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 a synonym for “jeopardize”.
A — endanger. “jeopardize” means v. put at risk. Study “jeopardize” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “allot”:
B — allocate. “allot” means v. assign, distribute. Study “allot” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “incentive”.
A — Motivation. “incentive” means n. motivating reason, reward. Study “incentive” →
Choose the synonym for the word “conventional” as used in the sentence: Her taste in art is quite conventional, preferring classic styles over modern ones.
A — Traditional. “conventional” means adj. traditional, ordinary. Study “conventional” →
Which word is the best synonym for embargo?
A — prohibition. “embargo” means n. official ban (trade). Study “embargo” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “persuasive” in the sentence: “The lawyer made a very persuasive argument in court.”
A — convincing. “persuasive” means adj. able to persuade. Study “persuasive” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “perception”: Despite the different styles of the two artists, their shared ______ of nature was evident in their paintings.
C — understanding. “perception” means n. way of understanding/seeing. Study “perception” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “oasis”:
B — refuge. “oasis” means n. place of water in desert. Study “oasis” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “akin”:
B — similar. “akin” means adj. related, similar. Study “akin” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “tremble”:
B — shiver. “tremble” means v. shake, shiver. Study “tremble” →
In the following sentence, choose the word that is a synonym of “minor”. The adjustments to the project plan were only minor and did not significantly affect the outcome.
A — small. “minor” means adj. less important. Study “minor” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to: revenue.
A — Income. “revenue” means n. income, money received by government. Study “revenue” →
Which word is the best synonym for “decipher” in the following sentence? The archaeologist worked tirelessly to decipher the ancient scripts found in the ruin.
B — interpret. “decipher” means v. decode, figure out. Study “decipher” →
Select the synonym for “gratify” as it is used in the sentence: “Seeing the joy on her friend’s face was enough to gratify her efforts.”
A — Satisfy. “gratify” means v. please or satisfy. Study “gratify” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym to “grope”: After the lights went out, I had to ______ my way through the dark room to find the flashlight.
C — fumble. “grope” means v. search blindly. Study “grope” →
Select the word that is closest in meaning to “rapport”:
B — harmony. “rapport” means n. harmonious relationship. Study “rapport” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “demonstrate”:
A — show. “demonstrate” means v. show, prove. Study “demonstrate” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “supervise”?
B — Oversee. “supervise” means v. watch and direct. Study “supervise” →
Select the word that is most similar in meaning to “suspend”.
A — delay. “suspend” means v. hang; stop temporarily. Study “suspend” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “falter”?
A — hesitate. “falter” means v. hesitate, stumble. Study “falter” →
As a complete ______, she made many mistakes on her very first day.
D — novice. “novice” means n. beginner. Study “novice” →
She asked for a few days to ______ over the difficult decision.
A — mull. “mull” means v. think about carefully. Study “mull” →
During a brief ______ in the storm, the sailors repaired the torn sail.
D — lull. “lull” means n. a temporary interval of quiet or lack of activity. Study “lull” →
A jealous rival company tried to ______ the launch of the new product.
C — sabotage. “sabotage” means v./n. deliberately destroy. Study “sabotage” →
The maze of twisting hallways began to ______ the lost tourists.
A — bewilder. “bewilder” means v. confuse totally. Study “bewilder” →
The book tells a gripping ______ of survival in the frozen wilderness.
C — narrative. “narrative” means n. story, account. Study “narrative” →
Do not waste your energy worrying about such ______ little matters.
C — trivial. “trivial” means adj. not important. Study “trivial” →
A teacher had to ______ before the loud argument turned into a fight.
B — intervene. “intervene” means v. come between, get involved. Study “intervene” →
The busy office needs a machine that can ______ hundreds of pages quickly.
C — duplicate. “duplicate” means v. make a copy; adj. exactly alike. Study “duplicate” →
In the middle of the desert, they found an unexpected ____ filled with lush vegetation.
A — oasis. “oasis” means n. place of water in desert. Study “oasis” →
Experts confirmed that the old painting was ______, not a clever copy.
A — authentic. “authentic” means adj. real, genuine. Study “authentic” →
After reviewing all the facts, the experts began to ______ with her theory.
A — concur. “concur” means v. agree, happen together. Study “concur” →
The delicate surgery required the ______ care, patience, and skill.
C — utmost. “utmost” means adj./n. greatest, most extreme. Study “utmost” →
The happy bride looked absolutely ______ in her flowing white gown.
A — radiant. “radiant” means adj. shining, bright. Study “radiant” →
The glass sculpture is so ________ that even a small tap could damage it.
B — fragile. “fragile” means adj. easily broken or damaged. Study “fragile” →
The flooded village was in ______ need of clean drinking water.
D — dire. “dire” means adj. very serious, urgent. Study “dire” →
In the dim light, she could barely ______ the outline of a figure.
D — perceive. “perceive” means v. see, become aware. Study “perceive” →
Please give me a rough, ______ number of guests, even if you are unsure.
A — approximate. “approximate” means adj./v. nearly correct, close to. Study “approximate” →
The ______ reason for her great success was her endless hard work.
A — principal. “principal” means adj. main, n. head of a school. Study “principal” →
The heavy rain finally began to ______ as the long afternoon wore on.
B — abate. “abate” means v. become less, reduce. Study “abate” →
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.