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 “obligation”:
A — Duty. “obligation” means n. duty, responsibility. Study “obligation” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “brave”:
C — courageous. “brave” means adj. willing to face danger or pain; courageous.. Study “brave” →
Select the word that is a synonym for “agriculture”:
A — Farming. “agriculture” means n. farming. Study “agriculture” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “various”:
A — Different. “various” means adj. different kinds. Study “various” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “urge”?
A — Compel. “urge” means v./n. desire, strong push. Study “urge” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for scarce?
B — Limited. “scarce” means adj. not enough, rare. Study “scarce” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “precise” as used in the following sentence: The scientist''s measurements were so precise that they could be used as a benchmark for future experiments.
B — Exact. “precise” means adj. exact, accurate. Study “precise” →
Select the word that is the closest synonym to “Confident”.
C — Assured. “confident” means adj. sure of oneself. Study “confident” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “influence”.
A — Control. “influence” means n./v. effect, power to change. Study “influence” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “nutrition”?
A — Diet. “nutrition” means n. process of eating right food. Study “nutrition” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “contaminate”:
B — poison. “contaminate” means v. make dirty or impure. Study “contaminate” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “blunder” in the sentence: “She was embarrassed by the blunder she made during the presentation.”
A — mistake. “blunder” means n./v. mistake, error. Study “blunder” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “authority”:
A — Power. “authority” means n. power or right. Study “authority” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “agony”:
B — Pain. “agony” means n. extreme pain. Study “agony” →
Select the word that is most similar in meaning to “intimidate”:
B — threaten. “intimidate” means v. frighten, make afraid. Study “intimidate” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “spectator”?
A — Audience. “spectator” means n. person watching an event. Study “spectator” →
Which of the following words is the closest synonym for “barter”?
B — Exchange. “barter” means v./n. trade by exchange. Study “barter” →
The president will ______ a national holiday next week.
B — declare. “declare” means v. state formally. Study “declare” →
Honey and warm tea are an old ______ for a sore throat.
B — remedy. “remedy” means n./v. cure, solution. Study “remedy” →
Every evening the scientist recorded her findings in a leather ______.
A — journal. “journal” means n. diary; magazine. Study “journal” →
These boots are so ______ that they last for many years of hiking.
A — durable. “durable” means adj. long-lasting, tough. Study “durable” →
The ______ hum of the engine never stopped during the long flight.
C — continuous. “continuous” means adj. unbroken, constant. Study “continuous” →
Sailors once used the bright stars to ______ across the open sea.
B — navigate. “navigate” means v. direct course, find way. Study “navigate” →
He took a ______ role, simply watching while others did all the work.
A — passive. “passive” means adj. not active. Study “passive” →
The new apartment was bright and ______, with plenty of room for everyone.
D — spacious. “spacious” means adj. large, roomy. Study “spacious” →
She tried hard to ______ a laugh during the very serious meeting.
A — stifle. “stifle” means v. suppress, suffocate. Study “stifle” →
The recipe calls for a ______ of sugar, flour, and eggs.
C — combination. “combination” means n. joining or mixing things together. Study “combination” →
His ______ decision to quit his job soon led to deep regret.
C — hasty. “hasty” means adj. quick, without careful thought. Study “hasty” →
During the sudden storm, the hikers found ______ inside a small cave.
B — refuge. “refuge” means n. shelter, protection. Study “refuge” →
The knight raised his ______ to block the falling blows.
B — shield. “shield” means n./v. protection or to protect. Study “shield” →
The main ______ of the plan is that it costs far too much money.
A — drawback. “drawback” means n. disadvantage, negative aspect. Study “drawback” →
As midnight came and went, her energy began to ______.
B — wane. “wane” means v. decrease, become weaker. Study “wane” →
It is unkind to ______ anyone from the game.
A — exclude. “exclude” means v. leave out. Study “exclude” →
The rapid ______ of the city led to new roads and taller buildings.
C — expansion. “expansion” means n. becoming bigger. Study “expansion” →
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.