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 “withdraw”:
B — Retreat. “withdraw” means v. take back, remove. Study “withdraw” →
Choose the synonym for the word “accelerate” as used in the sentence: “The researchers hope to accelerate the process of finding a cure for the disease.”
B — hasten. “accelerate” means v. move faster. Study “accelerate” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “soar”?
B — ascend. “soar” means v. fly high, rise quickly. Study “soar” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “sage”:
D — wise. “sage” means n. wise person; adj. wise. Study “sage” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym to “oblivious”: Despite the loud noise in the room, Jane was completely oblivious to the commotion around her.
B — unconscious. “oblivious” means adj. unaware, not noticing. Study “oblivious” →
Select the synonym for the word “incense” as it is used in the following sentence: The strong smell of incense filled the room, creating a calm and serene atmosphere.
A — perfume. “incense” means v. make very angry; n. fragrance, scent. Study “incense” →
What is the best synonym for the word “casual” as used in the following sentence? Despite the important meeting, his attire was quite casual.
B — Relaxed. “casual” means adj. informal, relaxed. Study “casual” →
Choose the word that is the best synonym for “ungainly”: Although the large dog was friendly, its movements were rather ________.
C — awkward. “ungainly” means adj. awkward, clumsy. Study “ungainly” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “profound”:
B — intense. “profound” means adj. very deep, meaningful. Study “profound” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to: initiate.
B — begin. “initiate” means v. begin, introduce. Study “initiate” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “simultaneous”: The two phone calls happened to be __________, which made it impossible for John to answer both.
A — concurrent. “simultaneous” means adj. happening together. Study “simultaneous” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “detract”: The critics claimed that the inappropriate humor did nothing but detract from the overall quality of the film.
B — diminish. “detract” means v. lessen the value of. Study “detract” →
What is the meaning of the word “yield” in the context of agriculture?
B — produce. “yield” means v. to produce or provide something, such as a profit, result, or crop. Study “yield” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “candor”:
A — honesty. “candor” means n. honesty, openness. Study “candor” →
Which word is a synonym for “evaluate”?
A — Estimate. “evaluate” means v. assess, judge. Study “evaluate” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “canny”: The entrepreneur''s approach to business was praised for being particularly canny.
B — shrewd. “canny” means adj. clever, shrewd. Study “canny” →
Choose the synonym of the word “wary” as used in the sentence: “The hiker was very wary of the narrow and slippery path.”
A — careful. “wary” means adj. careful, cautious. Study “wary” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “upright”: Despite all the temptations, John has always remained upright in his actions.
B — honest. “upright” means adj. vertical; honest. Study “upright” →
Choose the synonym for “browse” in the context: Many people like to browse through books before purchasing.
A — skim. “browse” means v. look through casually. Study “browse” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “erratic”:
B — Unpredictable. “erratic” means adj. unpredictable, inconsistent. Study “erratic” →
The painting was so ______ that the fruit looked good enough to eat.
D — realistic. “realistic” means adj. practical, lifelike. Study “realistic” →
Wearing a seatbelt is ______ for everyone riding in the car.
C — mandatory. “mandatory” means adj. required by rule or law. Study “mandatory” →
We took a ______ walk through the park to warm ourselves up.
C — brisk. “brisk” means adj. active, fast, and energetic. Study “brisk” →
The singer received a thunderous ______ at the end of her concert.
A — ovation. “ovation” means n. loud applause. Study “ovation” →
The teacher described a purely ______ situation to see how we would respond.
B — hypothetical. “hypothetical” means adj. supposed, not real. Study “hypothetical” →
The ______ smell of her mother's cooking made her feel right at home.
D — familiar. “familiar” means adj. well known; n. close friend. Study “familiar” →
The lawyer objected because the odd question was completely ______.
D — irrelevant. “irrelevant” means adj. not related, not important. Study “irrelevant” →
The great artist left behind a rich ______ of beautiful paintings.
A — legacy. “legacy” means n. something handed down from the past. Study “legacy” →
The ______ arctic wind froze the exhausted explorers to the bone.
B — frigid. “frigid” means adj. extremely cold. Study “frigid” →
It took months of paperwork to ______ a permit to build the new house.
A — obtain. “obtain” means v. to get or acquire something. Study “obtain” →
If you ______ blue and yellow paint, you will get bright green.
B — combine. “combine” means v. bring together, join. Study “combine” →
The unfair trial was a complete ______ from beginning to end.
B — farce. “farce” means n. ridiculous comedy or event. Study “farce” →
The cows grazed peacefully in the green ______ all morning long.
B — pasture. “pasture” means n. grassland for animals. Study “pasture” →
The article dared to ______ that the official had accepted bribes.
C — allege. “allege” means v. assert without proof. Study “allege” →
His ______ attitude made him believe he was smarter than everyone else.
D — arrogant. “arrogant” means adj. conceited, overconfident. Study “arrogant” →
She was hired to ______ the popular French novel into English.
D — translate. “translate” means v. change to another language. Study “translate” →
The cruel new law would ______ the workers of their rightful pay.
D — deprive. “deprive” means v. take something away. Study “deprive” →
A single powerful earthquake can ______ an entire city in moments.
A — devastate. “devastate” means v. destroy completely. Study “devastate” →
Their ______ donation paid for a whole new wing of the hospital.
A — liberal. “liberal” means adj. generous, open-minded. Study “liberal” →
He was arrested for helping to ______ the thieves in their daring robbery.
D — abet. “abet” means v. help in wrongdoing. Study “abet” →
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.