40 Verbal Reasoning questions — Part 1: 20 synonym, Part 2: 20 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 the closest synonym to “rational” in the following sentence: Her decision to save money for college was entirely rational.
B — logical. “rational” means adj. logical, reasonable. Study “rational” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “garrulous”?
C — talkative. “garrulous” means adj. excessively talkative. Study “garrulous” →
Which of the following is a synonym for perturb?
B — discomfort. “perturb” means v. disturb, worry. Study “perturb” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “abruptly”: The meeting ended abruptly when the fire alarm rang.
B — suddenly. “abruptly” means adv. suddenly, unexpectedly. Study “abruptly” →
Which word is a synonym of “compatible”?
A — harmonious. “compatible” means adj. able to exist or work together without conflict. Study “compatible” →
Choose the synonym for the word “dependent”: The young seedlings were highly dependent on regular watering for their growth.
C — Reliant. “dependent” means adj. relying on others. Study “dependent” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “eventful”:
B — Busy. “eventful” means adj. full of important events. Study “eventful” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “capacious”?
B — Roomy. “capacious” means adj. large, roomy. Study “capacious” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “opposition”:
B — resistance. “opposition” means n. resistance. Study “opposition” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “wince”:
C — flinch. “wince” means v. shrink back in pain. Study “wince” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “formidable” as used in the sentence: “The mountain was a formidable challenge for even the most experienced climbers.”
A — Daunting. “formidable” means adj. inspiring fear; impressive. Study “formidable” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “collide”:
A — crash. “collide” means v. crash together. Study “collide” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym to “overthrow” in the following sentence: The rebels sought to overthrow the oppressive regime.
D — topple. “overthrow” means v./n. remove from power. Study “overthrow” →
In the aftermath of the storm, the waters began to subside. What does “subside” most nearly mean?
B — diminish. “subside” means v. become less intense; sink. Study “subside” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “respective”:
B — each. “respective” means adj. belonging to each separately. Study “respective” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “snare”:
B — trap. “snare” means n./v. trap, catch. Study “snare” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “prefix”:
B — beginning. “prefix” means n./v. word part before root. Study “prefix” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “consecutive”?
C — Successive. “consecutive” means adj. following one after another. Study “consecutive” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “obsolete”:
B — Outdated. “obsolete” means adj. out of date, no longer used. Study “obsolete” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “pithy”?
C — Concise. “pithy” means adj. brief, forceful in meaning. Study “pithy” →
The two neighbors met calmly to ______ their long-standing argument.
A — resolve. “resolve” means v./n. solve, determination. Study “resolve” →
She still has ______ memories of her very first day at school.
B — vivid. “vivid” means adj. bright, clear. Study “vivid” →
The detectives spent hours preparing to ______ the nervous suspect.
A — interrogate. “interrogate” means v. question formally. Study “interrogate” →
The oil ______ owned dozens of companies and countless mansions.
C — tycoon. “tycoon” means n. wealthy, powerful business person. Study “tycoon” →
No one could quite ______ why the wealthy man chose to live like a beggar.
D — fathom. “fathom” means v. understand deeply; n. unit of length. Study “fathom” →
The deep sound of the drum seemed to ______ through the empty stone hall.
B — reverberate. “reverberate” means v. echo, resound. Study “reverberate” →
Wheat is an important ______ traded on markets all around the world.
A — commodity. “commodity” means n. a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold.. Study “commodity” →
In an unexpected turn of events, the storm was so severe that the tiny village suffered a __________.
C — casualty. “casualty” means n. person hurt or killed. Study “casualty” →
The wealthy couple loved to ______ their tiny dog with treats and toys.
A — pamper. “pamper” means v. spoil, treat too kindly. Study “pamper” →
The battery is the single most important ______ of the little robot.
A — component. “component” means n. part, element. Study “component” →
In the pitch-dark room, she had to ______ for the light switch.
B — grope. “grope” means v. search blindly. Study “grope” →
Her explanation for the long delay sounded perfectly ______.
D — plausible. “plausible” means adj. reasonable, believable. Study “plausible” →
The new tax greatly increased the government's yearly ______.
A — revenue. “revenue” means n. income, money received by government. Study “revenue” →
No ______ experience is needed to sign up for the beginner class.
B — prior. “prior” means adj. previous, earlier. Study “prior” →
A sudden enormous wave nearly caused the small fishing boat to ______.
C — capsize. “capsize” means v. overturn in water. Study “capsize” →
The colors printed on the map ______ to the height of the land.
A — correspond. “correspond” means v. match, communicate. Study “correspond” →
In order to complete the challenging project, the team knew they needed to work together to ___ their goals.
A — accomplish. “accomplish” means v. achieve, finish successfully. Study “accomplish” →
Before the big test, she took an hour to ______ all of her notes.
D — review. “review” means v./n. look over; feedback. Study “review” →
The two old friends decided to ______ a small bakery in town.
A — establish. “establish” means v. set up, prove. Study “establish” →
The general decided to ______ his tired troops from the battlefield.
B — withdraw. “withdraw” means v. take back, remove. Study “withdraw” →
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.
40 — Part 1 is 20 synonym questions, Part 2 is 20 sentence-completion questions, the same roughly-even split the real ISEE Verbal Reasoning section uses.
No. Every Middle 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.