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 “personal”:
A — private. “personal” means adj. relating to a particular person. Study “personal” →
Select the best synonym for the word “value”:
C — worth. “value” means n. the worth of something in money or usefulness. Study “value” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “misfortune”:
A — adversity. “misfortune” means n. bad luck; an unfortunate condition or event. Study “misfortune” →
Select the best synonym for the word “mentality”:
A — mindset. “mentality” means n. a way of thinking or the ability to think. Study “mentality” →
Select the best synonym for the word “illustrate”:
A — demonstrate. “illustrate” means v. to explain or make something clear by using examples or pictures. Study “illustrate” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “indispensable”:
B — essential. “indispensable” means adj. absolutely necessary. Study “indispensable” →
Select the best synonym for the word “annoy”:
D — irritate. “annoy” means v. to make someone slightly angry. Study “annoy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “secretive”:
D — reticent. “secretive” means adj. keeping one''s thoughts, actions, or intentions hidden. Study “secretive” →
Select the best synonym for the word “capture”:
D — seize. “capture” means v. to catch and hold someone or something. Study “capture” →
Select the best synonym for the word “mind”:
A — intellect. “mind” means n. the part of a person that thinks, reasons, feels, and remembers. Study “mind” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “mess”:
A — clutter. “mess” means n. a state of disorder or untidiness. Study “mess” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “test”:
D — examination. “test” means n. an examination or trial. Study “test” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “responsive”:
C — receptive. “responsive” means adj. reacting quickly and positively. Study “responsive” →
Select the best synonym for the word “shorten”:
A — abbreviate. “shorten” means v. to make something shorter. Study “shorten” →
Select the best synonym for the word “counter-argument”:
B — rebuttal. “counter-argument” means n. an argument made to oppose another argument. Study “counter-argument” →
A sudden cold ______ gripped her heart as all the lights went out.
D — fear. “fear” means n. an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger. Study “fear” →
The deep-sea diver felt the great ______ of the cold water all around her.
B — pressure. “pressure” means n. the force applied to a surface. Study “pressure” →
Tall old trees completely ______ the quiet little cottage in the woods.
C — surround. “surround” means v. to be all around something. Study “surround” →
The quiet stone temple was a place of deep ______ peace for the pilgrims.
D — spiritual. “spiritual” means adj. relating to the spirit or soul. Study “spiritual” →
Cell phones, once quite rare, are now completely ______ everywhere.
A — commonplace. “commonplace” means adj. ordinary; not unusual. Study “commonplace” →
She entered the school spelling ______ and won first place quite easily.
C — contest. “contest” means n. a competition or struggle. Study “contest” →
Bright, sweet-smelling flowers ______ busy bees searching for nectar.
C — attract. “attract” means v. to draw or pull something towards oneself. Study “attract” →
The exciting circus acts were sure to ______ the wide-eyed young audience.
A — enthrall. “enthrall” means v. to capture the fascinated attention of. Study “enthrall” →
The ______ shopkeeper always greeted every customer with a warm smile.
C — friendly. “friendly” means adj. kind and pleasant. Study “friendly” →
Her strong ______ about fairness guided every choice she ever made.
C — beliefs. “beliefs” means n. things that are accepted as true. Study “beliefs” →
The lawyers argued the difficult case in one of the city's busy ______.
C — courts. “courts” means n. plural of court; places where legal cases are heard. Study “courts” →
A dark, ______ shape suddenly appeared through the thick evening fog.
B — looming. “looming” means adj. appearing as a large and indistinct shape, often in a threatening way. Study “looming” →
It was only a ______ walk from the house to the little corner shop.
D — short. “short” means adj. not long in distance or time. Study “short” →
The doctor gave the patient some very ______ news about his health.
C — serious. “serious” means adj. important and needing careful thought or attention. Study “serious” →
The ______ library was the perfect place to study hard for the exam.
A — quiet. “quiet” means adj. making little or no noise. Study “quiet” →
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.