Similarities and Dissimilarities Questions
How do you find the odd word out in verbal reasoning questions?
Identify what all the given words have in common — their part of speech and their shared meaning or category — before looking at the answer options. The correct option is the one word that fails to share that specific connection, even if it seems related on the surface. Being the same type of word is not enough; it must share the same kind of similarity.
Two forms of the same question
These questions come in two shapes that ask the same thing differently. One gives four boxed words that are "alike in some way" and asks which of five listed options could not join them. The other gives five options directly and asks which is the odd one out among them. Both rely on the same skill: naming precisely how the known words relate before touching the options.
This is usually the single most frequent verbal reasoning question type, and also one of the widest in difficulty — some are answerable in seconds, others take real thought. Leave the slow ones for last.
Worked example
All of these words are alike in some way: Favour, Aid, Grace, Kindness. Which of the following words could not fit?
A. Blessing B. Bravery C. Godsend D. Assist E. Hand
The four given words are all positive nouns describing an act of helping someone. Write that down before touching the options — it forces precision.
Blessing, Godsend, Assist and Hand (as in "lending a hand") all describe helping someone directly. Bravery is also a positive noun, which is exactly the trap: it shares the type of word but not the connection. Bravery describes a quality of character, not an act of helping. Option B is correct.
The failure mode to watch for
The most common error here is stopping at "this option is also positive" or "this option is also a noun" and assuming that's enough. It isn't. The four correct-fitting options must share the precise relationship you identified — not just the same broad category. When two options both seem to qualify, go back and restate the connection more narrowly until only one survives.
Steps
- Write down what type of word the group shares (noun, verb, adjective) and precisely how they relate in meaning
- Check every option against that exact connection, not just the broad category
- Eliminate options that clearly share the connection, leaving the most likely odd one out
- Confirm the remaining option fails the connection specifically, not just generally
This is one chapter of the Scholarship & Entrance English Assessment Guide. The complete guide — every technique, collected in one document — is available as a free PDF from the guide's main page.