentiful : Ample
- C. Small : Tiny
- D. Brief : Lengthy
- E. Frequent : Regular
Show Answer
Scarce and abundant are opposites.
Brief and lengthy are also opposites, preserving the antonym relationship.
- A. Reveal : Expose
- B. Borrow : Return
- C. Search : Find
- D. Speak : Hear
- E. Build : Destroy
Show Answer
Conceal and hide are synonyms.
Reveal and expose are also synonyms, so the relationship matches.
- A. Canvas : Artist
- B. Hospital : Physician
- C. Thread : Needle
- D. Book : Reading
- E. Brush : Painting
Show Answer
A scalpel is a tool used in surgery.
A brush is a tool used in painting, creating the same tool-to-activity relationship.
- A. Herd : Cattle
- B. Calf : Cow
- C. Nest : Bird
- D. Paw : Cat
- E. Wool : Sheep
Show Answer
A cub is a young bear.
A calf is a young cow, so both pairs show a young-animal-to-adult-animal relationship.
- A. Compass : Direction
- B. Clock : Calendar
- C. Thermometer : Temperature
- D. Scale : Height
- E. Ruler : Weight
Show Answer
An odometer measures distance traveled.
A thermometer measures temperature, so both pairs show an instrument-to-quantity-measured relationship.
- A. Polishing : Cloth
- B. Painting : Canvas
- C. Freezing : Ice
- D. Erosion : Rock
- E. Melting : Heat
Show Answer
Corrosion is a process that wears away or chemically degrades metal.
Erosion is a process that wears away rock or soil, giving the same process-to-material-affected relationship.
- A. Ornithology : Birds
- B. Geology : Weather
- C. Astronomy : Oceans
- D. Botany : Animals
- E. Ecology : Numbers
Show Answer
Entomology is the scientific study of insects.
Ornithology is the scientific study of birds, so the relationship is field-of-study to subject studied.
- A. Author : Novel
- B. Library : Shelf
- C. Seed : Orchard
- D. Ink : Pen
- E. Chapter : Book
Show Answer
A petal is one part of a flower.
A chapter is one part of a book, so both pairs have a part-to-whole relationship.
How to Solve Analogies
Turn the first word pair into a short sentence. For example, if the pair shows a tool and the activity it is used for, test each answer choice with that same sentence structure.
Be precise about direction. Part : whole is not the same relationship as whole : part, and cause : effect is not the same as effect : cause. Eliminate choices that contain related words but reverse or change the original relationship.