CAT 2025 Lesson : Analogies - Vocabulary

2. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a key skill required for Analogies questions. Even if you are not sure of the meaning, you can use your knowledge of words' origin, prefixes and suffixes to guesstimate the meaning of difficult words. We learnt these in the Synonyms and Antonyms lesson. Please use this sparingly and more for confirmation of a solution instead of just guessing. (for instance, if you know the meaning of two or three of the options).

Also, remember that many words have more than one meaning, and please make sure that you do not reject a word from an option based on its first meaning. You will also find examples of homonyms and homographs in the Synonyms and Antonyms lesson.

Take particular care of the context of a word. Some words will be similar but differ in the contextual usage.

2.1 Contextual usage & connotation

This is particularly useful in eliminations, as two words might have a similar meaning but different connotation. You should then select the one which matches the connotation of the word in the question. Some examples are given below, but you can learn a lot more by observing the meaning while reading – read from different genres to understand the usage of a wide variety of words.

Positive connotation	Negative connotation
Aroma, scent	Stench, smell
Frugal, thrifty, economical	Cheap, miserly
Childlike, youthful, adolescent	Childish, immature
Confident	Proud, vain, conceited
Conversational, extraverted	Talkative
Distinctive, unique, individual	Peculiar, eccentric, queer, abnormal
Full, satiated	Stuffed, crammed
Happy, elated	Stuffed, crammed
Happy, elated	Manic
Interested	Prying
Laid-back, relaxed	Lazy, lackadaisical
Meticulous, selective	Picky
Talkative, conversational	Chatty, jabbering
Tenacious, steadfast, firm	Stubborn
Use, employ	Exploit

Example 14

Select the option that expresses a relationship most similar to that expressed in the capitalised pair.

VINTAGE: DECREPIT

(1) Satiated : satisfied
(2) Steadfast : tenacious
(3) Clique : club
(4) All of the above

Solution

Vintage means something of high quality, usually old or from the past (e.g. wine). Decrepit, on the other hand, means old and worn-out or ruined. Therefore, the words are used in different contexts to describe something old.

Let us look for words which are synonymous, but typically used in opposite contexts from among the options.

Satiated and satisfied have the same meaning (meaning full, contented) and context.

Similarly, steadfast and tenacious both mean constant, persevering. Both these words are used in a positive context.

However, clique (meaning exclusive group) and club (meaning group or association with something in common), while similar in meaning, have different contexts – clique is generally used in a negative context, as a close-knit group of people who do not readily allow others to join them. We have to select this option even though the order is reversed, as none of the other options have a difference in context.

Therefore, option (3) is the correct choice.

Answer: (3) Clique : club

2.2 Symbols

Some shapes, images and even words are symbolic. These can be part of Analogies questions, but are not very frequent. Some examinations will provide these terms and then ask you to choose the correct symbolic meaning. Some examinations such as SNAP could even provide images instead of the words (e.g. the shape).

For instance,

- The skull and bones means danger
- Red means stop
- A red cross signifies something medical, such as a hospital or an ambulance
- A thumbs up means well done
- A transposed 8 (∞) means infinity

3. Idioms

Idioms can also come up in questions on Analogies. The question will contain an idiom and you must select the correct meaning from the alternatives.

Some common idioms are given here.

Idiom	Meaning
A dime a dozen	Very common
A hot potato	An awkward issue
Add insult to injury	Make a bad situation worse
At the drop of a hat	Immediately
The ball is in your court	It is your turn
Barking up the wrong tree	Looking in the wrong place or at the wrong person
Beating around the bush	Avoiding the topic
Belling the cat	Doing a difficult thing
Best of both worlds	Ideal situation
Better late than never	Better to arrive late than not to come at all
Bigger fish to fry	Better opportunities/prospects
Birds of a feather	People who are similar
Bite the bullet	To get something over with because it is inevitable
Blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad at first
Break a leg	Good luck
Break the ice	Make people feel comfortable (usually at a social event)
By the skin of my teeth	Just barely
Call it a day	Stop working on something
Chip off the old block	Kid is like parents
Cold shoulder	Ignoring someone
Comparing apples to oranges	Comparing two things which are not similar
Costs an arm and a leg	Very expensive
Cross the bridge once we come to it	We'll deal with a problem once we face it (let us not discuss it now)
Crying over spilt milk	Complaining about what is done in the past
Counting chickens before they hatch	Expecting a good result before it's sure
Cut (someone) some slack	Don't be critical (of someone)
Devil’s advocate	Presenting a counter argument
Easy does it	Slow down, be careful
Every cloud has a silver lining	Every event has some positivity
Feeling under the weather	Feeling sick
Get bent out of shape	Get upset
Get out of hand	Get out of control
Go back to the drawing board	Start again from the beginning
Hang in there	Don't give up
Hit the nail on the head	Saying something exactly right
Hit the sack	Go to sleep
In the heat of the moment	Saying or doing something incorrect, while being overwhelmed in the moment
It isn't over till the fat lady sings	Something isn't over as yet
Judging a book by its cover	Judging based on superficial things
Jumping on the bandwagon	Joining a popular trend
Kill two birds with one stone	Accomplishing two goals with one action
Last straw	Patience has run out/minor negative after a bunch of negative events which results in a major crash
Let sleeping dogs lie	Not disturbing the situation for the worse
Let (someone) off the hook	Not hold someone responsible for something negative
Let the cat out of the bag / Spill the beans	Letting the secret out
Make matters worse	Make a bad situation worse
Missed the boat	Missed one’s big chance
No clue	No idea
Once in a blue moon	Infrequent, rare event
On the ball / on the 8 ball	Doing a good job
On the fence	Undecided
Over the moon	Extremely happy
Passing the buck	Passing one’s responsibility to another
Piece of cake	Really easy
Pull someone's leg	Joking with/fooling someone
Pull yourself together	Calm down
Putting all your eggs in one basket	Putting all resources towards one opportunity
See eye to eye	Two people or groups agreeing with each other
So far, so good	Things are going okay so far
Speak of the devil	The person being spoken about just showed up
Straight from the horse’s mouth	From the source
Taking the bull by the horns	Addressing an inconvenient/controversial topic
The whole nine yards	All of something
Under the weather	Sick
Wrap my head around something	Understand something complicated
You can say that again	Agreeing with the speaker
Your guess is as good as mine	I have no idea

