Word Analogy Quiz: 10 A Is to B as C Is to D Puzzles

This word analogy quiz gives you ten puzzles in the classic form A is to B as C is to D, where you must find the word that completes the pair, with links between tools and uses, animals and their young, opposites, creators and their works, animals and homes, measuring tools, clothing, capital cities such as Paris and Tokyo, parts and wholes, the format once used on the SAT and the MAT.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Uses
Pen is to write as knife is to ______.
Young animals
Calf is to cow as foal is to ______.
Opposites
Hot is to cold as early is to ______.
Creators
Author is to book as composer is to ______.
Homes
Bee is to hive as bear is to ______.
Measuring
Thermometer is to temperature as scale is to ______.
Clothing
Hand is to glove as foot is to ______.
Capitals
Paris is to France as Tokyo is to ______.
Parts
Petal is to flower as page is to ______.
Made of
Ocean is to water as desert is to ______.

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Pen is to write as knife is to ______.
Answer: Cut
A pen is used to write, and a knife is used to cut. The link is between a tool and the action it performs.
Q2: Calf is to cow as foal is to ______.
Answer: Horse
A calf is a young cow, and a foal is a young horse. A young sheep is a lamb, and a young goat is a kid.
Q3: Hot is to cold as early is to ______.
Answer: Late
Hot and cold are opposites, words with completely different meanings. In the same way, the opposite of early is late, while morning and soon are not opposites.
Q4: Author is to book as composer is to ______.
Answer: Symphony
An author creates a book, and a composer creates a piece of music such as a symphony. A piano is an instrument, not a creation.
Q5: Bee is to hive as bear is to ______.
Answer: Den
A bee lives in a hive, and a bear rests in a den. A forest is a habitat, while a den is the bear's actual home.
Q6: Thermometer is to temperature as scale is to ______.
Answer: Weight
A thermometer measures temperature, and a scale measures weight. A ruler measures length, and a clock measures time.
Q7: Hand is to glove as foot is to ______.
Answer: Sock
A glove covers a hand, and a sock covers a foot. Toe and leg are body parts, not coverings.
Q8: Paris is to France as Tokyo is to ______.
Answer: Japan
Paris is the capital of France, and Tokyo is the capital of Japan. Osaka is a Japanese city, not a country.
Q9: Petal is to flower as page is to ______.
Answer: Book
A petal is one part of a flower, and a page is one part of a book. This is a part-to-whole link.
Q10: Ocean is to water as desert is to ______.
Answer: Sand
An ocean is mostly made up of water, and a sandy desert is mostly made up of sand. Camels and heat are found in deserts but do not make them up.

Word Analogy Quiz – Finding the Hidden Link

A word analogy compares two pairs of words that share the same relationship. It is usually written as A is to B as C is to D, for example pen is to write as knife is to cut. To solve one, you first name the link between the first pair, then find the word that creates the same link in the second pair.

Analogies have a long history in testing. The SAT, the main college admission test in the United States, included analogy questions for decades until they were removed in 2005. The Miller Analogies Test, often called the MAT, was used for graduate school admissions and was built entirely on analogies of this kind.

The most common relationships include tool and use, young and adult animal, opposites, creator and creation, animal and home, measuring tool and quantity, part and whole, and capital city and country. Learning these types makes most analogies much faster to solve.

A good trick is to make a sentence from the first pair, such as a calf is a young cow, and then test each option in the same sentence. Only the right answer will fit naturally. Watch out for options that are related to the topic but break the pattern, such as piano instead of symphony.

Analogies are also how people learn and explain new ideas. Teachers compare the heart to a pump or electricity to flowing water, linking new concepts to familiar ones.

Practicing word analogies improves vocabulary, careful thinking and the ability to see relationships between ideas.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for students, word lovers and test takers.

How A is to B as C is to D works
Tool and use links
Young animals and animal homes
Creators and their works
Part and whole links
Capitals and countries

Quick Facts About Analogies

The SAT dropped analogy questions in 2005.
Ancient Greek thinkers, including Aristotle, wrote about analogy.
A young goat is called a kid.
Scientists often use analogies to explain new discoveries.
Making a sentence from the first pair is the best solving trick.
Analogy questions also appear in many job aptitude tests.