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.
Select the best synonym for the word ''earth's'':
C — world's. “earth''s” means possessive form of earth, relating to the planet. Study “earth''s” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “defender”:
C — protector. “defender” means n. a person who protects someone or something. Study “defender” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “open-minded”:
A — receptive. “open-minded” means adj. willing to consider new ideas. Study “open-minded” →
Select the best synonym for the word “point”:
C — spot. “point” means n. a particular spot, place, or position. Study “point” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “appetite”:
A — hunger. “appetite” means n. a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need, especially for food. Study “appetite” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “gruff”:
A — brusque. “gruff” means adj. rough or stern in manner or speech. Study “gruff” →
Select the best synonym for the word “confine”:
D — restrict. “confine” means v. to keep someone or something within limits. Study “confine” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “clashing”:
C — conflicting. “clashing” means adj. conflicting or not matching. Study “clashing” →
Select the best synonym for the word “weight”:
A — heaviness. “weight” means n. how heavy something is. Study “weight” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “least”:
B — minimum. “least” means adj. smallest in amount or degree. Study “least” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “smother”:
B — suffocate. “smother” means v. to cover completely and prevent from breathing. Study “smother” →
Select the best synonym for the word “digestible”:
B — comprehensible. “digestible” means adj. easy to digest or understand. Study “digestible” →
Select the best synonym for the word “length”:
B — extent. “length” means n. the measurement of something from end to end. Study “length” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “riddle”:
D — enigma. “riddle” means n. a question or statement that teases the mind; a puzzle. Study “riddle” →
Select the best synonym for the word “far”:
B — distant. “far” means adv. at a great distance. Study “far” →
No one can ever be truly certain what the ______ will bring us.
D — future. “future” means n. the time yet to come. Study “future” →
The old rusty car was in a very poor ______ after years of neglect.
D — state. “state” means n. a condition or situation. Study “state” →
With no hurry at all, they began to ______ along the peaceful riverbank.
D — amble. “amble” means v. to walk slowly in a relaxed way. Study “amble” →
The grateful town built a tall statue as a ______ to the fallen soldiers.
B — tribute. “tribute” means n. something you do, say, or give to show respect or admiration. Study “tribute” →
The very ______ old cat was too heavy to jump onto the high shelf.
B — fat. “fat” means adj. having a lot of excess flesh. Study “fat” →
The old king held ______ power over his entire kingdom.
A — absolute. “absolute” means adj. complete or total. Study “absolute” →
The thick soup was ______ too salty, but everyone still ate it happily.
C — slightly. “slightly” means adv. to a small degree or extent. Study “slightly” →
The very lucky woman won a huge ______ in the lottery last night.
A — jackpot. “jackpot” means n. a large cash prize in a game or lottery. Study “jackpot” →
In early spring, a tiny green ______ appeared on the bare rose branch.
A — bud. “bud” means n. a small part of a plant that develops into a flower or leaf. Study “bud” →
The small cat squeezed ______ the two heavy wooden boxes.
B — between. “between” means prep. in the space separating two things. Study “between” →
After the very good harvest, the farm had a large ______ of corn to sell.
C — surplus. “surplus” means n. an amount that is more than what is needed. Study “surplus” →
The powerful ______ tore the roofs right off the houses along the coast.
C — cyclone. “cyclone” means n. a large-scale, atmospheric wind-and-pressure system characterized by low pressure at its center and by circular wind motion. Study “cyclone” →
There was a quiet, ______ warning in her calm but very serious words.
C — implied. “implied” means adj. suggested but not directly expressed. Study “implied” →
The long, steep climb was so ______ that everyone needed a long rest.
B — exhausting. “exhausting” means adj. very tiring. Study “exhausting” →
She was quite ______ that she had turned off the stove before leaving.
D — sure. “sure” means adj. confident in what one thinks or knows. Study “sure” →
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.