Synonyms and Antonyms in 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning

GL Assessment's verbal reasoning familiarisation materials include questions that use relationships between words. Its guide explains that the papers show examples of question types used in some real 11+ tests, but that the exact types, timings and difficulty can vary by school. The examples here are for practice, not a promise that a particular local test will use them (GL free familiarisation materials).

A synonym has a similar meaning to another word; an antonym has an opposite meaning. Some verbal-reasoning questions ask pupils to compare word meanings, while other questions use wider relationships between words. Check your admissions authority's information to find out which question types apply to your child.

Before practising: check the local test

GL offers free verbal reasoning familiarisation materials alongside examples for other subjects. A short sample can help a child become familiar with its question layout. Use it as practice with that material, not as a measure of how much of a local paper is devoted to synonyms and antonyms (GL free materials).

Before practising, check your target school's or council's published format. GL specifically notes that local tests may differ in their timings and number of questions.

Milestone 1: practise different word-meaning tasks

Question layouts vary between providers and local tests. GL describes verbal reasoning broadly as reasoning with words, including the production and use of words and relationships between words. These sample tasks illustrate a few ways that word knowledge can be used; they are not a complete syllabus.

The examples below are original. Where a format is associated with a particular familiarisation booklet, that source is identified.

Example 1: choose the word closest in meaning

A single keyword, then five options. Pick the one nearest in meaning.

abundant (scarce, plentiful, hidden, costly, weighty)

The answer is plentiful. Scarce is related to the same idea of quantity, but it means almost the opposite. GL familiarisation materials include synonym-style word questions; the words and difficulty in a local test may differ.

Example 2: choose the word most opposite in meaning

A similar layout can ask pupils to choose the most opposite meaning instead.

permit (allow, forbid, request, delay, ignore)

The answer is forbid. Allow has a similar meaning to permit, so it is not the answer to an opposite-meaning question. The GL sample materials also include antonym-style questions. Practise a range of word types, while using local materials to understand the target test.

A useful check is to reread whether the instruction asks for a similar or opposite meaning.

Example 3: relationships between words, where two answers are marked

This is a word-grouping format shown in the Buckinghamshire familiarisation booklet. It is related to word meaning, although it is not simply a synonym or antonym question. The Buckinghamshire familiarisation booklet describes it as: "In these questions, three of the five words are related in some way. Find the two words that do not go with these three." Its sample item is worried, confident, scared, anxious, sure, where worried, scared and anxious form one meaning group and confident and sure form another (Buckinghamshire familiarisation booklet).

An original example in the same shape:

pleased, joyful, delighted, furious, enraged

Pleased, joyful and delighted are the group of three. Furious and enraged are the two to mark. This uses word relationships, but the task differs from choosing a synonym for a given keyword: the child has to identify the related group and then mark the two remaining words.

The booklet also reminds pupils to read instructions carefully because some questions require two selections. For that format, marking only one answer would leave part of the task unanswered.

A practice variation: find one clear synonym pair

Some practice activities ask pupils to pick a pair of words with similar meanings. Make sure the choices have one clear answer.

(frigid, oak, triangle) (cold, violin, angry)

Frigid and cold are the matching pair. The other words do not form another close synonym pair. This is an original practice example, not a claim about a standard GL question format.

Milestone 2: compare meanings

If a word seems familiar but its meaning is unclear, these steps may help your child compare the options:

1. Decide the polarity. Does the keyword feel positive, negative or neutral? Disregard feels negative even if the precise meaning is fuzzy. Cross out options that clearly do not fit the requested meaning.
2. Fix the word class. Say the keyword in a short sentence and check which options can take its place grammatically. This may help rule out options with a different grammatical form.
3. Look for the root. Benevolent shares its root with benefit. Terminate shares its root with terminal. A familiar root may offer a clue to a word’s meaning, though it does not always give the full meaning.
4. Substitute the survivors. Put each remaining option into the same sentence. Check which option is closest to the word in the question.
5. If two survive, choose the closer, then move on. The GL familiarisation guide advises: "If you get stuck on a question, don't spend ages thinking about it but miss it out and carry on to the end of the section or test."

With practice, your child may become more comfortable comparing meanings, but speed and accuracy will vary by child and question.

Milestone 3: review words that caused difficulty

When reviewing practice, note what made an item difficult. These are possible features to consider, not a diagnosis or an exhaustive set of error types.

