34 Verbal Reasoning questions — Part 1: 17 synonym, Part 2: 17 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.
Which of the following words is a synonym for “hyperbole”?
A — Exaggeration. “hyperbole” means n. exaggerated statement. Study “hyperbole” →
Which word is a synonym for “democracy”?
A — Republic. “democracy” means n. government by the people. Study “democracy” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “decay” as used in the sentence: The wooden fence began to decay after years of exposure to the elements.
A — crumble. “decay” means v. rot, break down. Study “decay” →
Which of the following is the best synonym for “makeshift”?
A — temporary. “makeshift” means adj. temporary substitute. Study “makeshift” →
Which word is a synonym for “leisure”?
C — Relaxation. “leisure” means n. free time, relaxation. Study “leisure” →
Which word is closest in meaning to “ingenious” as used in the sentence below? “The ingenious solution to the problem amazed everyone in the meeting.”
B — Clever. “ingenious” means adj. clever, inventive. Study “ingenious” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “investor”?
A — financier. “investor” means n. person who puts money into something. Study “investor” →
Choose the word that is the closest in meaning to “deceit”.
C — fraud. “deceit” means n. lying for personal gain. Study “deceit” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “physical”.
A — tangible. “physical” means adj. relating to the body or material things. Study “physical” →
What is the best synonym for the word “literal” as used in the following sentence? The translation was very literal, sticking closely to the original text.
B — Exact. “literal” means adj. exactly as written or said. Study “literal” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “collaborate”?
A — Combine. “collaborate” means v. work together. Study “collaborate” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “preliminary”?
A — Preliminary. “preliminary” means adj. coming before the main part. Study “preliminary” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “persuade”?
A — Convince. “persuade” means v. convince. Study “persuade” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “estate”.
A — Territory. “estate” means n. property, land. Study “estate” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “memoir”?
B — Narrative. “memoir” means n. written record of one''s memories. Study “memoir” →
Select the best synonym for the word “prosecute”:
A — indict. “prosecute” means v. take legal action against. Study “prosecute” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “comparable”.
C — Similar. “comparable” means adj. able to be compared. Study “comparable” →
Not every mushroom in the forest is ______; some are poisonous.
B — edible. “edible” means adj. safe to eat. Study “edible” →
Other scientists tried to ______ the experiment to check the results.
B — replicate. “replicate” means v. duplicate, repeat. Study “replicate” →
Brushing your teeth twice a day helps ______ harmful bacteria.
A — eliminate. “eliminate” means v. remove, get rid of. Study “eliminate” →
The car's best ______ is its powerful yet very quiet engine.
C — feature. “feature” means n./v. important part; show. Study “feature” →
The novel describes a peaceful ______ where no one ever goes hungry.
B — utopia. “utopia” means n. perfect place. Study “utopia” →
Her ______ goal was always to keep the young children safe.
D — primary. “primary” means adj. main, most important. Study “primary” →
Rather than ______ against the insult, she calmly walked away.
A — retaliate. “retaliate” means v. take revenge. Study “retaliate” →
Under the microscope, the ______ specks turned out to be living cells.
B — minute. “minute” means adj. extremely small. Study “minute” →
The box contained ______ chocolates of many different flavors.
C — assorted. “assorted” means adj. various types. Study “assorted” →
The small bakery hoped to ______ from the busy holiday season.
D — profit. “profit” means n./v. gain, earn. Study “profit” →
Clean water is absolutely ______ for the survival of every living thing.
B — vital. “vital” means adj. very important, essential. Study “vital” →
She decided to ______ a career in medicine after volunteering at the hospital.
B — pursue. “pursue” means v. chase, try to achieve. Study “pursue” →
Heavy snow forced the airline to ______ every morning flight.
C — delay. “delay” means v. postpone; n. being late. Study “delay” →
In ______ class, we learned about mountains, rivers, and oceans.
C — geography. “geography” means n. study of Earth''s features. Study “geography” →
The new machine is so ______ that it does the work of ten people.
A — efficient. “efficient” means adj. productive without waste. Study “efficient” →
The fallen tree created a ______ that blocked the entire road.
A — barrier. “barrier” means n. obstacle, something blocking. Study “barrier” →
You should never ______ a warning sign posted near the cliff.
C — disregard. “disregard” means v./n. ignore. Study “disregard” →
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.
34 — Part 1 is 17 synonym questions, Part 2 is 17 sentence-completion questions, the same roughly-even split the real ISEE Verbal Reasoning section uses.
No. Every Lower 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.