Analogy - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

Contract is the antonym of Dilate. The relationship is of antonymous words. Wax is the opposite of wane. Thus, [1] is the answer. The other options do not reflect the same relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Answer: Option D

Explanation :

The relationship between the pair of words is of degree of a characteristic. Savage means ferocious. Barbaric is brutal. Venomous means toxic or harmful. Virulent means severely harmful. Thus, [4] expresses a similar relationship to the given words.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

Pertinacious means holding firmly to an opinion or a course of action. Astute means having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage. Demure means ‘reserved,  modest, and shy’, and indecorous means ‘not in keeping with good taste and propriety’. The official answer key mentions the answer as [2] and we have retained the same as the answer. However, a similar relationship is formed in the pair [1]. The relation between ‘Pertinacious’ and ‘astute’ is of characteristic trait. It means someone who is pertinacious is astute which means ‘firm’. The similar relationship is formed in the pair [1]. A foible person has weakness. However, we are retaining [2] as the correct answer.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option C

Explanation :

The relationship is of antonymous words. Serene is the antonym of agitated. Similarly, odious is the antonym of pleasant.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

Answer: Option E

Explanation :

‘Emendation’ means ‘a correction or improvement in a text’ which is the work of an ‘editor’. Inculcating ‘discipline’ in students is not the job of a ‘coach’. Thus option 1 is incorrect. Though an ‘injunction’ is ‘an order issued by a court to a party to refrain from some act’, a judge only gives justice. It is not his job to see to it that an injunction is issued. Thus option 2 is also incorrect. A ‘doctor’s job is to diagnose an illness by examining the patient. Thus option 3 is also incorrect. ‘Renunciation’ means ‘abandonment’ and not work of a saint but the mark of being a saint. Thus option 4 is also incorrect. An ‘usher’ illuminates the path so that he can show people to their seats. Retain option 5.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

‘Cicerone’ means ‘a guide’. Thus the given relationship is that of synonyms. ‘Dragoman’ means ‘a professional interpreter’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option C

Explanation :

‘Sylvan’ means ‘relating to woods’ while ‘terrestrial’ means ‘relating to earth’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

“Fret” means ‘to be constantly anxious’ and “disquietude” means ‘a state of anxiety’ which makes them synonyms. Hence, option 2 is correct as “inspirit” means ‘to encourage someone’ which is similar to “confidence”.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option D

Explanation :

“Coffer” means ‘a chest or a box for valuables’. Option 4 with “sanctuary” meaning ‘a place for refuge’ exhibits similar relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.

Answer: Option D

Explanation :

“Coffer” means ‘a chest or a box for valuables’. Option 4 with “sanctuary” meaning ‘a place for refuge’ exhibits similar relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

“Apocryphal” means ‘something doubtful’ and “corroboration” means ‘evidence which confirms a statement’ which makes them antonyms. Option 1 is correct as “sacrilegious” means ‘to be disrespectful towards religious things’ and “piety” means ‘to be respectful towards religious things’ making them opposites.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Answer: Option D

Explanation :

Grotesque and macabre both mean/signify unpleasant, out of the normal and hideous. But Macabre while being unpleasant specifically focuses on death or is related to death. Among the options given below, all the right hand side words signify or are related to death/dead. But among options, the words on the left hand side, only sorcery is unpleasant and therefore similar to grotesque.
Hence the correct answer is option 4.

Answer: Option E

Explanation :

The statement says that the adequacy of the ingredients in a recipe can be known only after consuming the final product.
Option 1 already considers the ingredients to be adequate and does not rely on the final product. So, eliminate option 1.
Option 2 implies 'a child grows up to be similar to its parents' and is unrelated to the given statement.
Option 3 indicates a definite happy ending and contradicts the given statement which is uncertain about the outcome.
Option 4 links the behaviour of the man with the results he receive and is not relevant to the given statement.
Option 5 suggests that you cannot judge something until you have tried it and is analogous tot he given statement.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

“Inspect” means 'to look closely and critically' and “vivisect” means 'the act of cutting into a living body'. Hence, inspection is examining from the outside and vivisecting is going into detail.
“Enquire” means 'to seek information by questioning' and “observe” means 'to see and notice'.
“Inquire” means 'to seek information by questioning' and “explore” means 'to inquire into in detail'.
“Investigate” meaning 'examine in detail' and “interrogate” means 'to examine by questioning'.
“Query' means 'a question' and “survey” means 'to ask many people a question or a series of questions to gather information'.
“Question” means 'a sentence used to find out information' and “respond” means 'to give as a reply'.
Only option 2 reflects similar relationship as the one established by the given pair.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option C

