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 “nearness”:
A — proximity. “nearness” means n. the quality of being close in space, time, or relationship. Study “nearness” →
Select the best synonym for the word “faultless”:
A — flawless. “faultless” means adj. without any mistakes or flaws. Study “faultless” →
Select the best synonym for the word “magnet”:
B — lodestone. “magnet” means n. an object that attracts iron and some other materials. Study “magnet” →
Select the best synonym for the word “expectancy”:
C — anticipation. “expectancy” means n. the state of thinking or hoping something will happen. Study “expectancy” →
Select the best synonym for the word “corrode”:
B — erode. “corrode” means v. to destroy or damage slowly by chemical action. Study “corrode” →
Select the best synonym for the word “enemy”:
A — foe. “enemy” means n. a person who is actively opposed or hostile. Study “enemy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “chief”:
A — leader. “chief” means adj. most important; n. a leader or ruler of a people or clan. Study “chief” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “originator”:
A — creator. “originator” means n. a person who creates or starts something. Study “originator” →
Select the best synonym for the word “cancel”:
D — call off. “cancel” means v. to decide that something will not happen. Study “cancel” →
Select the best synonym for the word “kind”:
C — gentle. “kind” means adj. having a friendly, generous, and considerate nature; n. a group of people or things having similar characteristics. Study “kind” →
Select the best synonym for the word “icy”:
A — frigid. “icy” means adj. very cold; covered with ice. Study “icy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “suspended”:
B — paused. “suspended” means adj. temporarily prevented from continuing. Study “suspended” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “commonplace”:
A — ordinary. “commonplace” means adj. ordinary; not unusual. Study “commonplace” →
Select the best synonym for the word “globe”:
C — sphere. “globe” means n. a spherical representation of the earth or of the constellations with a map on the surface. Study “globe” →
Select the best synonym for the word “shortsightedness”:
C — myopia. “shortsightedness” means n. the condition of being unable to see far; lack of foresight. Study “shortsightedness” →
The very busy doctor ______ has any time to take a real vacation.
D — rarely. “rarely” means adv. not often; seldom. Study “rarely” →
As a true ______, he imagined a peaceful world with no hunger at all.
D — dreamer. “dreamer” means n. a person who dreams or has big ideas. Study “dreamer” →
The old, ______ house had broken windows and a badly leaking roof.
A — run-down. “run-down” means adj. in poor condition or neglected. Study “run-down” →
The tired soldier bravely held his ______ at the gate all through the night.
D — position. “position” means n. the place where someone or something is located or has been put. Study “position” →
The workers dug a deep ______ to hold the strong foundation of the house.
B — pit. “pit” means n. a large hole in the ground. Study “pit” →
The loud crash of thunder began to ______ the small, trembling puppy.
B — terrify. “terrify” means v. to make someone feel very frightened. Study “terrify” →
A large fallen tree can badly ______ the flow of traffic on the road.
B — impede. “impede” means v. to slow down or block the progress of something. Study “impede” →
A single thin ______ of her hair fell across her face in the light wind.
C — strand. “strand” means n. a single thin length of something. Study “strand” →
We spent a ______ afternoon walking slowly through the sunny gardens.
D — pleasant. “pleasant” means adj. giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment. Study “pleasant” →
The dancer gave a ______ performance that no one could look away from.
C — captivating. “captivating” means adj. very attractive and interesting. Study “captivating” →
It was a ______ mistake to wear two completely different colored shoes.
A — silly. “silly” means adj. lacking in seriousness or common sense. Study “silly” →
The famous ______ lasted for many weeks before the jury reached a verdict.
A — trial. “trial” means n. a formal examination of evidence in court; a test of performance. Study “trial” →
The ______ circus set up its huge striped tent in a different town each week.
B — traveling. “traveling” means adj. going from one place to another. Study “traveling” →
Unlike a bright rainbow, a solid gray rock is a real, ______ thing.
B — touchable. “touchable” means adj. able to be touched or felt. Study “touchable” →
He seemed strangely ______ about the loud crashing noises outside.
D — unconcerned. “unconcerned” means adj. not worried or interested. Study “unconcerned” →
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.