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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Same Meaning 2 (Questions)

Same Meaning looks at words that are synonyms.

As in our 11-Plus Verbal Reasoning Same Meaning 1 quiz, each sentence here contains a word in CAPITAL letters: you need to pick the answer that offers the nearest meaning to this word.

If you enjoy reading a variety of books, you'll come across lots of new words that authors use in place of everyday, ordinary words such as: nice, good, walk and said. Some authors love to show off their rich vocabulary and you can end up spending more time looking up words in a dictionary than reading the actual book!

A trick that might help you is to look for words that have the opposite meaning and eliminate them. If you are unsure about the meaning of any of the words you see in these quizzes, check them in the dictionary. Remember, our quizzes are here to help you do well at school and pass any tests and exams - they are not meant to catch you out.

1. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
Her injuries were pretty TRIVIAL compared with what some of the other passengers experienced.
[ ] SERIOUS
[ ] SLIGHT
[ ] HORRIFIC
[ ] AMUSING
2. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
He learned how to HANDLE a boat during the long summer holidays when he was still quite a small boy.
[ ] SLEEVE
[ ] KNOB
[ ] CONTROL
[ ] BUTTON
3. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
She seemed to be looking rather WAN at breakfast after the long, late party.
[ ] HUNGRY
[ ] DRUNK
[ ] PALE
[ ] SICK
4. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
However you travel into any big city, it seems to take ages to reach the centre; the SUBURBS appear to go on forever.
[ ] OUTSKIRTS
[ ] BUILDINGS
[ ] INDUSTRIAL AREAS
[ ] SLUMS
5. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
It can be a pleasant autumn afternoon walk to go round the ARBORETUM.
[ ] CORNER
[ ] LIGHTHOUSE
[ ] PARK WITH A VARIETY OF SPECIMEN TREES
[ ] OLD FACTORY
6. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
When she found out what had happened to her silk cushions, grandmother was INCANDESCENT.
[ ] PLEASED
[ ] EMBARRASSED
[ ] WORRIED
[ ] FURIOUS
7. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
One of Parliament's main responsibilities is to FRAME sensible laws by which all citizens must live and abide.
[ ] DISPLAY
[ ] DISCUSS AND FORMULATE
[ ] MAKE AN EXHIBITION OF
[ ] MAKE EXCUSES FOR
8. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
That machine is rattling again: I suspect it needs one of its NUTS tightening.
[ ] ALMONDS
[ ] BOLTS
[ ] SCREWS
[ ] CLIPS
9. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
After our ride in the speedboat we moored it by the jetty and made it FAST.
[ ] SECURE
[ ] QUICK
[ ] HUNGRY
[ ] THIRSTY
10. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
Everyone needs to make a CONCERTED effort if this event is going to succeed.
[ ] MUSICAL
[ ] PROUD
[ ] SOLID
[ ] JOINT
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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Same Meaning 2 (Answers)
1. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
Her injuries were pretty TRIVIAL compared with what some of the other passengers experienced.
[ ] SERIOUS
[x] SLIGHT
[ ] HORRIFIC
[ ] AMUSING
'Trivial' means 'unimportant'. In some other contexts it might also carry a sense of 'amusing' (e.g. a romcom film with a fairly undemanding, cheerful storyline that hardly grapples with any of life's deeper issues or anxieties) ... but not here, if used to describe injuries to anyone's body in connection with some form of transport accident
2. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
He learned how to HANDLE a boat during the long summer holidays when he was still quite a small boy.
[ ] SLEEVE
[ ] KNOB
[x] CONTROL
[ ] BUTTON
'Handle' (in the context of the Question) is obviously a verb, which the first two potential Answers are not.
It means 'to control, be in charge of' or indeed 'to take in hand', since the human hand is the most obvious and subtle control mechanism that we have ... unless the boat has pedals, and there seems to be no suggestion here that we are dealing with pedalled craft
3. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
She seemed to be looking rather WAN at breakfast after the long, late party.
[ ] HUNGRY
[ ] DRUNK
[x] PALE
[ ] SICK
