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.
In the debate about environmental policies, she was a strong proponent of renewable energy, arguing passionately for its adoption. What does the word “proponent” most nearly mean?
A — defender. “proponent” means n. supporter, advocate. Study “proponent” →
Select the word that is closest in meaning to: rubble.
A — Debris. “rubble” means n. broken pieces, debris. Study “rubble” →
Choose the synonym for the word “apprehend”:
B — arrest. “apprehend” means v. catch; understand. Study “apprehend” →
Choose the synonym for the word “dishearten”: The constant setbacks in the project started to dishearten the team, making them less enthusiastic about the progress.
B — discourage. “dishearten” means v. discourage, depress. Study “dishearten” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym to “heritage.”
A — legacy. “heritage” means n. legacy, tradition. Study “heritage” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “compensate”:
A — balance. “compensate” means v. pay for, make up for loss. Study “compensate” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “analyze”:
A — Examine. “analyze” means v. study closely. Study “analyze” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “acknowledge”.
A — Admit. “acknowledge” means v. admit, recognize. Study “acknowledge” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to: DISMAL
B — Gloomy. “dismal” means adj. gloomy, depressing. Study “dismal” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “unprecedented”?
A — Unique. “unprecedented” means adj. never happened before. Study “unprecedented” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “alert”?
B — vigilant. “alert” means adj. quick to notice any unusual and potentially dangerous or difficult circumstances; vigilant.. Study “alert” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “novel” as used in the sentence: “The scientist”s approach to the experiment was truly novel.''?
A — Innovative. “novel” means n. book, adj. new. Study “novel” →
Which of the following words is the best synonym for “revert”?
C — Return. “revert” means v. go back to previous condition. Study “revert” →
Select the best synonym for the word “culminate”:
C — climax. “culminate” means v. reach highest point, end. Study “culminate” →
Choose the word that is the best synonym for “elation”:
A — Joy. “elation” means n. great happiness. Study “elation” →
Choose the synonym for the word “prudent” as used in the sentence below: The prudent investor always carefully examines every opportunity before making a financial decision.
B — thoughtful. “prudent” means adj. wise, careful. Study “prudent” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “pending” in the following sentence: The results of the experiment are still pending, so we cannot draw any conclusions yet.
B — unresolved. “pending” means adj. waiting, not decided. Study “pending” →
In the context of the passage, which word is the best synonym for “signify”?
A — Indicate. “signify” means v. mean, show. Study “signify” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “proprietor”?
A — Owner. “proprietor” means n. owner of a business. Study “proprietor” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “luminous”:
B — Radiant. “luminous” means adj. shining, bright. Study “luminous” →
On the scorching afternoon, a cold ______ was exactly what everyone wanted.
D — beverage. “beverage” means n. drink. Study “beverage” →
Wise parents try to ______ good habits in their children from an early age.
A — instill. “instill” means v. gradually put into mind. Study “instill” →
After forty long years at the factory, he was finally ready to ______.
C — retire. “retire” means v. stop working, withdraw. Study “retire” →
The whole plan rested on the shaky ______ that prices would never rise.
A — assumption. “assumption” means n. belief, something taken for granted. Study “assumption” →
She faced a painful ______: to stay home or move far away for the job.
C — dilemma. “dilemma” means n. difficult choice. Study “dilemma” →
The graduation ceremony will ______ promptly at nine o'clock in the morning.
D — commence. “commence” means v. begin. Study “commence” →
The instructions were so ______ that no one knew what to do.
C — ambiguous. “ambiguous” means adj. unclear, more than one meaning. Study “ambiguous” →
His ______ manner offended nearly everyone at the meeting.
D — abrasive. “abrasive” means adj. rough; rude. Study “abrasive” →
The heavy backpack was more of a ______ than a help on the steep climb.
C — hindrance. “hindrance” means n. obstacle, barrier. Study “hindrance” →
The angry crowd began to ______ the stage with rotten tomatoes.
B — pelt. “pelt” means v. throw repeatedly; hit. Study “pelt” →
The lively twins were always up to some kind of harmless ______.
D — mischief. “mischief” means n. playful troublemaking. Study “mischief” →
The book had a ______ effect on how I see the entire world.
B — profound. “profound” means adj. very deep, meaningful. Study “profound” →
The ______ mother searched everywhere for her missing young child.
B — distraught. “distraught” means adj. very worried or upset. Study “distraught” →
Rather than hold a ______ wedding, they married on a mountaintop at dawn.
A — conventional. “conventional” means adj. traditional, ordinary. Study “conventional” →
Unlike his hidden plans, this was a clearly ______ attempt to seize control.
B — overt. “overt” means adj. open, not secret. Study “overt” →
One sharp blow of the axe was enough to ______ the thick rope.
C — sever. “sever” means v. cut off. Study “sever” →
The general devised a clever ______ to defeat the much larger army.
B — strategy. “strategy” means n. plan of action. Study “strategy” →
Doctors worked day and night to stop the fast-spreading ______.
C — epidemic. “epidemic” means n./adj. widespread disease, common. Study “epidemic” →
The whole ______ sang the final song in perfect harmony.
B — chorus. “chorus” means n. group of singers. Study “chorus” →
The delighted crowd broke into ______ applause the moment she appeared.
C — spontaneous. “spontaneous” means adj. not planned, happening naturally. Study “spontaneous” →
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.