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.
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “camaraderie”: The bond between teammates during a successful season was one of genuine ____.
B — camaraderie. “camaraderie” means n. friendship in a group. Study “camaraderie” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “analysis”.
A — Investigation. “analysis” means n. detailed examination. Study “analysis” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “participate”?
B — Engage. “participate” means v. take part in. Study “participate” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “sanctuary” as used in the sentence: “After the long journey, they finally found a sanctuary where they could rest and feel safe.”
A — Refuge. “sanctuary” means n. safe place, holy place. Study “sanctuary” →
Select the synonym for the word “suspect” as used in the context of the sentence: “The detective began to suspect that the story was not entirely truthful.”
A — doubt. “suspect” means v. to doubt; n. person thought guilty. Study “suspect” →
In the context of home decor, the word “ornamental” most nearly means:
B — Decorative. “ornamental” means adj. for decoration. Study “ornamental” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “plural”.
A — multiple. “plural” means adj. more than one, n. plural form. Study “plural” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “drawback”.
C — disadvantage. “drawback” means n. disadvantage, negative aspect. Study “drawback” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “likeness”.
A — Resemblance. “likeness” means n. similarity, portrait. Study “likeness” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “campaign” in the following sentence: The mayor launched a new campaign to improve public transportation.
A — initiative. “campaign” means n./v. organized activities. Study “campaign” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “objective”.
B — Unbiased. “objective” means n. goal; adj. unbiased. Study “objective” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “transport”?
A — move. “transport” means v./n. move people/things. Study “transport” →
Select the word that is a synonym for “significant” in the following sentence: The discovery was significant, changing our understanding of ancient civilizations.
B — Meaningful. “significant” means adj. important, meaningful. Study “significant” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “indicate”:
B — Specify. “indicate” means v. point out, show. Study “indicate” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “violence”.
C — Aggression. “violence” means n. use of physical force. Study “violence” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “hoax”: The newspaper published a story that turned out to be a hoax, causing public outrage.
C — deception. “hoax” means n. trick or deception. Study “hoax” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “meander” as used in the following sentence: The river seemed to meander through the hills, taking its time as it flowed gently along.
C — wander. “meander” means v. wander, wind about. Study “meander” →
Experts use powerful computers to ______ the path of the coming storm.
C — predict. “predict” means v. say what will happen before. Study “predict” →
Do not ______ to ask for help if you get confused.
B — hesitate. “hesitate” means v. pause before doing something. Study “hesitate” →
Cutting down the forest destroyed the ______ of many rare birds.
A — habitat. “habitat” means n. natural home of an animal or plant. Study “habitat” →
At the ______ of winter, the days grow short and bitterly cold.
C — onset. “onset” means n. beginning, start. Study “onset” →
Over millions of years, simple creatures can ______ into complex ones.
C — evolve. “evolve” means v. develop gradually. Study “evolve” →
Amazingly, the glass vase survived the fall completely ______.
C — intact. “intact” means adj. undamaged, whole. Study “intact” →
The ______ dog waited by the door for its owner every single day.
D — faithful. “faithful” means adj. loyal, true to. Study “faithful” →
The teacher gave only a ______ overview instead of the details.
B — general. “general” means adj. widespread, not specific; n. commander. Study “general” →
The ______ mechanic somehow made the car's problems even worse.
D — incompetent. “incompetent” means adj. not skilled. Study “incompetent” →
The foundation agreed to ______ money to the young researchers.
B — grant. “grant” means v./n. give, bestow. Study “grant” →
The whole family was overcome with ______ at the funeral.
D — grief. “grief” means n. deep sorrow. Study “grief” →
The speaker's flat, ______ voice put half the audience to sleep.
B — monotonous. “monotonous” means adj. dull, unchanging. Study “monotonous” →
At its height, the Roman ______ stretched across three continents.
C — empire. “empire” means n. group of countries ruled by one leader. Study “empire” →
The tiny kitten was ______ of climbing the tall wooden fence.
B — incapable. “incapable” means adj. not able to. Study “incapable” →
The expensive magazine was printed on thick, ______ paper.
D — glossy. “glossy” means adj. shiny, smooth. Study “glossy” →
Teasing the dog again and again will only ______ it to bite.
A — provoke. “provoke” means v. trigger, make angry. Study “provoke” →
In extreme heat, the metal pieces can ______ into a single lump.
B — fuse. “fuse” means v./n. join together; safety device. Study “fuse” →
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.