Analogies: Synonym and Antonym Relationships

Solve analogies by naming the relationship between the first pair of words.

An analogy compares two pairs of words that share the same relationship. It is written like this: 'hot : cold :: tall : short', read as 'hot is to cold as tall is to short'. The key is to name the relationship in the first pair as a sentence, then find the second pair that fits the same sentence. Two of the simplest relationships are synonyms (same meaning) and antonyms (opposite meaning). 'Begin : start :: end : finish' is a synonym analogy: each pair means the same thing.

'Generous : selfish :: brave : cowardly' is an antonym analogy. Try one: 'Ancient : old :: ___ : happy'. Sentence: 'Ancient is a stronger word for old. ' So the blank needs a stronger word for happy: 'joyful' or 'elated'. Notice that relationship plus intensity mattered there. Analogies train exactly the kind of precise vocabulary thinking that reading complex texts demands.

• 1An analogy pairs words with the same relationship.
• 2Name the first pair's relationship as a sentence.
• 3Synonym and antonym analogies are the simplest types.