Example 15

To bite the bullet is to ______________

(1) eat an unpleasant thing
(2) get an unpleasant thing over with
(3) clean up one's act
(4) put your head down and work

Solution

To bite the bullet is an idiom which means to get something over with as it is inevitable. Therefore, option (2) is the correct choice.

Answer: (2) get an unpleasant thing over with

Example 16

To be on the ball is to ______________

(1) do a good job
(2) play with the ball
(3) be on time
(4) none of the above

Solution

On the ball is an idiom which means to do a good job. Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.

Answer: (1) do a good job

4. Solved Questions

Example 17

If leaf is to leaves and knife is to knives, then belief is to
[SNAP 2008]

(1) beliefs
(2) believes
(3) belief
(4) believing

Solution

Leaves and knives are the plural forms of leaf and knife respectively. The plural of belief (meaning something accepted as true of real, in the noun form) is beliefs.

Believe is the verb form meaning to have a belief, and hence, believes in option (2) and believing in option (4) can be eliminated. Both are tense variants of the verb form, and hence, not what the question is asking.

Belief is the singular form itself, and hence, option (3) can also be eliminated.

Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.

Answer: (1) beliefs

Example 18

Choose the option which represents something similar to that in the question.

Contract : abrogate

(1) Rescind : directive
(2) Feeling : empathy
(3) Praise : extol
(4) Money : embezzle

Solution

To abrogate means to either repeal (a law) or evade (a responsibility or duty). We can repeal or cancel a contract, and can also avoid complying with it. Therefore, let us try to find either function among the options.

To rescind means to revoke or cancel something. Rescinding a directive is similar to abrogating a contract, but this option has the words in the reverse order. In the question, the action word is the second one.

Option (4) is similar to abrogate in its second meaning – to embezzle is to steal or misappropriate something, usually money. Embezzling money is the wrong thing to do, and hence is similar to abrogating (evading) a contract.

Empathy is a feeling, and hence we can eliminate option (2). To praise and to extol have the same meaning, and hence, option (3) can also be eliminated.

Answer: (4) Money : embezzle

Example 19

Choose the option which represents something similar to that in the question.

Behind : eight-ball ::

(1) Last : straw
(2) Live : wire
(3) Cloud : horizon
(4) Topsy : turvy

Solution

Being behind the eight-ball is an idiom meaning being in an awkward or difficult situation. The option which is closest to this is option (3), as a cloud on the horizon is something which will cause problems in the near future.

The last straw is the last in a series of unpleasant events.
A live wire is an energetic, unpredictable person.
Topsy turvy means upside down.

None of these idioms mean the same as behind the eight ball, and hence, option (3) is the correct choice.

Answer: (3) Cloud : horizon

Example 20

Select the option which has a similar analogy vis- a-vis the analogy given in the question.
[IIFT 2008]

PECCADILLO: FLAW ::

(1) clandestine: openness
(2) nick: score
(3) forensics: judiciary
(4) invasion: putsch

Solution

A peccadillo is a minor fault or flaw. Both these words are synonymous. Therefore, let us try and find two synonymous words from the options.

Clandestine means done secretly, and is the opposite of openness. Therefore, we can eliminate option (1).

A nick is a small cut, and to nick (verb form) means to make a small cut. This is similar to score, which means to cut or scratch a surface. Therefore, option (2) should be the correct choice.

Forensics (meaning scientific tests or techniques used to detect or prove crime) and judiciary (all judges collectively) are not synonymous, and hence option (3) can be eliminated.

An invasion is an act of taking over another country with force, and a putsch is a violent, internal coup. As these are also not synonymous, we can eliminate option (4) as well.

Answer: (2) nick: score

Want to read the full content

Unlock this content & enjoy all the features of the platform

Subscribe Now