30 Verbal Reasoning questions — Part 1: 15 synonym, Part 2: 15 sentence completion — in the ISEE's own four-option format. Every answer is explained, and every question links to its word's full study page.
Note: The real ISEE Primary Level (for applicants to grades 2–4) is Auditory Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and a writing sample — it has no Verbal Reasoning section, so the real Primary-level test never asks a synonym or sentence-completion question. This practice test borrows that question style from the Lower/Middle/Upper Verbal Reasoning format purely to help younger students build vocabulary early, ahead of the level where it is actually tested that way.
Choose the best synonym for the word “plague”:
A — epidemic. “plague” means n. a disease that spreads quickly and kills many people. Study “plague” →
Select the best synonym for the word “tiptoe”:
C — creep. “tiptoe” means v. to walk quietly on the toes. Study “tiptoe” →
Select the best synonym for the word “attraction”:
D — appeal. “attraction” means n. a quality or feature that draws interest or attention. Study “attraction” →
Select the best synonym for the word “bossy”:
B — domineering. “bossy” means adj. always telling people what to do. Study “bossy” →
Select the best synonym for the word “unreliable”:
C — undependable. “unreliable” means adj. not able to be trusted or depended on. Study “unreliable” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “secure”:
D — safe. “secure” means adj. safe from harm; v. to make safe. Study “secure” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “synopsis”:
D — summary. “synopsis” means n. a brief summary or general survey of something. Study “synopsis” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “fundamentally”:
C — essentially. “fundamentally” means adv. in a basic and important way. Study “fundamentally” →
Select the best synonym for the word “dissimilar”:
B — unlike. “dissimilar” means adj. not alike; different. Study “dissimilar” →
Select the best synonym for the word “upset”:
A — disturb. “upset” means v. to disturb or overturn; adj. feeling unhappy or worried. Study “upset” →
Select the best synonym for the word “progress”:
C — advancement. “progress” means n. the process of improving or developing something. Study “progress” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “young”:
B — youthful. “young” means adj. having lived or existed for only a short time. Study “young” →
Select the best synonym for the word “wisdom”:
A — insight. “wisdom” means n. the ability to make good decisions based on knowledge and experience. Study “wisdom” →
Select the best synonym for the word “great”:
B — immense. “great” means adj. very large in size, amount, or degree. Study “great” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “age”:
C — lifetime. “age” means n. the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed. Study “age” →
The ______ old sailor spoke to us in a low, rough, growling voice.
A — gruff. “gruff” means adj. rough or stern in manner or speech. Study “gruff” →
It felt completely ______ to keep arguing, since neither side would change.
C — pointless. “pointless” means adj. having no purpose or effect. Study “pointless” →
Do not ______ the danger; the little dog is really quite friendly.
B — overstate. “overstate” means v. to say something in a way that makes it seem more important than it is. Study “overstate” →
She read the exciting book several ______ because she loved it so much.
C — times. “times” means n. instances or occasions. Study “times” →
The whole team trained very hard, hoping to ______ the big championship game.
B — win. “win” means v. to achieve victory in a contest or competition. Study “win” →
The idea is bold, and ______ that it is risky, it might still succeed.
B — granted. “granted” means conj. assuming that something is true. Study “granted” →
Kindness and loyalty are the very ______ of true, lasting friendship.
A — essence. “essence” means n. the basic nature or most important quality of something. Study “essence” →
Without any water, even the strongest plants will eventually ______.
B — die. “die” means v. to stop living. Study “die” →
He tossed another thick ______ onto the crackling campfire to keep it burning.
C — log. “log” means n. a large piece of cut or fallen tree. Study “log” →
The very busy chef badly needed a ______ to chop all the vegetables.
C — helper. “helper” means n. a person who assists or aids. Study “helper” →
The doctor carefully examined the patient's ______ organs with a special scan.
D — internal. “internal” means adj. located on the inside. Study “internal” →
The magician's trick was a clever ______, fooling the whole crowd at once.
D — deception. “deception” means n. the act of making someone believe something that is not true. Study “deception” →
You must always knock before you ______ the principal's office.
B — enter. “enter” means v. to go into a place. Study “enter” →
The ______ old gentleman had polished manners and excellent taste.
A — refined. “refined” means adj. improved to be more precise or elegant. Study “refined” →
The worried nurse called ______ for a doctor to help the injured man.
B — urgently. “urgently” means adv. in a way that requires immediate action or attention. Study “urgently” →
Score:
Every question below is now marked up: the correct answer is highlighted in red, and any option you picked that was wrong is highlighted in blue.
No. These are original synonym and sentence-completion questions written from the iSEE Vocab word bank, in the ISEE's own four-option Verbal Reasoning format. No retired or copyrighted ISEE/SSAT questions appear anywhere on this site.
The real ISEE Primary Level (for applicants to grades 2–4) is Auditory Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and a writing sample — it has no Verbal Reasoning section, so the real Primary-level test never asks a synonym or sentence-completion question. This practice test borrows that question style from the Lower/Middle/Upper Verbal Reasoning format purely to help younger students build vocabulary early, ahead of the level where it is actually tested that way.
30 — Part 1 is 15 synonym questions, Part 2 is 15 sentence-completion questions, the same roughly-even split the real ISEE Verbal Reasoning section uses.
No. Every Primary Level practice test on this site draws from a disjoint slice of the word bank, so Test 1, Test 2 and every other numbered test at this level use entirely different questions.
Yes. The ISEE gives no penalty for a wrong answer — a blank scores the same as a wrong guess, which is zero — so answer every question even when you have to guess.