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 best synonym for the word “perplex” in the following sentence: The sudden change in the company''s policy served to perplex many of its employees.
B — confuse. “perplex” means v. confuse; puzzle; bewilder. Study “perplex” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “finicky”?
B — Precise. “finicky” means adj. fussy; particular; demanding. Study “finicky” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “iconoclast”?
C — Rebel. “iconoclast” means n. rebel; nonconformist; tradition-breaker. Study “iconoclast” →
Which word is closest in meaning to “inadvertent”?
B — accidental. “inadvertent” means adj. not resulting from or achieved through deliberate planning.. Study “inadvertent” →
What is the synonym of the word “aversion” as used in the sentence: “He has a strong aversion to spicy food”?
C — dislike. “aversion” means n. a strong dislike or disinclination. Study “aversion” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “petty”:
B — Unimportant. “petty” means adj. trivial; small; minor. Study “petty” →
Choose the synonym for the word “euphemism” as used in the sentence: “The teacher used a euphemism to soften the criticism of the student”s work.''
C — softener. “euphemism” means n. mild expression; polite substitute. Study “euphemism” →
Choose the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to “inordinate.”
A — Excessive. “inordinate” means adj. excessive; unreasonable; immoderate. Study “inordinate” →
In mathematical terms, an axiom is considered a self-evident truth. Which of the following words is a synonym for “axiom”?
A — postulate. “axiom” means n. principle truth rule. Study “axiom” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “dismay”?
C — distress. “dismay” means n. a strong feeling of disappointment and distress. Study “dismay” →
Which word is the best synonym for “spur” as used in the sentence: “The coach”s passionate speech was meant to spur the team to victory''?
A — Encourage. “spur” means v. stimulate; encourage; motivate. Study “spur” →
Which word is most similar in meaning to “incompatible”?
B — discordant. “incompatible” means adj. not able to exist or work with another person or thing because of basic differences. Study “incompatible” →
Choose the best synonym for the word ‘behest’ as it is used in the following sentence: At the king''s behest, the knights gathered in the courtyard.
C — command. “behest” means n. Command and order; directive. Study “behest” →
Choose the synonym for the word “latitude” as used in the following sentence: “The captain gave his crew significant latitude in deciding the best course to take.”
A — freedom. “latitude” means n. Freedom and scope; leeway. Study “latitude” →
Which word is a synonym for “dazzle”?
B — impress. “dazzle” means v. to impress deeply; astonish with brilliance or skill. Study “dazzle” →
What is a synonym of “disclose”?
C — reveal. “disclose” means v. to reveal or make known. Study “disclose” →
Select the synonym for “rebuttal”: After the debate, John offered a strong rebuttal to his opponent''s claims.
D — Contradiction. “rebuttal” means n. refutation; counterargument; denial. Study “rebuttal” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “belittle”:
B — Criticize. “belittle” means v. To diminish; disparage. Study “belittle” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “prolong”:
B — extend. “prolong” means v. to extend the duration of something. Study “prolong” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “inherent”?
C — Fundamental. “inherent” means adj. existing as a natural or permanent characteristic. Study “inherent” →
The greedy official tried to ______ powers that were never his to take.
C — arrogate. “arrogate” means v. To claim wrongfully; usurp. Study “arrogate” →
The gentle padded fall did not ______ the well-protected acrobat at all.
A — scathe. “scathe” means v. to harm or injure. Study “scathe” →
The strange, twisting riddle continued to ______ even the cleverest students.
D — perplex. “perplex” means v. confuse; puzzle; bewilder. Study “perplex” →
No matter the weather, he ______ arrives at his work exactly on time.
B — invariably. “invariably” means adv. always; consistently; without exception. Study “invariably” →
The tension in the silent courtroom was so thick it felt almost ______.
A — palpable. “palpable” means adj. tangible; obvious; noticeable. Study “palpable” →
The careful pilot refused to ______ from the carefully planned flight path.
A — deviate. “deviate” means v. To diverge; stray. Study “deviate” →
The ______ duchess looked down her nose at all the ordinary guests.
A — haughty. “haughty” means adj. Arrogant and proud; disdainful. Study “haughty” →
The critic wrote a ______ review that tore the new film to pieces.
B — scathing. “scathing” means adj. harsh; severe; biting. Study “scathing” →
The clever parrot repeated the whole long phrase ______, without a single error.
B — verbatim. “verbatim” means adv. word-for-word; exactly; literally. Study “verbatim” →
The mayor announced ______ plans to build the tallest tower in the whole world.
B — grandiose. “grandiose” means adj. magnificent; pompous; extravagant. Study “grandiose” →
The proud family could trace its ______ back over five hundred years.
D — lineage. “lineage” means n. the line of descendants from an ancestor. Study “lineage” →
The ______ student stubbornly ignored every instruction the teacher gave.
D — recalcitrant. “recalcitrant” means adj. stubborn; defiant; uncooperative. Study “recalcitrant” →
The party will ______ its candidate for president at the big convention.
A — nominate. “nominate” means v. to formally propose or appoint someone for a position or award. Study “nominate” →
The tiny shop charged ______ prices that very few customers could afford.
A — exorbitant. “exorbitant” means adj. excessive extreme unreasonable. Study “exorbitant” →
The books were piled in a ______ heap, with no order whatsoever.
A — haphazard. “haphazard” means adj. random careless disorganized. Study “haphazard” →
It is against the law to ______ people with endless unwanted phone calls.
C — harass. “harass” means v. to annoy or trouble someone repeatedly. Study “harass” →
The ______ thief slipped silently past the guards and vanished into the night.
D — elusive. “elusive” means adj. hard to grasp or capture. Study “elusive” →
With tireless ______, the volunteers threw themselves into the huge cleanup.
A — zeal. “zeal” means n. enthusiasm; passion; fervor. Study “zeal” →
The doctor advised him to ______ from sugary drinks for an entire month.
C — abstain. “abstain” means v. refrain; avoid; give up. Study “abstain” →
The report opened with a brief, ______ overview of the whole busy year.
A — synoptic. “synoptic” means adj. giving a general view or summary. Study “synoptic” →
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.