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.
Choose the best synonym for the word “idea”:
B — notion. “idea” means n. a thought or suggestion about a possible course of action. Study “idea” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “choice”:
C — selection. “choice” means n. an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. Study “choice” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “evasion”:
D — avoidance. “evasion” means n. the act of avoiding something. Study “evasion” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “grace”:
D — elegance. “grace” means n. smoothness and elegance of movement. Study “grace” →
Select the best synonym for the word “welcome”:
C — greet. “welcome” means v. to greet someone in a friendly way. Study “welcome” →
Select the best synonym for the word “cynic”:
A — skeptic. “cynic” means n. a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable reasons. Study “cynic” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “discourage”:
C — dishearten. “discourage” means v. to make someone less confident or hopeful. Study “discourage” →
Select the best synonym for the word “aged”:
D — elderly. “aged” means adj. having lived for a long time; old. Study “aged” →
Select the best synonym for the word “money”:
A — currency. “money” means n. a medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes. Study “money” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “endlessness”:
D — infinity. “endlessness” means n. the state of having no end. Study “endlessness” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “principles”:
A — tenets. “principles” means n. basic beliefs or rules that guide actions. Study “principles” →
Select the best synonym for the word “noticed”:
A — observed. “noticed” means v. became aware of something. Study “noticed” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “cheer”:
C — applaud. “cheer” means v. to shout loudly in order to show support or praise. Study “cheer” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “stiff”:
B — rigid. “stiff” means adj. not easily bent or changed in shape. Study “stiff” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “snuggle”:
D — cuddle. “snuggle” means v. to settle or move into a warm, comfortable position. Study “snuggle” →
The brave knight traveled across the whole ______ to find the fierce dragon.
A — kingdom. “kingdom” means n. a country ruled by a king or queen. Study “kingdom” →
The tired pilgrims traveled very far to visit the ancient ______ temple.
A — sacred. “sacred” means adj. considered holy or connected to religion. Study “sacred” →
By ______ the school swim team, she made many wonderful new friends.
C — joining. “joining” means n. the act of becoming a member or part of something. Study “joining” →
The ______ woman donated warm meals to the hungry every single winter.
D — charitable. “charitable” means adj. generous in giving to those in need. Study “charitable” →
His painful shyness was a real ______ to making any new friends.
C — impediment. “impediment” means n. something that makes progress or movement difficult. Study “impediment” →
The tired pilgrims traveled far to ______ at the ancient holy temple.
D — worship. “worship” means v. to show reverence and adoration for a deity. Study “worship” →
The two old poems were very different in their ______ choices.
D — stylistic. “stylistic” means adj. related to the way something is expressed. Study “stylistic” →
Talking loudly during the solemn ceremony showed great ______.
C — disrespect. “disrespect” means n. lack of respect or courtesy. Study “disrespect” →
The ______ of the meeting surprised everyone, as it lasted only minutes.
C — shortness. “shortness” means n. the state of being short. Study “shortness” →
She checked her homework twice to make sure every single answer was ______.
D — correct. “correct” means adj. free from error; v. to make something right. Study “correct” →
Archaeologists began to ______ the ancient ruins buried deep in the sand.
C — excavate. “excavate” means v. to dig out and remove earth to find something buried. Study “excavate” →
After the storm, broken branches lay ______ all across the wide yard.
C — scattered. “scattered” means adj. spread or thrown about in different places. Study “scattered” →
The ______ new worker needed a lot of training before he could do the job.
A — unskilled. “unskilled” means adj. not having or requiring special skill or training. Study “unskilled” →
The doctor will ______ you to rest and drink plenty of water.
D — advise. “advise” means v. to give advice or recommendations. Study “advise” →
Loud ______ filled the theater as the singer took her final bow.
B — applause. “applause” means n. clapping to show enjoyment or approval. Study “applause” →
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.