To increase the difficulty level of the vocabulary in an Antonym, Analogy, or Sentence and Complex Text Completion, the test designers avoid providing obvious clues about a word’s meaning. They opt instead for words with roots that belie the word’s meaning. Look out for these two varieties:
Note: When you encounter an unfamiliar word on the look for a familiar root to help you guess its meaning. But
don’t rely too heavily on that guess. Try your best to answer the question based on what you know for sure.
A word that looks or sounds like another but is either entirely unrelated or only tenuously related:
- BADINAGE (n): teasing conversation; jesting; banter (no relation to bad; think “badminton” instead)
- PRURIENT (adj): lewd; lustful (no relation to prudent)
- CAUSTIC (adj): corrosive; sharp (only tenuously related to cause)