ASVAB · AFQT
Word Knowledge
Word Knowledge is the ASVAB subtest in which you pick, among four options, the word closest in meaning to a given word, shown alone or in a short sentence.
- Items
- 15
- Time
- 9 minutes
- Format
- Computer-adaptive
- Answer options
- 4
- Counts toward
- AFQT
Screens of the trainer
The subtest
Measures
The subtest measures the ability to pick the meaning of a word in context and the best synonym for a given word.
It is one of the four subtests whose scores form the AFQT, with Paragraph Comprehension, Arithmetic Reasoning and Mathematics Knowledge. The AFQT decides eligibility to enlist.
Format
The subtest is computer-adaptive: each item is chosen from your earlier answers, and an answer cannot be changed once submitted.
It has 15 items in 9 minutes, each with four answer options. On paper, the subtest has 35 items in 11 minutes.
Scoring
The subtest is reported as a standard score. The items are scaled for difficulty, so the score is comparable between test-takers who saw different items.
That standard score is combined with the three other AFQT subtests into the AFQT, a percentile from 1 to 99.
Item types
One word, four options
Each item shows one word, alone or set off in a short sentence, and you pick the option closest in meaning among four.
Free practice test
Item 1 of 5
The puppy was EAGER to greet everyone at the door.
Show the answer
Answer: enthusiastic
Eager means full of keen desire or enthusiasm, so the closest word is enthusiastic.
Reluctant means unwilling, the opposite attitude.
Exhausted means worn out, and ashamed means feeling guilt or shame.
Item 2 of 5
Immense most nearly means
Show the answer
Answer: vast
Immense means extremely large, so the closest word is vast.
Tiny is the opposite size, and brief describes a short time, not a size.
Fragile means easily broken.
Item 3 of 5
The new software was designed to FACILITATE communication between departments.
Show the answer
Answer: make easier
To facilitate is to make a process easier, so the closest answer is make easier.
Block is the opposite: it stops communication instead of easing it.
Wander means to move without aim, and set down in writing means to record.
Item 4 of 5
Clandestine most nearly means
Show the answer
Answer: secret
Clandestine means kept hidden, often because it is not allowed, so the closest word is secret.
Public is the opposite.
Poorly planned and accidental describe how something is done, not whether it is hidden.
Item 5 of 5
Sanguine most nearly means
Show the answer
Answer: optimistic
Sanguine means confident that things will turn out well, so the closest word is optimistic.
Gloomy is the opposite outlook.
Indecisive means unable to decide, and apathetic means showing no interest.
The Frontline Forge trainer
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Feedback after each answer
Training mode shows the correct answer and its explanation after each answer: what the tested word means and why the closest option misses. The clock pauses while you read.
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15 items in 9 minutes, ranked
Test mode runs 15 items in 9 minutes, the count and time of the real subtest, with no feedback until the end. Each score is ranked against the scores of other test-takers, and the Statistics page plots the ranking of every attempt.
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600 words, each tested once
Every attempt draws its 15 items at random from a bank of 600, one item per word, in both forms of the subtest: the word alone, or set off in a sentence. The bank's vocabulary is general American English, from high-school to college-entry words, with no technical or military jargon.