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Analogies form a crucial part of SSC CGL Tier 1 Reasoning with typically 3–4 questions per exam. These questions test your ability to identify relationships between pairs of words and apply that logic to find the correct pair among the options. Success in Analogies requires understanding word relationships (synonymy, antonymy, function, classification, cause-effect, part-whole, and more). This practice set of 20 medium-level MCQs covers diverse analogical relationships you'll encounter in the real exam. The key strategy: quickly identify the nature of the relationship in the given pair, then test each option systematically.
Q1. Pen is to Writing as Brush is to ___?
Pen is an instrument used for writing; similarly, a brush is an instrument used for painting. The relationship is tool-to-action. While canvas is where painting occurs, it's not the action performed with a brush. Painting is the function/action of the brush, making it the correct analogy.
Q2. Surgeon is to Scalpel as Carpenter is to ___?
A surgeon uses a scalpel as their primary precision tool. Similarly, a carpenter uses a saw as a primary cutting/shaping tool. The relationship is professional-to-primary-tool. While a hammer and saw are both carpenter tools, the saw is the more analogous relationship to scalpel (precision cutting instrument). Hammer is secondary, and wood/nail are not tools.
Q3. Lion is to Pride as Fish is to ___?
A group of lions is called a pride. A group of fish is called a school (or shoal). This is a collective noun relationship where each animal has a specific collective term. Swarm is for insects, colony for insects/microbes, and pod for whales/dolphins. School is the specific collective noun for fish, making it the correct answer.
Q4. Flower is to Fragrance as Lemon is to ___?
A flower is characterized by its fragrance (a distinctive attribute). A lemon is characterized by its sourness (a distinctive attribute). The relationship is object-to-characteristic-property. While taste is broader, sourness is the specific property that defines a lemon, just as fragrance specifically defines a flower. Fruit is a classification, not a property.
Q5. Darkness is to Light as Silence is to ___?
Darkness and light are opposites (antonym relationship). Silence and sound are also opposites. Both pairs represent opposite states: darkness vs. illumination, silence vs. auditory presence. Peace and quiet are subjective qualities; noise is too general. Sound is the direct opposite of silence, establishing the strongest analogical relationship.
Q6. River is to Valley as Mountain is to ___?
A river runs through and defines a valley (geographic feature-location relationship). A mountain ends or is defined by its peak (geographic feature-characteristic location). Valley is the defining feature associated with rivers; peak is the defining feature associated with mountains. This part-to-whole or feature-to-landmark relationship makes peak the best answer. Height and snow are attributes, hill is a similar but smaller feature.
Q7. Author is to Book as Sculptor is to ___?
An author creates/produces a book. A sculptor creates/produces a statue. The relationship is creator-to-creation or professional-to-product. Stone is raw material, chisel is the tool, and art is too broad. A statue is the finished product made by a sculptor, exactly parallel to how a book is the finished product made by an author.
Q8. Grain is to Granary as Weapon is to ___?
Grain is stored in a granary (item-to-storage-place). Weapons are stored in an armory (item-to-storage-place). Both are storage/repository relationships. Arsenal refers more broadly to weapons and supplies (or strategy), barracks is where soldiers live, and fort is a defensive structure. Armory is the specific storage place for weapons, creating the closest parallel to granary.
Q9. Hungry is to Food as Thirsty is to ___?
When you are hungry, you need food to satisfy the need. When you are thirsty, you need water (the substance) to satisfy the need. The relationship is condition-to-satisfying-substance. Drink is an action, glass is a container, and liquid is too broad. Water is the specific substance that satisfies thirst, just as food satisfies hunger.
Q10. Rose is to Thorn as Tree is to ___?
A thorn is a protective feature of a rose (part of the structure). Bark is a protective outer layer of a tree (part of the structure). The relationship is organism-to-protective-covering/feature. While branch, leaf, and root are all parts of a tree, only bark serves the same protective function as thorns do for a rose. Bark is the outer protective layer, making it the most analogous answer.
