GRE Vocabulary Builder

Answer: Choice (B) is correct.

Consider the relationship of the words in the first half of the analogy. Onomatopoeia is a word that is used to imitate a sound, such as hiss. The relationship of these words is that the second word is an example of the first word. In choice (A), a portmanteau is a blending of two words to form a new word that is related to the original words. For example, ‘brunch’ is a portmanteau - a blend of breakfast and lunch. In choice (C), a superlative is a word that designates the highest form of comparison. In this example, consider ‘quick-quicker-quickest’. Quickest is the superlative form, so eliminate that choice. In choice (D), a mnemonic is used to improve one’s memory; the relationship between these words is different, so eliminate that choice. In choice (B), a palindrome is a word that is spelled the same way both forward and backward, such as kayak.