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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Closest Meaning 1 (Questions)

Closest meaning words are words that are the most similar to each other.

Find TWO words, from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning. Words which have the SIMILAR meanings are called SYNONYMS, words like small and tiny, and big and large. However, not all words which are CLOSE in meaning are the CLOSEST.

Think about these three words: tall, big and large. Which two are CLOSEST in meaning? big and large are closer than tall and big or tall and large. Tall means big only in terms of how high something is. Be careful in choosing your answers, and if you get one wrong, try the quiz again. Robert the Bruce said "If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

Take his advice and enjoy our first 11-plus verbal reasoning quiz on closest meaning.

Example: big, small, rest, mean, large

big, large

big, mean

rest, large

small, large

Answer: big, large

big, large is the correct answer because big and large mean the same thing, of considerable size, and the others are unrelated.
1. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

long, thin, narrow, wide, width
[ ] long, width
[ ] thin, narrow
[ ] wide, width
[ ] narrow, width
2. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

heavy, light, bulky, massive, weighty
[ ] heavy, light
[ ] bulky, massive
[ ] heavy, weighty
[ ] light, massive
3. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

pup, baby, caterpillar, cub, young
[ ] pup, baby
[ ] baby, caterpillar
[ ] baby, young
[ ] pup, cub
4. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

far, near, away, distant, around
[ ] near, away
[ ] far, distant
[ ] distant, around
[ ] away, distant
5. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

scrub, brush, clean, wash, tidy
[ ] clean, wash
[ ] scrub, brush
[ ] clean, tidy
[ ] brush, wash
6. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

shout, whisper, chat, explain, exclaim
[ ] explain, exclaim
[ ] shout, exclaim
[ ] whisper, chat
[ ] whisper, explain
7. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

discuss, explain, lecture, converse, talk
[ ] explain, lecture
[ ] lecture, discuss
[ ] discuss, explain
[ ] lecture, converse
8. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

touch, know, believe, smell, sense
[ ] believe, smell
[ ] touch, know
[ ] smell, sense
[ ] touch, smell
9. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

yellow, brownish, orangey, green, tanned
[ ] orangey, green
[ ] green, tanned
[ ] yellow, green
[ ] yellow, brownish
10. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

early, timely, late, punctual, last
[ ] timely, punctual
[ ] early, timely
[ ] punctual, last
[ ] timely, late
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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Closest Meaning 1 (Answers)
1. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

long, thin, narrow, wide, width
[ ] long, width
[x] thin, narrow
[ ] wide, width
[ ] narrow, width
thin, narrow is the correct answer because thin and narrow both mean with a small distance between and the others are unrelated
2. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

heavy, light, bulky, massive, weighty
[ ] heavy, light
[ ] bulky, massive
[x] heavy, weighty
[ ] light, massive
heavy, weighty is the correct answer because heavy and weighty both mean of a considerable weight, and the others don't. Light is to do with weight, but bulky and massive refer to size, not weight
3. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

pup, baby, caterpillar, cub, young
[ ] pup, baby
[ ] baby, caterpillar
[ ] baby, young
[x] pup, cub
pup, cub is the correct answer because pup and cub are both the names of the young of animals, and the others aren't. Baby and young are related, but not closest in meaning
4. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

far, near, away, distant, around
[ ] near, away
[x] far, distant
[ ] distant, around
[ ] away, distant
far, distant is the correct answer because far and distant both mean a long way away,and the others don't. The meaning of away does not specify any distance, and near is the opposite of far
5. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

scrub, brush, clean, wash, tidy
[x] clean, wash
[ ] scrub, brush
[ ] clean, tidy
[ ] brush, wash
clean, wash is the correct answer because clean and wash both mean to remove dirt, and the others, although they are related, are not as close in meaning. Scrub suggests really hard cleaning, while tidy doesn't actually mean clean. Brush is also further in meaning from wash and clean
6. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

shout, whisper, chat, explain, exclaim
[ ] explain, exclaim
[x] shout, exclaim
[ ] whisper, chat
[ ] whisper, explain
shout, exclaim is the correct answer because shout and exclaim both mean to use the voice loudly, and the others mean quieter forms of talk
7. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

discuss, explain, lecture, converse, talk
[x] explain, lecture
[ ] lecture, discuss
[ ] discuss, explain
[ ] lecture, converse
explain, lecture is the correct answer because explain and lecture both suggest one person doing all the talking, the others mean more than one person engaged in talk
8. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

touch, know, believe, smell, sense
[ ] believe, smell
[ ] touch, know
[ ] smell, sense
[x] touch, smell
touch, smell is the correct answer because touch and smell are both specific senses and the others are not. Know, believe and sense are all mental processes
9. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

yellow, brownish, orangey, green, tanned
[ ] orangey, green
[ ] green, tanned
[x] yellow, green
[ ] yellow, brownish
yellow, green is the correct answer because yellow and green are both specific colours and the others are unspecific. How orangey? How brownish? How tanned? Since we do not know, they are not the closest in meaning
10. Find TWO words from the following group of five words that are the CLOSEST in meaning.

early, timely, late, punctual, last
[x] timely, punctual
[ ] early, timely
[ ] punctual, last
[ ] timely, late
timely, punctual is the correct answer because timely and punctual both mean in good time and the others mean not in good time or are unrelated completely. If your teacher ever describes you as punctual, be sure to bring them an apple the next day. An apple a day keeps the report card away!