Q11. Teacher is to Classroom as Doctor is to ___?
A teacher works in a classroom (professional-to-workplace). A doctor works in a clinic or hospital. Between the options, clinic is the more specific analogous answer (hospital is larger/broader). While a hospital contains many departments and clinics, a clinic is the primary workplace for a doctor, just as a classroom is for a teacher. Medicine is a substance, patient is served by the doctor but not a place.
Q12. Swift is to Speed as Honest is to ___?
Swift is an adjective describing high speed (quality-to-characteristic). Honest is an adjective describing truthfulness (quality-to-characteristic). The relationship is adjective-to-abstract-noun. Truth is a noun/concept but less directly connected to the adjective honest than truthfulness. Truthfulness is the noun form corresponding directly to the adjective honest, just as speed corresponds to swift.
Q13. Oil is to Lamp as Fuel is to ___?
Oil is a resource that powers/fuels a lamp (substance-to-powered-object). Fuel is a resource that powers/fuels an engine (substance-to-powered-object). The relationship is fuel-to-device-powered. Engine is the device powered by fuel, just as lamp is the device powered by oil. Car uses fuel but isn't powered solely by it (it's the vehicle), energy and power are too abstract.
Q14. Gloom is to Sorrow as Sunshine is to ___?
Gloom (darkness/dimness) is associated with sorrow (sadness/emotion). Sunshine (light/brightness) is associated with happiness (joy/positive emotion). The relationship is atmospheric-condition-to-emotional-state. Sunshine metaphorically and literally relates to happiness, just as gloom relates to sorrow. Brightness is descriptive, weather is broader, warmth is physical.
Q15. Dull is to Sharp as Rough is to ___?
Dull and sharp are opposites (antonyms). Rough and smooth are also opposites (antonyms). Both pairs represent opposite qualities: edges (dull vs. sharp) and surfaces (rough vs. smooth). Coarse and rough are similar, fine is related but not opposite, soft is a separate quality. Smooth is the direct opposite of rough, establishing the proper antonym analogy.
Q16. Prisoner is to Jail as Patient is to ___?
A prisoner is confined in a jail (person-to-confinement-place). A patient is confined/treated in a hospital (person-to-care-place). The relationship is person-to-institutional-location. While medicine is substance, disease is condition, and doctor is professional, hospital is the place where a patient stays/is treated, just as jail is where a prisoner stays.
Q17. Soldier is to Uniform as Judge is to ___?
A soldier wears a uniform (professional-to-distinctive-attire). A judge wears a robe (professional-to-distinctive-attire). The relationship is profession-to-ceremonial-clothing. Court is a place, law and justice are abstract concepts. Robe is the distinctive attire worn by judges, exactly parallel to how uniform is worn by soldiers.
Q18. Wool is to Sheep as Silk is to ___?
Wool is a fiber/material produced by sheep (material-source). Silk is a fiber/material produced by a silkworm (material-source). The relationship is product-to-source-organism. Cocoon is the structure where silk is produced, not the source itself. Insect is too broad, fabric is the final product. A silkworm is the source of silk, just as a sheep is the source of wool.
Q19. Bud is to Flower as Egg is to ___?
A bud develops into a flower (developmental stage-to-mature-form). An egg develops into a chick (developmental stage-to-mature-form). The relationship is immature-stage-to-mature-stage. Bird is adult form (not parallel), nest is location, shell is outer material. Chick is the developing/young form that hatches from an egg, just as a flower is the developed form of a bud.
Q20. Elated is to Ecstatic as Angry is to ___?
Elated and ecstatic represent intensities of happiness/joy, with ecstatic being more intense (weak-to-strong intensity of same emotion). Angry and furious represent intensities of anger/rage, with furious being more intense (weak-to-strong intensity of same emotion). The relationship is mild-emotion-to-intense-form-of-same-emotion. Upset is milder, irritated is separate, resentful is a different emotion. Furious is the intense form of angry, completing the intensity gradient.
