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.
What does the word “controversial” mean in the following sentence: “The topic of climate change remains controversial in many political circles.”?
C — Disputed. “controversial” means adj. causing disagreement or discussion. Study “controversial” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “delinquent”:
A — Irresponsible. “delinquent” means adj. negligent; overdue; criminal. Study “delinquent” →
In the darkening sky, the shapes of the clouds took on an ominous appearance. Which word is a synonym for “ominous”?
B — Threatening. “ominous” means adj. threatening sinister foreboding. Study “ominous” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “reprove”.
B — criticize. “reprove” means v. to scold; rebuke; criticize. Study “reprove” →
What is a synonym for the word “inveterate”?
B — habitual. “inveterate” means adj. having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change. Study “inveterate” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “fundamental”.
A — Primary. “fundamental” means adj. basic; essential; primary. Study “fundamental” →
Select the synonym for the word “profuse” as used in the sentence: “The garden was profuse with colorful blooms.”
B — Abundant. “profuse” means adj. abundant plentiful excessive. Study “profuse” →
Which word is a synonym for “belie” in the following sentence: “Her calm appearance seemed to belie her nervousness about the presentation.”
B — conceal. “belie” means v. To contradict; misrepresent. Study “belie” →
What does the word “belabor” most likely mean in the following sentence? “During the debate, she continued to belabor her point long after everyone else had moved on.”
C — emphasize. “belabor” means v. to argue or discuss in excessive detail; to attack verbally. Study “belabor” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “exhilarate”?
B — excite. “exhilarate” means v. to make someone feel very happy and excited. Study “exhilarate” →
Which of the following words is the closest in meaning to “laud”?
B — praise. “laud” means v. to praise highly. Study “laud” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “surly”?
C — grumpy. “surly” means adj. rude; bad-tempered; gruff. Study “surly” →
Which word is the best synonym for “anomaly”?
A — Exception. “anomaly” means n. abnormality; irregularity; deviation. Study “anomaly” →
Which word is a synonym for “envious”?
A — jealous. “envious” means adj. feeling or showing envy. Study “envious” →
In the phrase “a redoubtable leader,” the word “redoubtable” most nearly means:
B — formidable. “redoubtable” means adj. causing or deserving great fear or respect; very powerful and impressive. Study “redoubtable” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “din”:
C — Clamor. “din” means n. loud noise; clamor; racket. Study “din” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “disparage”.
B — belittle. “disparage” means v. belittle; criticize; diminish. Study “disparage” →
Choose the synonym of “irrational” in the following sentence: His worries about the plane crashing were completely ______.
B — illogical. “irrational” means adj. not based on reason or logic. Study “irrational” →
In order to atone for the mistake he made, Alex decided to volunteer every weekend at the local charity.
D — compensate. “atone” means v. to make amends; compensate; repent. Study “atone” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “superficial”:
A — Shallow. “superficial” means adj. shallow; surface-level; cursory. Study “superficial” →
The thrilling mystery novel completely ______ her for the whole afternoon.
B — engross. “engross” means v. absorb fascinate captivate. Study “engross” →
Years of broken promises had made him ______ about every politician.
A — cynical. “cynical” means adj. skeptical; distrustful; pessimistic. Study “cynical” →
Workers built a channel to ______ the swollen river away from the flooding town.
D — divert. “divert” means v. to redirect; distract; entertain. Study “divert” →
Her ______ questions cut straight to the very heart of the problem.
B — incisive. “incisive” means adj. sharp; penetrating; keen. Study “incisive” →
The soldiers' ______ quarters held only a hard bunk and a small trunk.
B — spartan. “spartan” means adj. marked by simplicity, frugality, or avoidance of luxury and comfort. Study “spartan” →
After a ______ battle that dragged on for weeks, the weary army finally won.
C — protracted. “protracted” means adj. prolonged; extended; lengthy. Study “protracted” →
The greedy ______ ate three whole pizzas without once pausing for breath.
D — glutton. “glutton” means n. a person who eats and drinks excessively or voraciously. Study “glutton” →
A crisp white wine is the perfect ______ to a plate of fresh fish.
D — complement. “complement” means n. something that completes or makes perfect. Study “complement” →
In the aftermath of the storm, the city was plunged into ___.
B — chaos. “chaos” means n. complete disorder and confusion. Study “chaos” →
From early childhood, she showed a strong ______ for solving tricky puzzles.
D — proclivity. “proclivity” means n. a tendency or inclination to do something regularly. Study “proclivity” →
The school plans to ______ the healthy new lunch program starting in the fall.
B — implement. “implement” means v. carry out; execute; tool. Study “implement” →
The ______ grandparents let the children eat sweets all day long.
D — indulgent. “indulgent” means adj. lenient; permissive; spoiling. Study “indulgent” →
In the ______, the author carefully explains why she decided to write the novel.
C — preface. “preface” means n. an introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or aims. Study “preface” →
Thousands of the faithful make the long ______ to the sacred temple each year.
A — pilgrimage. “pilgrimage” means n. religious journey; sacred trip. Study “pilgrimage” →
The researcher spent months trying to ______ data from hundreds of surveys.
B — compile. “compile” means v. collect gather assemble. Study “compile” →
The company''s policy is designed to be ________, welcoming employees from all backgrounds.
C — inclusive. “inclusive” means adj. including all parts or elements; not excluding anything. Study “inclusive” →
They quarreled endlessly over ______ matters that hardly mattered at all.
D — petty. “petty” means adj. trivial; small; minor. Study “petty” →
It was pure ______ for him to preach honesty while cheating on his taxes.
B — hypocrisy. “hypocrisy” means n. the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one''s own behavior does not conform. Study “hypocrisy” →
Keep the highly ______ gasoline far away from any open flame.
A — flammable. “flammable” means adj. easily set on fire. Study “flammable” →
The honest judge was widely admired for her unshakable ______.
A — integrity. “integrity” means n. honesty uprightness wholeness. Study “integrity” →
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.