'Wan' = 'pale; noticeably lacking in one's usual facial colour; dull-eyed'. (Presumably 'she' was tired, and possibly had also eaten and/or drunk more than was good for her)
4. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
However you travel into any big city, it seems to take ages to reach the centre; the SUBURBS appear to go on forever.
[x] OUTSKIRTS
[ ] BUILDINGS
[ ] INDUSTRIAL AREAS
[ ] SLUMS
Suburbs are the 'layers' of a city outside its central business and administrative district, usually characterised by small-ish and relatively cheap housing units (semi-detached houses, and probably somewhat smaller blocks of flats). Some people may travel in from homes here to work in the city centre; others may work elsewhere within the suburbs, perhaps in service jobs such as teachers and shopkeepers
5. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
It can be a pleasant autumn afternoon walk to go round the ARBORETUM.
[ ] CORNER
[ ] LIGHTHOUSE
[x] PARK WITH A VARIETY OF SPECIMEN TREES
[ ] OLD FACTORY
An 'arboretum' would be particularly attractive in autumn, assuming some of the trees may be changing the colour of their leaves. An arboretum is a bit like a zoo, except that the living specimens don't move around as animals would do; it can still be very interesting and pretty, if well laid out and stocked
6. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
When she found out what had happened to her silk cushions, grandmother was INCANDESCENT.
[ ] PLEASED
[ ] EMBARRASSED
[ ] WORRIED
[x] FURIOUS
'Incandescent', technically, refers to something which is glowing hot (like the filament in a 'traditional' old-fashioned light-bulb). Used metaphorically like this, it suggests that the normally calm woman was so deeply upset that she allowed herself to become visibly angry
7. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
One of Parliament's main responsibilities is to FRAME sensible laws by which all citizens must live and abide.
[ ] DISPLAY
[x] DISCUSS AND FORMULATE
[ ] MAKE AN EXHIBITION OF
[ ] MAKE EXCUSES FOR
'Frame' in this sense means 'compose into an elegant and workable shape' (because messy laws are no good, if they are sloppily worded and hard to interpret or apply afterwards). This is a metaphorical usage, rather than meaning that the laws are all printed and displayed in picture-frames. (There wouldn't be enough wall-space for all of the British laws, even though the Houses of Parliament are big and complex buildings!)
8. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
That machine is rattling again: I suspect it needs one of its NUTS tightening.
[ ] ALMONDS
[ ] BOLTS
[ ] SCREWS
[x] CLIPS
A 'nut' and a 'clip' are not quite the same thing, but at least they each serve to fasten other parts together. A 'nut' in this sense may well be applied to a bolt or a screw, but just because they fit together does not mean they are the same thing. Almonds (Answer 1) are of course just one kind of vegetable 'nut' ... unlikely to be designed into a piece of machinery, we reckon
9. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
After our ride in the speedboat we moored it by the jetty and made it FAST.
[x] SECURE
[ ] QUICK
[ ] HUNGRY
[ ] THIRSTY
'Fast' has many meanings, and you may have been beguiled by the 'speedboat' context; but if something is 'stuck fast', it is firm and immovable. You would not want an expensive, and potentially dangerous, vessel just floating away because you could not be bothered to tie it up sensibly after you had finished using it.
There is another sense of 'fast' (as a noun or verb), referring to what some religious people do when they embark on a day, or maybe several days, during which they do not eat and/or drink as they usually would, as a form of spiritual practice, where they deny themselves some of their usual bodily comforts in order to concentrate on deeper or more abstract matters (such as Muslims during Ramadan)
10. Choose the word (or possibly, occasionally, phrase) whose meaning most closely matches the word in CAPITALS in the question.
Everyone needs to make a CONCERTED effort if this event is going to succeed.
[ ] MUSICAL
[ ] PROUD
[ ] SOLID
[x] JOINT
This is not necessarily a musical project ('concert') although you may have been tempted to assume so by Answer 1; nor is it the same as 'conceited' (No.2), nor indeed anything to do with 'concrete' (No.3; despite the near-anagram). The idea is simply one of everybody working determinedly as a team