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 closest in meaning to “adequate”: The water supply for the city was found to be barely adequate to meet the needs of its growing population.
A — sufficient. “adequate” means adj. enough, sufficient. Study “adequate” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “analogy” as it is used in the sentence: “The teacher used an analogy to help explain the complex concept to her students.”
A — comparison. “analogy” means n. comparison. Study “analogy” →
Choose the synonym for the word “banquet”: After the awards ceremony, guests were invited to a lavish banquet to celebrate the recipients.
C — feast. “banquet” means n. large meal for many people. Study “banquet” →
Select the best synonym for the word “sovereign”:
C — monarch. “sovereign” means n./adj. ruler, independent. Study “sovereign” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “discord”?
B — Disagreement. “discord” means n. disagreement, conflict. Study “discord” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “contribute”:
A — Donate. “contribute” means v. give, add, help produce. Study “contribute” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “parched”:
D — arid. “parched” means adj. extremely dry or thirsty. Study “parched” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “frigid”:
B — cold. “frigid” means adj. extremely cold. Study “frigid” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “flustered”: The new student felt flustered as he tried to find his classroom on the first day of school.
B — confused. “flustered” means adj. nervous, confused. Study “flustered” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “calculate” as it is used in the following sentence: The scientist needed to calculate the precise measurements for the experiment.
B — compute. “calculate” means v. figure out by numbers. Study “calculate” →
In the following sentence, choose the word that is the best synonym for “obscure”: The instructions for assembling the furniture were so obscure that I had to call customer service for help.
A — unclear. “obscure” means adj. not clear, hard to understand. Study “obscure” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “artifact”:
A — relic. “artifact” means n. man-made object. Study “artifact” →
Choose the word that is a synonym of “senseless” as used in the following sentence: “The decision to proceed with the project despite the clear risks was utterly senseless.”
A — foolish. “senseless” means adj. lacking meaning, stupid. Study “senseless” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “conscientious”?
A — Diligent. “conscientious” means adj. careful, responsible. Study “conscientious” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “antonym”:
B — opposite. “antonym” means n. word opposite in meaning. Study “antonym” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “reassure”?
A — Calm. “reassure” means v. make less worried. Study “reassure” →
Choose the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to “abrasive” as used in the sentence: The coach''s abrasive style often upset the players.
B — harsh. “abrasive” means adj. rough; rude. Study “abrasive” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “bystander”.
A — observer. “bystander” means n. onlooker, spectator. Study “bystander” →
Choose the synonym for the word “dub” in the following context: The committee decided to dub the new playground “Adventure Park” to represent its exciting features.
B — name. “dub” means v. give a name, label. Study “dub” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “fastidious”:
A — careful. “fastidious” means adj. careful, picky. Study “fastidious” →
The dark storm clouds ______ sharply with the bright blue sky.
C — contrast. “contrast” means v./n. differ, comparison. Study “contrast” →
From the high mountaintop, they enjoyed a breathtaking ______ of the valley.
C — panorama. “panorama” means n. wide view, survey. Study “panorama” →
The ______ dancer leaped lightly from one stone to the next.
C — nimble. “nimble” means adj. quick and light in movement. Study “nimble” →
The nurse carefully explained the exact ______ for cleaning the wound.
C — procedure. “procedure” means n. steps to do something. Study “procedure” →
The witness seemed honest, and her whole story was entirely ______.
A — credible. “credible” means adj. believable. Study “credible” →
The meaning of the ancient poem remained ______ even to the experts.
C — obscure. “obscure” means adj. not clear, hard to understand. Study “obscure” →
In the cold winter, Lila began to _______ as she waited outside.
A — shiver. “tremble” means v. shake, shiver. Study “tremble” →
Without steady practice, old bad habits tend to ______ very quickly.
C — revert. “revert” means v. go back to previous condition. Study “revert” →
Could you please ______ exactly what you mean by that unusual word?
D — clarify. “clarify” means v. make clear. Study “clarify” →
Before the big sale, the manager carefully checked the store's entire ______.
B — inventory. “inventory” means n. list of items; stock. Study “inventory” →
Newborn babies are especially ______ to certain dangerous infections.
C — susceptible. “susceptible” means adj. easily influenced or affected. Study “susceptible” →
Cheating openly in front of the teacher was a ______ act of dishonesty.
C — blatant. “blatant” means adj. obvious, flagrant. Study “blatant” →
Her firm confidence did not ______, even under the harshest criticism.
B — waver. “waver” means v. to move back and forth, become unsteady or uncertain. Study “waver” →
The ______ of zero was once a major breakthrough in mathematics.
B — concept. “concept” means n. idea, notion. Study “concept” →
Many parents were strongly ______ to the plan to shorten the summer break.
D — opposed. “opposed” means adj. against, in conflict. Study “opposed” →
A few small stains did not ______ from the painting's overall beauty.
D — detract. “detract” means v. lessen the value of. Study “detract” →
His actions were perfectly ______ with the promises he had made.
A — congruent. “congruent” means adj. matching, in agreement. Study “congruent” →
The champion boxer was a truly ______ opponent for anyone.
C — formidable. “formidable” means adj. inspiring fear; impressive. Study “formidable” →
The ______ hero was celebrated in songs for hundreds of years.
B — legendary. “legendary” means adj. very famous, like a legend. Study “legendary” →
His wild excuse was so ______ that no one believed a single word of it.
B — implausible. “implausible” means adj. not believable. Study “implausible” →
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.