One way to exercise your brain, and to expand your vocabulary at the same time, is to try making shorter words from longer ones. That’s what this section of quizzes is all about. But it’s not just an exercise – trying your hand at these puzzles will prepare you for facing these kinds of question if you come across them in your 11+ Verbal Reasoning exam.
After each question you will be shown four possible answers and asked which one means a certain thing. If you do not know the answer, don’t despair. You’ll find that you can often work it out through a process of elimination. Look at the options and rule out any that you do know the meaning of – unless they match the meaning given in the question of course!
Take your time and don’t rush through the quiz. For example, if you are looking for a 6-letter word make sure you don’t click on one with 5 or 7 letters! You would be surprised just how often candidates in exams make simple mistakes – make sure you don’t fall into that trap!
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All of the options can be made from the letters, but neither ‘groan’ nor ‘gnome’ are emotions. Whilst one can have a ‘range’ of emotions, the word itself is not an emotion. The answer is ‘anger’
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All four options are genuine 6-letter words that can be made from the given letters, however, only one of them is an item of crockery. The answer is ‘saucer’
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All of the options can be formed from the given letters, but only three of them are animals - a ‘pact’ is an agreement. A ‘coot’ is a type of duck, and so not a fish. Whilst there is such a thing as a catfish, a ‘cat’ is not a fish – it’s also only 3 letters. The answer is ‘tuna’
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All of the options are genuine 4-letter words which can be made from the given letters, but only one of them is a unit of land measurement. A ‘tier’ is a level or row. Whilst ‘rice’ can be grown on land, it is not a unit of measurement. We can measure the ‘area’ of land in ‘acres’, so the answer is ‘acre’
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‘Tables’ are more functional items than pieces of art, and ‘boules’ is a game similar to bowls. ‘Blues’ is a kind of music and so a form of art, however, it is only 5 letters long. The answer is ‘ballet’
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You already know what ‘satin’ and ‘sonic;’ mean, I should think. A ‘scion’ is the offshoot of a plant and the ‘Stoics’ were philosophers in Ancient Greece who practised remaining calm and not showing any emotion. Today the word has come to mean ‘uncomplaining’
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All four options are genuine 4-letter words. Only ‘rood' matches the definition though. ‘Beer’ is a drink and a ‘rook’ is a type of bird or one of the pieces in chess. A ‘boor’ is a person with bad manners. The answer is ‘rood’
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All of the four options are genuine words you can make from the letters in ‘cerebellum'. Someone earning very little money might be said to be living on ‘crumbs’. ‘Celebs’ earn lots of money, and the creme de la creme (the very best) might also be rich. All of these come close to literally meaning ‘money’, but the only one which actually does is ‘lucre' (think of the phrase ‘filthy lucre’).
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A ‘jumble’ is an untidy mix of things. A ‘camber’ is a curve or bend on a road surface. A ‘muckle’ is a large amount of something and is a Scottish word. The answer is ‘buckle’
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All of the options are genuine 7-letter words which can be made from the given letters. ‘Refrain’ means to stop yourself doing something and ‘terrain’ is the features of land. The answer is ‘treason’
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