Introduction / Context:
This verbal analogy tests the ability to recognize a graded relationship in which the second word represents a stronger, more extreme form of the first. Moving from interest to obsession reflects an escalation in intensity within the same domain (attention/engagement). We must select the option that mirrors this precise kind of strengthening.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Base pair: interest → obsession (mild or moderate attention → extreme, consuming focus).
- Required: another pair where the second term is a heightened, more intense form of the first in the same semantic field.
- Distractors may be loosely related pairs or category/type relationships that lack the degree escalation.
Concept / Approach:
Identify whether each option shows a clear increase of intensity, not just association or category membership. We are looking for “X is a milder form; Y is the intensified form of X.” Pairs that are synonyms, opposites, or different parts of speech without a graded path should be discarded.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Compare the base pair: interest → obsession (intensity rises).Evaluate “mood : feeling” — overlapping categories, not an intensity step.Evaluate “weeping : sadness” — effect versus cause; order is reversed and not intensity from the same base state.Evaluate “dream : fantasy” — fantasy is commonly used to denote a more extravagant, less constrained form of imagining than an ordinary dream; this fits an escalation pattern.Discard “plan : negation” and “highlight : indication” — do not reflect graded intensity.
Verification / Alternative check:
Read aloud: interest is to obsession as dream is to fantasy — both show increasing intensity/imaginative engagement.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
mood : feeling — near-synonymous categories; neither intensifies the other.weeping : sadness — weeping is an expression of sadness, not a stronger form of it; also reversed direction.plan : negation — unrelated logical concepts.highlight : indication — both are acts of pointing out, not a graded pair.
Common Pitfalls:
Confusing any related pair with the specific “more intense form of the same thing” pattern. Always confirm the second term amplifies the first within the same domain.
Final Answer:
dream : fantasy
Discussion & Comments