What does a child have to do to select a synonym in the 11+?

Select a word with the closest meaning in the stated context. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the vocabulary strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ select a synonym question?

Choose by meaning. A related topic alone does not make two words synonyms. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What can I say if my child is stuck on select a synonym?

Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Compare the main meaning of each word with the headings. Some words add extra detail.

What is not part of select a synonym in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Meaning must be context-compatible. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside select a synonym?

The vocabulary strand holds 4 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to select a synonym are classify a word relationship, resolve a homophone and select an antonym. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise select a synonym for free?

Use Synonym Spectrum, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to select a synonym, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

English · Vocabulary

Select a synonym

Select a word with the closest meaning in the stated context.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Find the Closest Meaning

This video shows how to choose the word closest in meaning to a target word as it is used in the sentence. Watch an 11+ English question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:38

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Read the transcript

Keep practising with Trace Learn. Find topics to practise next

Quick quiz: Select a synonym

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 2
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 3
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 4
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 5
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 6
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 7
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 8
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 9
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.
Question 10
Sort each word into the group whose meaning it shares.

Practise it now

These all mean "walked". Drag them onto the rail, calmest on the left.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Words with similar meanings

Read each word with the group heading to hear why it fits there.

Words to sort: terrified, valiant, courageous, nervous, afraid, heroic.
Groups to sort them into: Means the same as BRAVE; Means the same as SCARED.

Answer: Means the same as BRAVE: valiant, courageous, heroic. Means the same as SCARED: terrified, nervous, afraid.

How you get there

Synonyms have the same or a similar meaning. Some add extra detail: "courageous" belongs under "Means the same as BRAVE" and "nervous" under "Means the same as SCARED", which means every item here has exactly one correct group.

Why the other answers tempt

Choose by meaning. A related topic alone does not make two words synonyms.

If they are stuck, say this

Compare the main meaning of each word with the headings. Some words add extra detail.

Now do it live in Synonym Spectrum

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Select a synonym together. Words to sort: terrified, valiant, courageous, nervous, afraid, heroic. Groups to sort them into: Means the same as BRAVE; Means the same as SCARED. Here comes the question: Read each word with the group heading to hear why it fits there. Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Compare the main meaning of each word with the headings. Some words add extra detail. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: Some add extra detail: "courageous" belongs under "Means the same as BRAVE" and "nervous" under "Means the same as SCARED", which means every item here has exactly one correct group. So our answer is: Means the same as BRAVE: valiant, courageous, heroic. Means the same as SCARED: terrified, nervous, afraid. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: Choose by meaning. A related topic alone does not make two words synonyms. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Synonym Spectrum

These all mean "walked". Drag them onto the rail, calmest on the left.

Synonyms are not spare copies of each other - each one carries a different temperature. A writer who chooses "stormed" instead of "walked" has told you about the character's mood without ever naming it, and an examiner will credit you for spotting that. When a question asks why the author chose a particular word, the answer is almost always: because of where it sits on a spectrum like this one.

What to say if they get stuck

Start with the two extremes - which word could you never use about someone in a temper?
Picture the feet. Dawdling feet drag; stomping feet land hard.
Compare them in pairs: is "marched" calmer or angrier than "stomped"?

Open Synonym Spectrum on its own page to share it

How select a synonym differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises several skills, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: select a word with the closest meaning in the stated context, and it stops where meaning must be context-compatible.

Interpret a word in context
Infer the meaning of one word from its sentence and passage context. Excludes recalling a definition without context.
Classify a word relationship
Classify one pair or group by its semantic relationship. Excludes analogy transfer to a new pair.
Select closest meaning
Choose the option closest in meaning to a target word. Context is absent unless explicitly supplied.

Related english skills

Resolve a homophoneChoose the correctly spelled homophone for a sentence.
Select an antonymSelect a word with the opposite meaning in the stated context.

All english 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about select a synonym

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Select a word with the closest meaning in the stated context. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the vocabulary strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: Choose by meaning. A related topic alone does not make two words synonyms. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Compare the main meaning of each word with the headings. Some words add extra detail.
: The skill map draws the line here: Meaning must be context-compatible. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The vocabulary strand holds 4 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to select a synonym are classify a word relationship, resolve a homophone and select an antonym. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Synonym Spectrum, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to select a synonym, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are four different problems

A free diagnostic separates them, so practice goes where the gap actually is rather than on whichever one is easiest to set.