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 “hopeful”:
D — optimistic. “hopeful” means adj. feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event. Study “hopeful” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “each”:
C — every. “each” means adj./pron. every one of two or more people or things. Study “each” →
Select the best synonym for the word “influence”:
A — sway. “influence” means n. the power to have an effect on people or things. Study “influence” →
Select the best synonym for the word “bad-tempered”:
D — irritable. “bad-tempered” means adj. easily annoyed or made angry. Study “bad-tempered” →
Select the best synonym for the word “snub”:
C — rebuff. “snub” means v. to ignore or reject someone in a cold manner. Study “snub” →
Select the best synonym for the word “misinterpret”:
A — misunderstand. “misinterpret” means v. to understand or explain something incorrectly. Study “misinterpret” →
Select the best synonym for the word “familiarize”:
D — acquaint. “familiarize” means v. to make someone aware of or comfortable with something. Study “familiarize” →
Select the best synonym for the word “established”:
B — recognized. “established” means adj. having been in existence for a long time and therefore recognized and generally accepted. Study “established” →
Select the best synonym for the word “refinement”:
B — improvement. “refinement” means n. the process of improving something. Study “refinement” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “savage”:
B — fierce. “savage” means adj. fierce, violent, and uncontrolled. Study “savage” →
Select the best synonym for the word “undermine”:
A — sabotage. “undermine” means v. to weaken or damage something. Study “undermine” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “shrivel”:
B — wither. “shrivel” means v. to become or make something dry and wrinkled. Study “shrivel” →
Select the best synonym for the word “gobble”:
A — devour. “gobble” means v. to eat something hurriedly and noisily. Study “gobble” →
Select the best synonym for the word “fat”:
A — plump. “fat” means adj. having a lot of excess flesh. Study “fat” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “core”:
C — center. “core” means n. the central or most important part of something. Study “core” →
He felt truly ______ for shouting so loudly at his little sister.
C — sorry. “sorry” means adj. feeling regret or penitence. Study “sorry” →
The honest boy received a small ______ for returning the lost fat wallet.
D — reward. “reward” means n. something given in return for good work or behavior. Study “reward” →
It was a ______ choice to save some money for the hard times ahead.
B — wise. “wise” means adj. having or showing good judgment and knowledge. Study “wise” →
The ______ nurse gently comforted the frightened little patient.
A — compassionate. “compassionate” means adj. showing sympathy and concern for others. Study “compassionate” →
On the quiet, sunny beach, she finally felt calm and completely ______.
C — relaxed. “relaxed” means adj. free from tension and anxiety. Study “relaxed” →
A long green ______ slithered silently through the tall summer grass.
D — snake. “snake” means n. a long, legless reptile. Study “snake” →
The strange old map sparked his deep ______ in hidden buried treasure.
D — interest. “interest” means n. a feeling of wanting to learn more about something or to be involved in something. Study “interest” →
No one could possibly ______ that the tiny mistake would cause such trouble.
C — foresee. “foresee” means v. to predict or know something in advance. Study “foresee” →
The quiet, shady garden filled her with a deep sense of ______.
A — serenity. “serenity” means n. the state of being calm and peaceful. Study “serenity” →
As a nervous ______ student, he often got lost in the huge college.
B — first-year. “first-year” means adj. relating to the first year of something, especially school or college. Study “first-year” →
A pinched ______ in his lower back sent a sharp pain down his leg.
B — nerve. “nerve” means n. a bundle of fibers that transmits signals in the body. Study “nerve” →
The happy twins wore ______ hats and scarves to the winter fair.
C — matching. “matching” means adj. having the same color, pattern, or style. Study “matching” →
The ______ speaker inspired the whole crowd with her fiery words.
C — passionate. “passionate” means adj. having or showing strong feelings. Study “passionate” →
The loud, sudden noise was meant to ______ the birds away from the field.
B — scare. “scare” means v. to cause fear in someone. Study “scare” →
As a lifelong ______, he never believed anyone acted out of pure kindness.
D — cynic. “cynic” means n. a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable reasons. Study “cynic” →
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.