Antonyms: The Silent Killer

I see from my GRE prep book that antonyms are one of the verbal sections on the test. I thought to myself, "That's easy!" and I was wrong. True, many are pretty straightforward, if you're up on your vocabulary, but they really are just lulling you into a false sense of security. I got together with my friend last night to study, and my study sessions with her during college came screaming back. She's one of those people who has an excellent memory. She would never study nearly as much as I did, but come test time and multiple choice answers, she could recognize what she needed to and get the questions right. Overall, I'd know the material better and have a better grasp a lot of the time, but she could ace every test because she just has a memory like that and I don't.

I think I also tend to define words too narrowly. My book warns against that. For example, one word was "mundane" and I know this word, but the definition I gave it didn't work well for finding its opposite, which in this question was "inconsequential." I need to think outside the box. Those are the most frustrating - when I know the root word but still can't figure out from the answer choices which is meant to be the antonym.

So, I wanted to share a little of my pain with you. I've included a few samples below so you too can feel stupid with me (the root word is the capitalized one, and then you have to pick the antonym from the choices below). The answers are at the bottom - no cheating! Let me know how you do! :)

1. EMIT:
a. absorb
b. demand
c. mistake
d. prevent
e. require

2. BOISTEROUS:
a. grateful
b. angry
c. clever
d. frightened
e. quiet

3. EXTANT:
a. extensive
b. extraneous
c. extricable
d. extinct
e. extra

4. TRACTABILITY:
a. infertility
b. implausibility
c. incorrigbility
d. impenetrability
e. indefatigability

5. GIST:
a. artificial manner
b. trivial point
c. informal procedure
d. eccentric method
e. singular event

6. PERFIDY:
a. tact
b. generosity
c. thoroughness
d. loyalty
e. gratitude

7. SQUALID:
a. fervid
b. florid
c. pristine
d. extraneous
e. abundant


Answers:
1. a
2. e
3. d
4. c
5. b
6. d
7. c