Near-synonyms. Worried and terrified are both related to fear, but they differ in strength. Check how closely each option matches the word in the question.

Register mismatch. Begin and commence mean the same thing at different formality levels. A question may pair an everyday word with a more formal one. Reading a range of texts can expose children to different vocabulary and registers.

Wrong word class. Advise is a verb, advice a noun; practise a verb, practice a noun. An option with the wrong part of speech may not fit the question, so check both meaning and grammar.

Homographs. Fair, content, row, bark, grave, current and light each carry more than one meaning. Use the sentence or options to identify which meaning is intended.

Milestone 4: practise recalling word meanings

Reading is one way to meet new words in context. Retrieval practice is another way to revisit meanings and word relationships.

Here are some optional practice ideas:

• Word to meaning. Cover the definitions. Say what each word means aloud, in your own words, before checking.
• Meaning to word. Cover the words. Read a definition and try to produce a matching word.
• Link words. Learn scarce alongside plentiful and compare their meanings.
• Space the revisits. Words that are difficult can be revisited later. The intervals can be adjusted to suit your child.
• Choose a manageable routine. Return to difficult words when it suits your child.

Download the printable synonym and antonym pair sheets (PDF) for additional word-pair practice. The sheet includes its own suggested routine; adjust it to suit your child.

Our guide to the 11 plus vocabulary list and how to learn it offers more ideas for choosing words to practise.

The quiz below offers a short synonym practice activity.

Milestone 5: rehearse the answer sheet, not just the answer

Some GL familiarisation papers use a separate answer sheet that is marked by computer in the real test. Practise the answer method for your local assessment and follow its instructions.

For the GL familiarisation materials, answers are marked in pencil and changed answers should be rubbed out, because "Crossing out or placing an X next to the unintended answer on the answer sheet cannot be computer-marked." The guide says that each correct answer receives one mark and half marks are not given. Follow the instructions for your own test (GL free familiarisation materials).

Check your local test instructions for allowed equipment and how answers are recorded. If it uses a separate answer sheet, practise following those instructions with a pencil and eraser. Our verbal reasoning practice test with worked solutions is another place to try verbal reasoning questions.

Optional timed practice

If the local test is timed, you can try a short timed set after your child understands the format. Review more than the score:

• Was there enough time? Notice whether a particular question or format took longer.
• Which words were difficult? Mark them for later review.
• Were the instructions clear? Check whether the question asked for a similar or opposite meaning, or required more than one answer.

Timings differ by area. GL advises checking your local authority or school rather than assuming that familiarisation timings apply.

Word groups for optional practice

These examples group words by meaning, form or spelling. The groups are practice aids, not a ranked list or a claim about the frequency of question types.

Similar words with different degrees of intensity: worried / terrified, annoyed / furious, pleased / delighted, cool / freezing, tired / exhausted, damp / saturated, large / immense, surprised / astonished, dislike / loathe, quiet / silent. Practise by ranking each pair from weaker to stronger and saying why.

Related words in different registers: begin / commence, ask / enquire, buy / purchase, show / demonstrate, help / assist, need / require, enough / sufficient, keep / retain, leave out / omit, put off / postpone, get worse / deteriorate.

Related words with different word classes or forms: advise / advice, practise / practice, strength / strong, freedom / free, hopeful / hope, rapidly / rapid, arriving / arrival, reduce / reduction. Use sentences to compare their meanings and forms.

Words with more than one meaning: fair, content, row, bark, grave, current, tender, sound, right, store, light, refuse. For each, try to think of two meanings, then check a dictionary or ask an adult if needed.

Examples of opposites: generous / stingy, expand / contract, temporary / permanent, ancient / modern, scarce / plentiful, reveal / conceal, praise / criticise, arrogant / humble, advance / retreat, accept / reject, victory / defeat.

For antonyms, a synonym may appear among the options as a distractor. Read the instruction carefully and check the meaning of each option.

Where this sits in the wider paper

Word-meaning questions are one part of verbal reasoning. Reading, discussion and practice can all help children develop vocabulary, but there is no single timetable or guaranteed outcome.

The other reasoning paper works in the opposite direction: patterns, not words. If you are planning both, our guide to non-verbal reasoning question types maps that side of the exam in the same way this one maps word meaning. Some word knowledge can also help with cloze questions, but those require a child to use meaning and grammar in context. Read our guide to 11 plus cloze tests for that different task.