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 “rarely”:
C — seldom. “rarely” means adv. not often; seldom. Study “rarely” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “self-importance”:
D — conceit. “self-importance” means n. an exaggerated sense of one''s own value or importance. Study “self-importance” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “meaning”:
A — significance. “meaning” means n. what is meant by a word or action. Study “meaning” →
Select the best synonym for the word “fleshy”:
D — plump. “fleshy” means adj. having a lot of flesh; plump or thick. Study “fleshy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “commendable”:
A — praiseworthy. “commendable” means adj. deserving praise. Study “commendable” →
Select the best synonym for the word “self-governing”:
C — autonomous. “self-governing” means adj. having the right or power to govern oneself. Study “self-governing” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “enigma”:
A — mystery. “enigma” means n. something that is mysterious or difficult to understand. Study “enigma” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “preventative”:
C — precautionary. “preventative” means adj. intended to stop something before it happens. Study “preventative” →
Select the best synonym for the word “praiseworthy”:
B — commendable. “praiseworthy” means adj. deserving approval and admiration. Study “praiseworthy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “disorder”:
D — chaos. “disorder” means n. a state of confusion or lack of order. Study “disorder” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “flee”:
A — escape. “flee” means v. to run away from danger or a place. Study “flee” →
Select the best synonym for the word “gradually”:
A — incrementally. “gradually” means adv. slowly over a period of time. Study “gradually” →
Select the best synonym for the word “trustworthy”:
C — reliable. “trustworthy” means adj. able to be relied on as honest or truthful. Study “trustworthy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “seen”:
D — perceived. “seen” means v. past participle of ''see''; to have perceived with the eyes. Study “seen” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “secondary”:
B — subordinate. “secondary” means adj. less important than something else; coming after the first. Study “secondary” →
There was a dark ______ on the white shirt where the coffee had spilled.
C — spot. “spot” means n. a small area or mark. Study “spot” →
The sleeping baby's skin felt wonderfully soft and ______ to the touch.
B — smooth. “smooth” means adj. having an even and regular surface. Study “smooth” →
The careful carpenter sawed a long wooden ______ into two equal pieces.
B — board. “board” means n. a flat piece of material used for a specific purpose. Study “board” →
The charity works very hard to ______ food and warm blankets to the homeless.
D — supply. “supply” means v. to provide something that is needed. Study “supply” →
Please do not ______ the baby while she is sleeping so peacefully.
C — disturb. “disturb” means v. to interrupt the quiet, peace, or order of something. Study “disturb” →
By ______ each small problem one by one, she finished the big project.
C — solving. “solving” means n. the process of finding an answer to a problem. Study “solving” →
Signing the important deal now would be very ______ for the whole team.
A — advantageous. “advantageous” means adj. providing an advantage or benefit. Study “advantageous” →
The powerful new medicine can quickly ______ the painful chest infection.
A — cure. “cure” means v. to make someone with an illness healthy again. Study “cure” →
The ______ young man could not sleep at all because of his many worries.
C — troubled. “troubled” means adj. having problems or difficulties. Study “troubled” →
The ______ gray sky made everyone think it would very soon rain.
A — cloudy. “cloudy” means adj. covered with or characterized by clouds. Study “cloudy” →
Running a full marathon takes great physical strength and ______.
C — endurance. “endurance” means n. the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. Study “endurance” →
The rich smell of fresh coffee began to ______ every room in the house.
A — permeate. “permeate” means v. to spread throughout something. Study “permeate” →
The proud chef prepared a ______ meal that absolutely everyone praised.
B — superb. “superb” means adj. excellent or very good. Study “superb” →
The lesson was so clear that even young children could easily ______ it.
D — comprehend. “comprehend” means v. to understand something fully. Study “comprehend” →
The ______ screech of the rusty old gate hurt everyone's ears.
A — grating. “grating” means adj. sounding harsh and unpleasant. Study “grating” →
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.