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 “scolding”:
C — reprimand. “scolding” means n. an angry reprimand or criticism. Study “scolding” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “permeate”:
A — pervade. “permeate” means v. to spread throughout something. Study “permeate” →
Select the best synonym for the word “apprentice”:
B — trainee. “apprentice” means n. a person learning a trade from a skilled employer. Study “apprentice” →
Select the best synonym for the word “material”:
A — substance. “material” means n. the substance or substances from which something is made. Study “material” →
Select the best synonym for the word “fear”:
A — dread. “fear” means n. an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger. Study “fear” →
Select the best synonym for the word “wicked”:
C — evil. “wicked” means adj. evil or morally wrong. Study “wicked” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “loyal”:
C — faithful. “loyal” means adj. showing firm support or allegiance. Study “loyal” →
Select the best synonym for the word “happening”:
A — occurrence. “happening” means n. an event or occurrence. Study “happening” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “criticism”:
A — disapproval. “criticism” means n. the act of expressing disapproval and noting the problems or faults. Study “criticism” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “partner”:
A — associate. “partner” means n. a person who takes part in an activity with another. Study “partner” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “overconfident”:
A — cocky. “overconfident” means adj. too sure of oneself. Study “overconfident” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “handed”:
C — manual. “handed” means adj. having or involving a hand or hands. Study “handed” →
Select the best synonym for the word “drench”:
D — soak. “drench” means v. to make something completely wet. Study “drench” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “eatable”:
D — edible. “eatable” means adj. safe to eat. Study “eatable” →
Select the best synonym for the word “means”:
A — method. “means” means n. a method or way of doing something. Study “means” →
Her old friend arrived ______, surprising the whole family at dinner.
A — unexpectedly. “unexpectedly” means adv. in a way that was not expected. Study “unexpectedly” →
The clever thieves came up with a bold ______ to steal the crown jewels.
D — scheme. “scheme” means n. a plan or arrangement for doing something. Study “scheme” →
The ______ of her very first novel did not stop her from writing more.
B — rejection. “rejection” means n. the act of refusing to accept or consider something. Study “rejection” →
She gave a ______ answer before anyone else even raised a hand.
C — quick. “quick” means adj. happening or done with speed. Study “quick” →
My grandmother is very ______ and walks three miles every single day.
A — active. “active” means adj. doing things that require physical movement and energy. Study “active” →
Finishing the long marathon was a great ______ for her.
A — accomplishment. “accomplishment” means n. something that has been achieved successfully. Study “accomplishment” →
The ______ winter wind cut right through their thin cotton coats.
A — biting. “biting” means adj. very cold or harsh. Study “biting” →
The police finally caught the ______ who had robbed the little store.
A — criminal. “criminal” means n. a person who has committed a crime. Study “criminal” →
The scientist's bold ______ still needed to be carefully tested and proven.
D — claim. “claim” means n. statements that something is true or a demand for something. Study “claim” →
The old wooden bridge was ______ to be safe, but it suddenly collapsed.
A — supposed. “supposed” means adj. generally assumed or believed to be true. Study “supposed” →
An elephant is a very ______ animal with thick, wrinkled gray skin.
C — large. “large” means adj. of considerable or relatively great size, extent, or capacity. Study “large” →
During the quiet night, ______ left a mysterious gift on the doorstep.
D — someone. “someone” means pron. an unspecified person. Study “someone” →
The broken old umbrella was completely ______ in the pouring heavy rain.
D — useless. “useless” means adj. not useful; not able to give service or aid. Study “useless” →
The ______ of the apple holds the small, hard brown seeds.
C — core. “core” means n. the central or most important part of something. Study “core” →
Climbing the steep icy cliff without any rope is a huge ______.
B — risk. “risk” means n. the possibility of something bad happening. Study “risk” →
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.