A word meaning question gives you a word, usually set inside a short sentence, and asks you to pin down what it means: the definition, the closest synonym, the opposite, the correctly spelled homophone, or the word that fills a gap. The vocabulary is normally everyday English, so the difficulty comes from the clock and from answer options that are near misses, rather than from obscure words.
If a question asks for the meaning of a word, the first thing to do is read the whole sentence and decide what the word means in that context, before you look at the options. Reading the options first is what pulls people towards a plausible synonym when the question actually wanted the opposite.
What is a verbal reasoning word meaning question?
As part of a verbal reasoning test, you are likely to be asked questions relating to the meaning of words. Verbal reasoning assessments are designed to test your ability to read, understand and assess written information to make a reasoned and logical decision to find the answer.
Success in the verbal reasoning test requires good understanding of the language, and this can be assessed in various ways. While in more top-level assessments for roles in management there is more focus on critical thinking, knowledge of word meanings, and of the relationships between words, is found in all verbal reasoning tests.
You can find questions relating to grammar, comprehension, analogies, spelling, sentence completion, word swaps and finding new words in a typical verbal reasoning test.
When taking a verbal reasoning assessment, you can improve your score by understanding more words and their meanings. Assessments tend to be easier for native speakers, since they do rely on knowledge of common idioms, precise meanings of words and the structure of sentences. See this guide for further verbal reasoning tips.
Different forms word meaning questions take
There are several different ways that you may be tested on your understanding of word meanings.
Even though words used in this part of a verbal reasoning test are usually in common use, the tests are timed, so the challenge is to answer them quickly. Without the timing pressure, the questions would often be simple to answer.
1) Word definitions
As verbal reasoning tests are usually multiple choice, in a word definition question you will be presented with a word, either in a sentence or on its own, and asked what it means. You will be given a selection of possible definitions.
There is a chance that the word could have more than one meaning, so context might be important. The definitions might be similar to each other, presenting more difficulty.
2) Missing words
In these questions, you will be asked to complete a sentence. Possible words that could be used will be presented in a multiple-choice format.
Common test examples include misspelled words, homophones and antonyms, to make the answer harder. In some tests there may be more than one missing word that needs to be found.
3) Synonyms
Synonyms are a group of words that have a similar meaning, like big and large. In synonym questions, you will be asked to find the synonym for a given word, often presented in a sentence.
The challenge for these questions is that some of the words might seem to be synonyms but are spelled incorrectly, or are homophones of the actual synonym that is the correct answer.
4) Antonyms
Antonyms are words with the opposite meaning: big and small, for example. They are presented in a similar way to synonyms, asking you to find the opposite meaning to the given word.
The challenge for antonyms is to understand the meaning of the original word as well as find the opposite. With the addition of similar-sounding words, misspellings and synonyms in the multiple choice answers, it can become even more difficult.
5) Homophones
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, often with slightly different spellings. They are stumbling blocks for many people in spoken and written language, and provide challenging questions in verbal reasoning tests. An example of this is advise (to provide guidance) and advice (information to help you make a decision).
Homophones are often used in multiple-choice answers to make questions more challenging, so knowing the possible spellings and alternate meanings to similar-sounding words helps you to rule these out as possibilities.
Questions about homophones will often require you to find the correct meaning for the way the word is spelled, and the answers will contain the meanings for the other ways the word can be spelled.
6) Word patterns
Some tests give you a definition and a pattern instead of a list of options: letters to rearrange, a word hidden across the join between two words in a sentence, or a gap that only a word of a set length will fit. A question might ask for a four-letter word meaning a strong building used for defence, where the answer is ‘fort’.
The method is the same as for every other word meaning question. Work out the meaning that is being described first, then test candidate words against the pattern, rather than staring at the letters and hoping a word appears.
Example word meaning questions
Complete the sentence
Choose the word that correctly completes this sentence:
“The black bear has _____ fur and can usually be found in forests or mountains.”
- course
- coarse
- curse
- cord
Answer: 2, coarse. Coarse means rough or thick in texture, which is how fur is described. The homophone ‘course’ is there to catch anyone matching on sound rather than meaning, and ‘curse’ and ‘cord’ are close enough in spelling to punish a quick scan.
Find the synonym
Choose the correct synonym for the word in bold:
“To close the door, push it until you hear a click.”
- near
- shut
- open
- push
Answer: 2, shut. Close has two common meanings, near and shut, so the sentence does the deciding: a door you push until it clicks is being shut. Option 3 is the opposite meaning and option 4 simply repeats a word from the sentence, which is a standard distractor.
Find the antonym
Select the antonym of the word in bold:
“The powerful scent of the skunk is its last resort in defence. Skunks do not spray unless they feel they have no other option.”
- strong
- appropriate
- weak
- strange
Answer: 3, weak. Option 1 is a synonym of powerful rather than its opposite, and under time pressure a synonym is the easiest wrong answer to pick. Check whether the question wants the same meaning or the opposite before you choose.
Odd one out
Choose the odd word out:
- attractive
- handsome
- alluring
- comfortable
Answer: 4, comfortable. Before you can spot the word that does not fit, you have to find the rule linking the others. Here, attractive, handsome and alluring all describe something pleasing to look at, while comfortable describes ease rather than appearance.
Tips for word meaning questions
There are a number of ways that you can improve your results in word meaning questions in verbal reasoning tests. Some of the tips presented here are important for many types of aptitude tests, too.
Watch out for homophones
There are a number of homophones that come up regularly on verbal reasoning tests, and recognising these can help you to avoid making a mistake with them throughout the tests.
Understand synonyms and antonyms
Many words in the English language have similar meanings, so understanding the meaning of the initial word is the first step to finding synonyms. Antonyms have the opposite meaning, so again the first step is being sure of the word you have been given.
Widen your reading
Although the words used in verbal reasoning tests are usually common, learning new vocabulary and reading a wider variety of books, newspapers and journals will expose you to new language, more synonyms and antonyms.
Practice papers
There is no substitute for practice when it comes to preparing for any assessment, and you can find word meaning questions on many verbal reasoning practice tests. Make the most of your practice by working under test conditions: use a timer, and find tests that are from the publisher you need.
Read questions carefully
In the actual assessment, the information that you need will be presented in the question, so make sure you read it carefully. While the questions and answers are mostly straightforward, with the added time pressure your instincts might be to skim them to move through the test faster. That is what costs marks.
Read the question thoroughly to make sure you understand what word you are looking for and what words you need to avoid.
Practice word meaning questions
Word meaning questions reward exposure as much as technique, so build both. Work through timed verbal reasoning tests to get used to the pace, try basic comprehension tests if you want language questions without the longer passages, and take a mixed set from our free aptitude tests once the formats feel familiar.
To improve your scores, read our complete guide to Verbal Reasoning.