Explanation :

A “mumble” is 'something that is said indistinctly and quietly'. Similarly, a “scribble” is 'something that is written or drawn illegibly'.
None of the other options show the same relationship. All display an antonymous relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

We can “ruffle” a person's “equanimity”, meaning to 'disorder or disarrange' his 'calmness and composure'. Similarly, we can “disturb” the “balance” of something, meaning to 'interfere' with the 'equilibrium and stability' of something.
The other options do not display the same relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

The relationship between the first two words is antonymous. “Alleviate” means 'to make easier to endure; lessen; mitigate' while “aggravate”
means 'to make worse or more severe'.
“Rigid” is antonymous to “elastic”.
“Flexible” and “malleable” are synonymous to “elastic”, while “strong” has nothing to do with “elastic”.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Answer: Option D

Explanation :

“Benevolent” and “kind” are synonymous to each other.
“Muddy” is synonymous to “unclear”.
“Luminous” meaning 'radiating or reflecting light; shining; bright' is not associated with “unclear”.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.

Answer: Option C

Explanation :

Indefatigable means persisting tirelessly and inveterate means having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change. This is given directly in option C.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

Misanthrope is someone who hates human beings in the same way a misogynist hates women. A chauvinist is someone who is highly patriotic. An agnostic is one who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. A witch practices or believes in magic.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option C

Explanation :

“Impuissance” means ‘helplessness; lack of effectiveness; weak’.
“Desecrate” means ‘defile; violate; dishonour’.
“Decrepit” and “effete” mean ‘worn out’. “Bedraggled” means ‘soiled; untidy; dilapidated’. These words are in consonance with the first given word.
“Desolate” means ‘devastated; laid waste’. “Sacrilege” means violation. “Profanity” means irreverence. These words are in consonance with the second given word.
“Ornery”, meaning ‘ugly; unpleasant; inferior’, and “Contort”, meaning ‘distort; twist out of shape’, are completely unrelated to the given pair.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

“Insouciant” means ‘carefree; light hearted’.
“Gossamer” means ‘light, flimsy, delicate’.
“Perfunctory” means ‘superficial; uninterested’. “Pococurante” means ‘careless; indifferent’. “Nonchalant” means ‘unconcerned’. These words are in consonance with “insouciant”.
“Diaphanous” means ‘sheer’. “Pellucid” means ‘translucent’. “Tiffany” is ‘a sheer mesh fabric’. These words are in consonance with “gossamer”.
“Nymphs” refers to ‘graceful women’ and “Gehenna” refers to ‘a place of torment’. These words are completely unrelated to the words in the given pair.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Answer: Option B

Explanation :

“Omniscient” means ‘complete knowledge’. Therefore, the relationship in the given pair is a synonymous one, with the first word being of a greater degree than the second.

Similarly, “boundless” means ‘without any limit’, and is a greater degree of “expanse”, which means ‘an uninterrupted surface of something that spreads or extends’.

“Saturnine” means ‘sluggish; gloomy’, and is antonymous to “energy”.

“Inquisitive: science” is unrelated, as is “complete: retraction”. They do not exhibit a similar relationship to the capitalized pair.

Hence, the correct answer is option 2.

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

“Disquietude” is a noun and means ‘a state of anxiety’. “Anxious” is an adjective.
Similarly, ‘nonplus’ is a noun and means ‘the state of utter perplexity’. ‘Perplexed’ is an adjective.
The remaining pairs do not express such a relationship.“Cupidity” means ‘eager to possess something; greed’.
 “Bellicose” means ‘ready to fight’.“Embellishment” means ‘a fictitious addition’. 
“Overstated” means ‘stated strongly; exaggerated’.“Magnitude” means ‘size; extent’. 
“Unabridged” means ‘complete; not shortened’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

Answer: Option A

Explanation :

“Deviate” means ‘to digress’, as from a line of thought or reasoning. One may deviate from the line of teaching/thought during a lecture.
Similarly, when going on a ‘drive’, one may ‘meander’, or wander from the set course.
The remaining options do not show such a relationship.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.