brainblox Play Brainblox →
11+ question-type guides ›

How to Answer 11+ Synonyms Questions

A synonyms question gives you one word and asks you to find the option closest in meaning. It is the purest vocabulary test in the 11+: there is no code to crack and no pattern to spot — you either know the words, or you have a plan for the moments when you don't.

In the formats used in UK 11+ entrance exams, it usually looks like a single word in capital letters followed by four or five answer options. The words climb steeply: papers start with friendly ones like PURCHASE and finish with ones like RELUCTANT that many adults have to think about.

Children usually find this type easy to start and sneaky to finish. The danger is not the hard words — it is the answer list. The wrong options are chosen on purpose: an opposite, a word from the same topic, a word that almost fits. A child who looks at the options before deciding what the word means is exactly who those traps were built for.

The method

  1. Cover the answers. Read only the question word. Don't peek yet.
  2. Think of your own similar word first. Say what the word means in your own words: "purchase means to buy something." Your word is "buy".
  3. Now uncover the list and hunt for your word — or the option closest to it.
  4. Do a trap check before you commit. Opposites are planted in the answers for fast fingers. Ask: "Is my choice the same, or just related?"
  5. If you don't know the word, eliminate. Cross out every option you are sure is wrong, drop the survivors into a sentence you know, and pick the one that fits best. Never leave a blank.

Worked examples

Example 1 — warm-up

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: PURCHASE

A. sell B. buy C. borrow D. lend

  1. Cover the options. Purchase means to buy something.
  2. My own word is "buy" — and there it is at B.
  3. Trap check: A. sell is the opposite, sitting first in the list for anyone rushing. C and D live in the same money world but mean different things.

Answer: buy

Example 2 — medium

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: WEARY

A. alert B. exhausted C. curious D. stubborn E. honest

  1. Own word first: weary means very tired — "the weary walkers trudged home."
  2. Hunt the list: B. exhausted means completely worn out. That's "very tired".
  3. Trap check: A. alert is the opposite. The others describe people, but not tired ones.

Answer: exhausted

Example 3 — harder

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: RELUCTANT

A. eager B. unwilling C. careless D. honest E. anxious

  1. Pin the meaning: reluctant means not wanting to do something — "she was reluctant to jump into the cold pool."
  2. Own word: "unwilling" — option B.
  3. Trap check: A. eager is the exact opposite. E. anxious is the clever trap — you might feel anxious when you are reluctant, but the two words do not mean the same thing.

Answer: unwilling

The traps

The planted opposite. Almost every synonyms question hides the question word's opposite in the options — sell under PURCHASE, alert under WEARY, eager under RELUCTANT. It feels connected, because it is. Thinking of your own word before looking is what protects you.

The same-shop trap. Borrow and lend sit near PURCHASE because they all happen in the world of money. Same topic is not same meaning. Ask "could I swap them in a sentence?" — "I purchased a bike" is not "I borrowed a bike".

The feelings swap. A word for how you might feel in a situation gets planted next to what the word actually means — like anxious beside RELUCTANT. Match meanings, not moods.

The look-alike. Some answers are real words that look like a different, more familiar word. Read every option slowly — one of the questions below hides exactly this trick.

Try these yourself

1.

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: TINY

A. minute B. broad C. plain D. spare

2.

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: STERN

A. strict B. cheerful C. clumsy D. generous

3.

Choose the word most similar in meaning to: AUDACIOUS

A. timid B. daring C. noisy D. careful E. hasty

Answers

  1. A — "minute" (said my-NEWT) means extremely small. It is not the minute on a clock — that's the look-alike trap.
  2. A — a stern teacher is a strict one. "Cheerful" is planted as the near-opposite.
  3. B — audacious means bold and daring. "Timid" and "careful" are both opposites lying in wait.

Related

All example questions come from the Brainblox question bank — practise this question type inside 15 arcade games, timed mock exams and focused practice. Brainblox is an independent app: not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any exam board, school or assessment publisher, and it contains no past papers.