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 closest in meaning to “Utopia” as used in the following sentence: The philosopher imagined a Utopia where all citizens lived in harmony and abundance.
B — Paradise. “utopia” means n. perfect place. Study “utopia” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “fracture” as it is used in the sentence: The athlete was devastated to learn that he had suffered a fracture and would need time to heal.
A — break. “fracture” means n./v. break or crack. Study “fracture” →
Choose the synonym for the word “ideal” as used in the sentence: “The teacher described the project as an ideal example of teamwork.”
A — perfect. “ideal” means n./adj. perfect, best possible. Study “ideal” →
Choose the synonym for the word “equality”:
B — Fairness. “equality” means n. being equal. Study “equality” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to: Unite.
B — Join. “unite” means v. come together, join. Study “unite” →
In the political science section of the test, the term “republic” is best defined as:
C — democracy. “republic” means n. government by elected reps. Study “republic” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “detach”?
A — Separate. “detach” means v. separate, disconnect. Study “detach” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “harsh”:
C — severe. “harsh” means adj. severe, rough. Study “harsh” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “conserve”.
A — preserve. “conserve” means v. protect from harm or loss. Study “conserve” →
In the face of unexpected challenges during the debate, Jenna maintained her composure. In this context, the word “composure” most nearly means:
B — calmness. “composure” means n. calmness; control of emotions. Study “composure” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “force”:
C — Compel. “force” means n./v. strength, make do. Study “force” →
Choose the synonym for the word “Generation” as used in the context: “This new generation is more environmentally conscious than the previous one.”
A — Age group. “generation” means n. all people born about the same time. Study “generation” →
Which word is a synonym for the word “Instant”?
A — Moment. “instant” means n./adj. immediate, moment. Study “instant” →
In the context of the passage, choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “mystery”.
A — Enigma. “mystery” means n. something unknown or secret. Study “mystery” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “relieve” in the following sentence: “The new intern was able to ______ the manager by taking over some of her daily tasks.”
B — assist. “relieve” means v. ease pain or worry. Study “relieve” →
Choose the synonym for the word “vital” in the following sentence: Oxygen is vital for human survival.
A — necessary. “vital” means adj. very important, essential. Study “vital” →
Select the word that is closest in meaning to “anguish”:
B — Sorrow. “anguish” means n. severe pain, suffering. Study “anguish” →
In a court of law, the district attorney''s responsibility is to _____ those who are accused of committing crimes.
A — prosecute. “prosecute” means v. take legal action against. Study “prosecute” →
She tried hard to ______ her parents to let her adopt a puppy.
B — convince. “convince” means v. make someone believe. Study “convince” →
In stories about King Arthur, he is often considered a _____ because of his noble leadership and the miraculous events surrounding his reign.
B — legend. “legend” means n. traditional story; famous person. Study “legend” →
Each twin had a ______ personality that set her apart from the other.
C — distinct. “distinct” means adj. clearly different. Study “distinct” →
The noise began to ______ as the parade moved farther away.
C — diminish. “diminish” means v. make or become smaller. Study “diminish” →
From her ______, the sudden new rule seemed completely unfair.
D — viewpoint. “viewpoint” means n. perspective, opinion. Study “viewpoint” →
The wide river forms the ______ between the two countries.
A — boundary. “boundary” means n. dividing line. Study “boundary” →
The explorers struggled through the ______ jungle full of thick vines.
C — dense. “dense” means adj. packed closely. Study “dense” →
A single tiny ______ of dust floated in the beam of sunlight.
B — particle. “particle” means n. very small piece. Study “particle” →
The dentist had to ______ the badly decayed tooth.
D — extract. “extract” means v./n. remove or take out; short passage. Study “extract” →
During the speech, he shared a funny ______ about his childhood.
C — anecdote. “anecdote” means n. short, interesting story. Study “anecdote” →
A loud ______ broke out between the two rival groups in the street.
A — brawl. “brawl” means n. noisy fight. Study “brawl” →
The ______ old woman needed help climbing the steep stairs.
A — frail. “frail” means adj. weak, easily broken. Study “frail” →
The signing of the peace treaty was a truly ______ event.
D — historic. “historic” means adj. important in history. Study “historic” →
The customer was ______ with the cold, tasteless meal.
D — dissatisfied. “dissatisfied” means adj. not pleased. Study “dissatisfied” →
The store's location is very ______, just around the corner from my house.
A — convenient. “convenient” means adj. easy to use or get. Study “convenient” →
The shy boy was ______ to speak in front of the whole class.
D — reluctant. “reluctant” means adj. unwilling. Study “reluctant” →
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.