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 “engender”: The new policies were intended to engender a sense of unity among all employees.
B — create. “engender” means v. cause create produce. Study “engender” →
Select the word that is a synonym for delusion.
A — Hallucination. “delusion” means n. false belief; illusion; fantasy. Study “delusion” →
What is a synonym for “nexus”?
A — junction. “nexus” means n. a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. Study “nexus” →
Choose the word that is the closest in meaning to “preemptive”:
B — Proactive. “preemptive” means adj. preventive; anticipatory; first. Study “preemptive” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “remittance”:
A — payment. “remittance” means n. payment; money transfer; allowance. Study “remittance” →
Select the synonym for “plethora”: There was a plethora of new books in the store, far more than anyone had expected.
B — excess. “plethora” means n. abundance excess overabundance. Study “plethora” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “deterrent” as used in the sentence: “The new laws act as a deterrent against illegal dumping.”
B — obstacle. “deterrent” means n. something that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something. Study “deterrent” →
Which word is a synonym for “omnipotent”?
A — Powerful. “omnipotent” means adj. all-powerful supreme unlimited. Study “omnipotent” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “propitiate”?
A — Placate. “propitiate” means v. appease placate conciliate. Study “propitiate” →
Choose the word that is a synonym for “seedy” in the following sentence: The tourists were warned to avoid the seedy part of town, known for its dilapidated buildings and questionable establishments.
B — Disreputable. “seedy” means adj. shabby run-down disreputable. Study “seedy” →
Which of the following words is most similar in meaning to “ghastly”?
B — horrific. “ghastly” means adj. shockingly frightful or dreadful. Study “ghastly” →
Which word is a synonym of “definite”?
B — specific. “definite” means adj. clearly stated or decided; not vague or doubtful. Study “definite” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “heed”?
B — notice. “heed” means v. to pay attention to; listen to and consider. Study “heed” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “urbane”?
A — Sophisticated. “urbane” means adj. refined; sophisticated; polished. Study “urbane” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “supersede”.
A — Replace. “supersede” means v. replace; take over; displace. Study “supersede” →
In the following sentence, choose the word that is closest in meaning to “specious”: The advertisement''s claims were so __________ that many people were misled into buying the product, only to find it was ineffective.
B — specious. “specious” means adj. misleading; false; deceptive. Study “specious” →
Select the word that is closest in meaning to “squelch” in the following sentence: “The principal had to squelch the rumors about the school”s closure immediately.''
B — quash. “squelch” means V. to suppress; crush; silence. Study “squelch” →
What is a synonym for the word “dissent” in the context of expressing a differing opinion?
B — disagreement. “dissent” means n. disagreement, especially with a prevailing or officially accepted view. Study “dissent” →
Which of the following is a synonym of “curtail”?
B — reduce. “curtail” means v. to reduce or limit something. Study “curtail” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “courageous”:
B — Brave. “courageous” means adj. brave bold fearless. Study “courageous” →
The ______ climb up the icy mountain took the team three full days.
B — arduous. “arduous” means adj. involving or requiring strenuous effort; difficult and tiring.. Study “arduous” →
After the wild bumpy ride, her ______ hair stuck out in every direction.
B — tousled. “tousled” means adj. disheveled; messy; rumpled. Study “tousled” →
With his cape and mask, he was the ______ comic-book superhero.
C — quintessential. “quintessential” means adj. the most typical example or representative.. Study “quintessential” →
The film's ______ ending was so sugary that many viewers rolled their eyes.
C — saccharine. “saccharine” means adj. overly sweet; cloying; artificial. Study “saccharine” →
In the noisy auditorium, the speaker''s voice was barely ______.
B — audible. “audible” means adj. able to be heard. Study “audible” →
The young scientist felt she was on the ______ of a truly great discovery.
D — cusp. “cusp” means n. edge; point; threshold. Study “cusp” →
The ancient coins were ______, mixed with cheap metal instead of pure gold.
D — debased. “debased” means adj. degraded; corrupted; lowered. Study “debased” →
She felt a strong ______ for animals and dreamed of becoming a vet.
A — affinity. “affinity” means n. attraction; kinship; similarity. Study “affinity” →
The detectives worked carefully to ______ exactly what had happened that night.
B — ascertain. “ascertain” means v. determine; find out; establish. Study “ascertain” →
Hard work pays off is a familiar ______ that nearly everyone has heard.
D — truism. “truism” means n. obvious truth; platitude; cliché. Study “truism” →
In order to be heard over the noise, the presenter needed to ______ his voice.
A — amplify. “amplify” means v. to make something louder, especially music or sound. Study “amplify” →
In a spy novel, the protagonist often goes on _____ missions to gather intelligence without revealing their identity.
C — covert. “covert” means adj. secret hidden concealed. Study “covert” →
The ______ tour guide never once stopped talking for the entire trip.
C — loquacious. “loquacious” means adj. talkative; chatty; verbose. Study “loquacious” →
The ______ diplomat charmed the guests with his wit and elegant manners.
A — urbane. “urbane” means adj. refined; sophisticated; polished. Study “urbane” →
Dishonest sellers often ______ desperate customers during a sudden crisis.
A — gouge. “gouge” means v. to dig out; to overcharge. Study “gouge” →
In a surprising turn of events, they discovered a __________ opportunity when the rare painting was found in their attic.
B — fortuitous. “fortuitous” means adj. lucky accidental fortunate. Study “fortuitous” →
After the all-day hike, the ______ children devoured everything on the table.
D — ravenous. “ravenous” means adj. Extremely hungry; voracious. Study “ravenous” →
It took three strong officers to ______ the struggling, violent suspect.
B — subdue. “subdue” means v. to bring under control, to conquer. Study “subdue” →
The problem was far too serious for such a ______ and shallow answer.
B — facile. “facile” means adj. easy; superficial; simplistic. Study “facile” →
Through the heavy fog, the distant shapes looked faint and ______.
C — indistinct. “indistinct” means adj. Unclear and vague; blurred. Study “indistinct” →
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.