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 a heated debate, the politician was accused of trying to arrogate power that rightfully belonged to the council.
A — usurp. “arrogate” means v. To claim wrongfully; usurp. Study “arrogate” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “abide”?
B — comply. “abide” means v. to accept or act in accordance with a rule, decision, or recommendation.. Study “abide” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “upheaval”:
D — turmoil. “upheaval” means n. a violent or sudden change or disruption to something.. Study “upheaval” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “induce”:
B — provoke. “induce” means v. to cause something to happen or to bring about. Study “induce” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “intractable”: The committee faced an intractable problem that seemed to have no solution.
B — stubborn. “intractable” means adj. Stubborn and unmanageable; obstinate. Study “intractable” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “bravado”?
C — Bluster. “bravado” means n. false courage; swagger; bluster. Study “bravado” →
Which word is a synonym of “extraneous”?
C — unrelated. “extraneous” means adj. irrelevant or unnecessary. Study “extraneous” →
Choose the best synonym for the following word: Endow.
A — Bestow. “endow” means v. give provide bestow. Study “endow” →
What is a synonym for the word “insuperable”?
C — unconquerable. “insuperable” means adj. impossible to overcome. Study “insuperable” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “pervasive”:
B — prevalent. “pervasive” means adj. widespread; penetrating; prevalent. Study “pervasive” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “diffident”?
B — Timid. “diffident” means adj. shy; lacking confidence; timid. Study “diffident” →
Select the best synonym for the word “boor” as used in the sentence: “Despite his wealth, Henry was often thought of as a boor at social gatherings due to his lack of manners.”
D — lout. “boor” means N. rude person; peasant; lout. Study “boor” →
Choose the word closest in meaning to “heterogeneous” in the following sentence: The neighborhood was known for its heterogeneous mix of cultures, leading to a vibrant community full of different traditions.
B — Diverse. “heterogeneous” means adj. diverse; mixed; varied. Study “heterogeneous” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “judicious”.
B — Wise. “judicious” means adj. wise prudent sensible. Study “judicious” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “flammable”?
C — combustible. “flammable” means adj. easily set on fire. Study “flammable” →
In the lawyers'' meeting, the discussion was **protracted**, lasting several hours longer than anticipated.
B — prolonged. “protracted” means adj. prolonged; extended; lengthy. Study “protracted” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “submissive”:
B — Compliant. “submissive” means adj. obedient compliant docile. Study “submissive” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym for “mettle”.
A — Courage. “mettle” means N. courage; spirit; determination. Study “mettle” →
In the realm of art, the word “abstract” signifies something different from the typical definition. What is a synonym for “realm”?
C — domain. “realm” means n. a domain or territory; a field or sphere of activity or interest.. Study “realm” →
In the context of social interactions, someone who is described as haughty is often considered:
A — Aloof. “haughty” means adj. Arrogant and proud; disdainful. Study “haughty” →
She caught only a ______ glimpse of the deer before it vanished into the trees.
B — fleeting. “fleeting” means adj. brief temporary passing. Study “fleeting” →
The clever spy entered the palace in the ______ of a humble servant.
B — guise. “guise” means n. appearance disguise form. Study “guise” →
His ______ decision to donate a kidney saved a complete stranger's life.
D — altruistic. “altruistic” means adj. Selfless and charitable; unselfish. Study “altruistic” →
As a lifelong ______, he demanded solid proof before believing anything.
D — skeptic. “skeptic” means n. Doubter and cynic; questioner. Study “skeptic” →
The heavy autumn rain quickly began to ______ the soft, dry ground.
A — saturate. “saturate” means v. to soak; fill completely; drench. Study “saturate” →
Endless paperwork was the ______ of the busy manager's daily working life.
D — bane. “bane” means n. a cause of great distress or annoyance. Study “bane” →
A sudden ______ pain in his chest sent him rushing to the hospital.
A — acute. “acute” means adj. sharp; severe; intense. Study “acute” →
A naturally ______ person, she quickly made friends everywhere she went.
D — gregarious. “gregarious” means adj. sociable; outgoing; companionable. Study “gregarious” →
To encourage people to donate, the charity event aimed to ______ a sense of community.
A — induce. “induce” means v. to cause something to happen or to bring about. Study “induce” →
The hot iron stove began to ______ a comforting warmth through the small cabin.
D — radiate. “radiate” means v. emit spread shine. Study “radiate” →
The ______ clerk grunted rudely and refused to answer any of our questions.
D — surly. “surly” means adj. rude; bad-tempered; gruff. Study “surly” →
The sudden flash flood was a ______ that destroyed the entire year's harvest.
D — calamity. “calamity” means n. disaster catastrophe tragedy. Study “calamity” →
A serious knee injury may ______ him from ever playing football again.
A — preclude. “preclude” means v. to prevent something from happening. Study “preclude” →
The kitchen was plain and ______, built for pure function rather than beauty.
B — utilitarian. “utilitarian” means adj. designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive.. Study “utilitarian” →
Her wise ______ guided her carefully through the first years of her career.
C — mentor. “mentor” means n. an experienced and trusted advisor. Study “mentor” →
A heavy ______ overcame the marchers after their long, exhausting journey.
B — lassitude. “lassitude” means n. Fatigue and weariness; lethargy. Study “lassitude” →
The clever spy managed to ______ the enemy's headquarters completely unnoticed.
D — infiltrate. “infiltrate” means v. to enter or gain access to (an organization, place, etc.) surreptitiously and gradually, especially in order to acquire secret information.. Study “infiltrate” →
The scholar wrote a whole book to ______ the meaning of the ancient poem.
C — explicate. “explicate” means v. explain clarify interpret. Study “explicate” →
A single candle was enough to gently ______ the small, dark stone chapel.
C — illumine. “illumine” means v. light up enlighten brighten. Study “illumine” →
The strict judge did not hesitate to ______ the lawyer for lying in court.
D — castigate. “castigate” means v. criticize severely; punish; rebuke. Study “castigate” →
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 Upper 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.