WordMasters Analogy Challenge

2025 October (List #1) is HERE

Level 7 Gold WordMasters List #1 Test #1 is December 2, 2025

WM Analogies Test #1 will be the beginning of November. We only have 8 weeks to master the sixteen analogy types and these 25 words!

Words in (parentheses) are other forms of the word.

wellspring, flay, myopic (myopia), travesty, banish (banishment), taciturn, vortex, castigate (castigation, castigator), pragmatic, escapade, ravage, empirical, palaver (common verb endings -ed, -ing), incarcerate, scant (scantily), exodus, abscond, prolific, maelstrom, impound, loquacious (loquaciousness), whippersnapper, eulogize (eulogy), resilient (resilience), calumny

WordMasters Challenge™ Tips

Sample analogy question:

LIFE OF CRIME : FORSWEAR :: VIOLENCE :

a. avow

b. rue

c. repudiate

d. belie

e. expedite

To succeed in this competition, you will have to understand the exact meanings of all your words, and you will have to reason carefully about the relationships shown in the pairs. In the example above, the correct answer is (c) repudiate because if you FORSWEAR a LIFE OF CRIME, you vow not to commit crimes; in a similar way, if you REPUDIATE VIOLENCE, you vow not to commit or accept violent behavior.

Here are some tips to help you get ready for the WordMasters Challenge™:

  • After you have learned the meanings of your words, think about possible relationships among them.

  • Which words have similar meanings?

  • Which words have nearly opposite meanings?

  • Remember, some words have more than one meaning.

  • Think about some categories into which several words might be grouped.

  • Be sure you understand the part of speech of a word (for example, noun, verb or adjective) as it is used in the analogy.

  • Many words on this list (such as “grimace”, “smirk” and “quaff”) can be either a noun or a verb depending upon how they are used. “Indigent” can be a noun or an adjective.

  • Pay special attention to the prefixes and suffixes of words because they are often clues to meaning and part of speech.

• Familiarize yourself with other forms of these words, for example:

o Not just “rue”, but also “rueful”

o Not just “delude”, but also “deluded” and “delusion”

o Not just “ardor”, but also “ardent”

o Not just “languor”, but also “languorous” and “languid”

RESOURCES:

  • An excellent online source for sentences is wordhippo.com (select sentences from the blue tabs at the top of the page.)

  • Another excellent resource, especially for definitions and sentences, is https://www.merriam-webster.com/ This is much better than dictionary.com. However because it is a free site rather than a paid subscription site, there are ads.

2025-2025

Join Farm School's Vocabulary.com Classroom

Join our online classroom

Vocabulary.com creates flash cards with definitions, sample sentences, context hints and etymology (history and orgins of the word) for our vocabulary lists that I select or create.

Create an account by clicking the blue button above (I have a paid subscription which allows 25 of my students to use this site.) Use a nickname and your first name and last initial.

From August through September we’ll study words from Shakespeare.

Prepare for the national challenge!

Test #1 is December 2, 2025! Test #2 is in mid-February. Test #3 is mid-April.

Step 1: Learn the 16 types of analogies with easy words.

Print these practice sets (one per week) and bring to class so we can work on them together.

Step 2: Learn the words on Fall List number #1 so you can use these words in analogies.

To learn the list words you will make study flashcards like the models below. They’ll include

  1. part of speech

  2. definitions (usually 2)

  3. forms or variations on the word e.g. inertia, inert, or adulate, adulation, or abhor, abhorrent, (We’ll do this part in class together or you can use the listed variations of the word which I added into our list above.)

  4. an example sentence (this means a sentence written by an adult—you can use dictionary.com to find the word used in a sentence)

  5. Bonus: include synonyms and antonyms.

  6. Leave a space to write down other WM words it might be related to and the context. (That’s what the sticky note is telling you— leave space for other forms of the word, context and other WM words it could be related to.)

See sample flashcard below!

Resources for making your flashcards

Definitions, sentences, part of speech and synonyms

1.       Wellspring: noun, a source of continual supply The tour guide was a wellspring of information SOURCE, CRADLE, ORGIN, ROOT, GENESIS, SPRING

2.      Flay: verb, 1. to strip off the skin or surface of : skin he hunter flayed the rabbit and prepared it for cooking2. to criticize harshly : excoriate He was flayed by the media for his controversial comments 3. Lash the wind whipped up to gale fury, flaying his face CASTIGATE, SCOLD, BERATE, LAMBASTE, REPRIMAND

3.      myopic (myopia, myopically), adj: 1) affected by myopia : of, relating to, or exhibiting myopia : nearsighted In some eyes, the lens does not become flat enough to bring far objects in focus, although it focuses near objects well; people with such eyes are said to be myopic (nearsighted). 2) lacking in foresight or discernment : narrow in perspective and without concern for broader implications After the Revolution the newly independent American states, governed by large elected legislatures, formed a loose confederation in which each state myopically pursued its own highly localized interests. SHORTSIGHTED

4.      Travesty: noun, a debased, distorted, or grossly inferior imitation.  Occasionally a purposeful paradoy.  a travesty of justice  It is a travesty and a tragedy that so many people would be denied the right to vote. SHAM, MOCKERY, PARODY

5.      Banish noun (banishment), 1. to require by authority to leave a country, He was banished from court.  2. To drive out or remove from a home, to clear away : dispel, EVICT, EXILE, DEPORT

6.      Taciturn adj, temperamentally disinclined to talk: When he got to the substation that night, this private taciturn fellow had to spill his guts. If he didn't tell somebody, he might blow like a land mine.I went on speech strike … remaining defiantly taciturn through a procession of speech therapists and psychotherapists, verbalizing only to the gardener and swearing him to silence.SILENT, RESTRAINED, RETICIENT, RESERVED, UNCOMMUNICATIVE

7.      Vortex noun: something that resembles a whirlpool the hellish vortex of battle. The last thing any of us needs is a reason to tilt into a vortex of fury. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream. WHIRLPOOL, MAELSTORM, SWIRL, EDDY

8.      Castigate verb: to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings, to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism The judge castigated the lawyers for their lack of preparation.

castigated him for his constant tardiness CHASTIZE, ADMONISH,SCOLD, BERATE, LAMBASTE, REPRIMAND FLAY

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