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 “sidetrack”:
C — divert. “sidetrack” means v. to distract from the main subject. Study “sidetrack” →
Select the best synonym for the word “ruin”:
A — wreck. “ruin” means v. to destroy or damage something. Study “ruin” →
Select the best synonym for the word “struggle”:
C — strive. “struggle” means v. to try very hard to do something difficult. Study “struggle” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “clever”:
A — intelligent. “clever” means adj. quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas. Study “clever” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “feast”:
C — banquet. “feast” means n. a large meal, typically a celebratory one. Study “feast” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “cleanse”:
A — purify. “cleanse” means v. to make something clean. Study “cleanse” →
Select the best synonym for the word “ready”:
A — prepared. “ready” means adj. prepared for what is going to happen. Study “ready” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “relative”:
A — kin. “relative” means n. members of your family. Study “relative” →
Select the best synonym for the word “renounce”:
B — relinquish. “renounce” means v. to formally give up or reject something. Study “renounce” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “philosopher”:
A — thinker. “philosopher” means n. a person engaged or learned in philosophy. Study “philosopher” →
Select the best synonym for the word “distribute”:
C — allocate. “distribute” means v. to give out or deliver something to people. Study “distribute” →
Select the best synonym for the word “bulk”:
D — mass. “bulk” means n. the mass or size of something large. Study “bulk” →
Select the best synonym for the word “windstorm”:
A — gale. “windstorm” means n. a storm with strong winds but little or no rain. Study “windstorm” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “detailed”:
D — thorough. “detailed” means adj. having many small parts or features. Study “detailed” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “wing”:
B — pinion. “wing” means n. a part of an animal''s body used for flying. Study “wing” →
The teacher's ______ explanation made the hard idea simple to grasp.
B — clear. “clear” means adj. easy to understand; free from confusion. Study “clear” →
A sudden ______ came to her about how to solve the very tricky problem.
D — thought. “thought” means n. an idea or opinion. Study “thought” →
The tiny puppy began to ______ under the table during the loud thunderstorm.
A — cower. “cower” means v. to crouch down in fear. Study “cower” →
The ______ little inn had a warm fire and very friendly staff.
D — welcoming. “welcoming” means adj. friendly or making you feel welcome. Study “welcoming” →
The long trip was no accident at all; it was completely ______.
C — intentional. “intentional” means adj. done on purpose; deliberate. Study “intentional” →
She spread a clean white ______ smoothly over the soft new mattress.
A — sheet. “sheet” means n. a large piece of cloth used on a bed. Study “sheet” →
After the long illness, he felt far too ______ to even lift a small cup.
D — weak. “weak” means adj. lacking strength or power. Study “weak” →
The whole family spent their holiday at a sunny beach ______ by the sea.
B — resort. “resort” means n. a place where people go for vacation; v. to turn to something as a solution. Study “resort” →
The busy ______ was full of tall buildings and crowded, noisy streets.
C — city. “city” means n. a large town. Study “city” →
The huge lion began to ______ so loudly that the very ground seemed to shake.
C — roar. “roar” means v. to make a loud, deep sound. Study “roar” →
That popular ______ of running shoes is worn by athletes everywhere.
C — brand. “brand” means n. a type of product made by a particular company. Study “brand” →
There was a huge ______ of interest in the new video game after its launch.
B — surge. “surge” means n. a sudden and great increase. Study “surge” →
Even under great pressure, the young pilot stayed calm and ______.
B — composed. “composed” means adj. calm and in control of your emotions. Study “composed” →
The important ______ was moved to the very largest room in the office.
B — meeting. “meeting” means n. an assembly of people for a particular purpose. Study “meeting” →
The clever design was praised for both its beauty and its ______.
D — practicality. “practicality” means n. the quality of being practical or useful. Study “practicality” →
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.