40 Verbal Reasoning questions — 20 synonym, 20 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.
Choose the best synonym for the word “purge”:
B — eliminate. “purge” means v. to remove something unwanted. Study “purge” →
Two large, loyal dogs were trained to ______ the house at night.
D — guard. “guard” means v. to protect someone or something. Study “guard” →
Select the best synonym for the word “interfere”:
D — meddle. “interfere” means v. to get involved in something that is not your concern. Study “interfere” →
After the very long, hard hike, they all needed a good, long ______.
D — rest. “rest” means n. a period of relaxing; v. to relax or stop working. Study “rest” →
Select the best synonym for the word “mean”:
A — signify. “mean” means v. to signify or intend; adj. unkind or unpleasant. Study “mean” →
They eagerly planned an exciting ______ to the mountains for the holiday.
B — trip. “trip” means n. a journey or excursion; v. to stumble or fall. Study “trip” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “spot”:
B — mark. “spot” means n. a small area or mark. Study “spot” →
Please ______ the flag slowly at the very end of the day.
A — lower. “lower” means v. to make something go down. Study “lower” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “unusually”:
D — exceptionally. “unusually” means adv. in a way that is not common. Study “unusually” →
As a shy ______ to the town, she did not yet know anyone at all.
B — newcomer. “newcomer” means n. a person who has recently arrived in a place. Study “newcomer” →
Select the best synonym for the word “few”:
A — scant. “few” means adj. a small number of. Study “few” →
The rotten food gave off a truly ______ smell that filled the whole kitchen.
A — awful. “awful” means adj. very bad or unpleasant. Study “awful” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “condense”:
A — compress. “condense” means v. to make something shorter or more concentrated. Study “condense” →
The clever machine can ______ huge sums in a tiny fraction of a second.
A — compute. “compute” means v. to calculate or reckon a figure or amount. Study “compute” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “angle”:
A — corner. “angle” means n. the space between two lines or surfaces that meet. Study “angle” →
Regular exercise clearly improves both ______ and mental health.
A — bodily. “bodily” means adj. relating to the body. Study “bodily” →
Select the best synonym for the word “optimal”:
A — ideal. “optimal” means adj. best or most effective. Study “optimal” →
The ______ old neighbor was always giving loud, unwanted advice.
C — interfering. “interfering” means adj. tending to get involved in other people''s affairs. Study “interfering” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “standard”:
D — benchmark. “standard” means n. a level of quality or norm. Study “standard” →
He looked utterly ______ after hearing that the whole trip was canceled.
A — downcast. “downcast” means adj. feeling sad or discouraged. Study “downcast” →
Select the best synonym for the word “overcrowded”:
A — congested. “overcrowded” means adj. filled with too many people or things. Study “overcrowded” →
She truly loved the deep quiet ______ of her small cottage in the woods.
A — seclusion. “seclusion” means n. the state of being private and away from other people. Study “seclusion” →
Select the best synonym for the word “smaller”:
C — lesser. “smaller” means adj. comparative of small; less in size. Study “smaller” →
As the new town leader, she now held real ______ over the whole community.
D — power. “power” means n. the ability to do something or act in a particular way. Study “power” →
Select the best synonym for the word “notion”:
A — idea. “notion” means n. an idea or belief about something. Study “notion” →
The sudden hard frost ______ all the young plants in the garden overnight.
C — killed. “killed” means v. past tense of kill; to cause the death of a person, animal, or other living thing. Study “killed” →
Select the best synonym for the word “hardship”:
D — adversity. “hardship” means n. severe suffering or privation. Study “hardship” →
In the distant ______, people traveled almost everywhere on horseback.
D — past. “past” means n. the time before now. Study “past” →
Select the best synonym for the word “growth”:
B — expansion. “growth” means n. the process of increasing in size. Study “growth” →
He ______ slipped the folded note into her bag so that no one would see.
B — secretly. “secretly” means adv. in a way that is hidden from others. Study “secretly” →
Select the best synonym for the word “note”:
A — memo. “note” means n. a brief record of something. Study “note” →
The children left a huge ______ of scattered toys all over the living room.
A — mess. “mess” means n. a state of disorder or untidiness. Study “mess” →
Select the best synonym for the word “power”:
B — capacity. “power” means n. the ability to do something or act in a particular way. Study “power” →
The city built a new ______ of roads to reduce the very heavy traffic.
B — system. “system” means n. a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole. Study “system” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “chase”:
C — pursue. “chase” means v. to run after someone or something in order to catch them. Study “chase” →
The long report had one small ______ that had to be quickly fixed.
D — inaccuracy. “inaccuracy” means n. the quality of being incorrect or not exact. Study “inaccuracy” →
Select the best synonym for the word “thoughtless”:
C — careless. “thoughtless” means adj. not considering others. Study “thoughtless” →
The strong team won three ______ games without a single loss.
D — successive. “successive” means adj. following one after another. Study “successive” →
Select the best synonym for the word “harmless”:
C — safe. “harmless” means adj. not able to cause harm or damage. Study “harmless” →
She stared ______ at the chessboard, thinking hard about her next move.
B — intensely. “intensely” means adv. with extreme force or strength. Study “intensely” →
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.
40 — 20 synonym questions and 20 sentence-completion questions, the same roughly-even split the real ISEE Verbal Reasoning section uses.
No. Every Basic 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.