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 “excess”:
C — surplus. “excess” means n. an amount that is more than necessary. Study “excess” →
Select the best synonym for the word “loyalty”:
C — allegiance. “loyalty” means n. the quality of being loyal. Study “loyalty” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “obligatory”:
A — mandatory. “obligatory” means adj. required by a rule or law. Study “obligatory” →
Select the best synonym for the word “infrequently”:
D — rarely. “infrequently” means adv. not often. Study “infrequently” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “product”:
C — merchandise. “product” means n. something that is made or grown to be sold. Study “product” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “silence”:
B — quiet. “silence” means n. the absence of sound. Study “silence” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “resistant”:
A — immune. “resistant” means adj. not affected by something. Study “resistant” →
Select the best synonym for the word “cleverly”:
B — intelligently. “cleverly” means adv. in a way that shows intelligence or skill. Study “cleverly” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “doubtful”:
B — dubious. “doubtful” means adj. feeling uncertain about something. Study “doubtful” →
Select the best synonym for the word “desolate”:
D — barren. “desolate” means adj. empty and lonely. Study “desolate” →
Select the best synonym for the word “entertain”:
B — amuse. “entertain” means v. to amuse or interest people in a way that gives them pleasure. Study “entertain” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “rich”:
A — wealthy. “rich” means adj. having a lot of money or valuable possessions. Study “rich” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “forth”:
D — forward. “forth” means adv. forward in time or place. Study “forth” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “leniency”:
C — mercy. “leniency” means n. the quality of being more merciful or tolerant than expected. Study “leniency” →
Select the best synonym for the word “believable”:
D — plausible. “believable” means adj. able to be believed. Study “believable” →
The stingy old ______ refused to spend even a single coin on himself.
B — scrooge. “scrooge” means n. a person who is stingy with money. Study “scrooge” →
With great ______, the clever merchant always struck the very best deals.
A — shrewdness. “shrewdness” means n. the quality of having good judgment. Study “shrewdness” →
The guards may ______ anyone who tries to enter without a proper pass.
D — detain. “detain” means v. to hold back or keep someone from leaving. Study “detain” →
The battle-hardened general held ______ command over the entire army.
C — supreme. “supreme” means adj. highest in rank or authority. Study “supreme” →
The exciting sequel was a ______ of the hero's earlier grand adventure.
A — continuation. “continuation” means n. the act of continuing or being continued. Study “continuation” →
On a sudden ______, she bought a bright red hat that she did not need.
A — impulse. “impulse” means n. a sudden strong desire to do something. Study “impulse” →
A good, healthy breakfast can ______ your energy for the whole morning.
B — boost. “boost” means v. to increase or improve something. Study “boost” →
The ______ old man could barely fit through the very narrow doorway.
C — stout. “stout” means adj. somewhat fat or of heavy build. Study “stout” →
The ______ oak tree had stood in the field for two hundred years.
D — aged. “aged” means adj. having lived for a long time; old. Study “aged” →
The lovely garden had a wonderful ______ of bright, colorful flowers.
B — variety. “variety” means n. a number of different types of things. Study “variety” →
The poet hoped to ______ his love in a beautiful, lasting poem.
B — eternalize. “eternalize” means v. to make something last forever. Study “eternalize” →
Without any letters at all, the strange symbols were completely ______.
A — meaningless. “meaningless” means adj. having no meaning or significance. Study “meaningless” →
The busy manager was hired to ______ the building of the whole new school.
D — oversee. “oversee” means v. to watch and direct a task or activity. Study “oversee” →
Everyone in town was very excited about the ______ concert next week.
B — forthcoming. “forthcoming” means adj. about to happen or appear. Study “forthcoming” →
Thomas Edison worked very hard to ______ the useful electric light bulb.
B — invent. “invent” means v. to create something new. Study “invent” →
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.