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 “scorn”:
A — contempt. “scorn” means n. a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval; v. to show scorn. Study “scorn” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “quality”:
B — caliber. “quality” means n. the standard of something as measured against other things. Study “quality” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “trusting”:
B — credulous. “trusting” means adj. showing belief in someone''s reliability. Study “trusting” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “tusk”:
D — tooth. “tusk” means n. a long, pointed tooth, usually one of a pair, projecting from the mouth of certain animals. Study “tusk” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “center”:
A — middle. “center” means n. the middle point or part of something. Study “center” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “periodic”:
A — recurring. “periodic” means adj. occurring at regular intervals. Study “periodic” →
Select the best synonym for the word “undecided”:
C — irresolute. “undecided” means adj. not having made a decision. Study “undecided” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “shortage”:
D — scarcity. “shortage” means n. a situation where there is not enough of something. Study “shortage” →
Select the best synonym for the word “food”:
A — nourishment. “food” means n. any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink. Study “food” →
Select the best synonym for the word “pastoral”:
A — rural. “pastoral” means adj. related to the countryside or rural life. Study “pastoral” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “float”:
C — drift. “float” means v. to rest or move on the surface of a liquid without sinking. Study “float” →
Select the best synonym for the word “lose”:
A — forfeit. “lose” means v. to fail to keep or maintain something. Study “lose” →
Select the best synonym for the word “danger”:
D — peril. “danger” means n. the possibility of harm or injury. Study “danger” →
Select the best synonym for the word “conciliation”:
C — appeasement. “conciliation” means n. the action of stopping someone from being angry. Study “conciliation” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “right”:
C — correct. “right” means adj. correct or true; in accordance with fact or reality. Study “right” →
From the high mountaintop, they enjoyed a ______ view of the whole valley.
B — splendid. “splendid” means adj. very impressive or beautiful. Study “splendid” →
Her strong ______ to succeed kept her studying late every single night.
C — motivation. “motivation” means n. the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Study “motivation” →
The ______ children danced and sang all around the bright, warm bonfire.
C — joyful. “joyful” means adj. feeling or showing great happiness. Study “joyful” →
He proudly wore a ______ gold watch that caught absolutely everyone's eye.
D — showy. “showy” means adj. very noticeable or flashy. Study “showy” →
The engineer paused to ______ the badly damaged bridge before the repairs.
A — survey. “survey” means v. to look closely at or examine. Study “survey” →
She had time only to ______ the very long article before the meeting.
C — skim. “skim” means v. to read quickly to get the main ideas. Study “skim” →
The proud ______ of the bakery greeted every single customer warmly.
A — owner. “owner” means n. a person who owns something. Study “owner” →
First you must learn the ______ steps before trying the harder ones.
D — basic. “basic” means adj. forming an essential foundation or starting point. Study “basic” →
The strong storm wind had a ______ effect on the young fruit trees.
B — damaging. “damaging” means adj. causing harm or injury. Study “damaging” →
A small ______ of close friends met at the park to play soccer.
A — group. “group” means n. a number of people or things that are together. Study “group” →
The clever machine can do ______ different jobs at the very same time.
A — multiple. “multiple” means adj. having or involving several parts, elements, or members. Study “multiple” →
Their long, close ______ began on the very first day of school.
D — friendship. “friendship” means n. the state of being friends. Study “friendship” →
The scientist used a careful, tested ______ to check her surprising new idea.
D — method. “method” means n. a way of doing something, especially a systematic way. Study “method” →
The businessman offered a tempting ______ to buy the whole company.
D — proposition. “proposition” means n. a statement or plan suggested for acceptance. Study “proposition” →
In the freezing winter, remember to ______ a warm coat and thick gloves.
C — wear. “wear” means v. to have clothing, jewelry, etc. on your body. Study “wear” →
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.