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 “evanescent”.
C — fleeting. “evanescent” means adj. quickly fading or disappearing. Study “evanescent” →
Select the best synonym for the word “innumerable”:
A — countless. “innumerable” means adj. too many to be counted. Study “innumerable” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “grandiose” as used in the context of describing a plan?
C — Impressive. “grandiose” means adj. magnificent; pompous; extravagant. Study “grandiose” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “expand”?
C — enlarge. “expand” means v. to increase in size or amount; to make something become larger. Study “expand” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “amend”:
B — modify. “amend” means v. revise; improve; correct. Study “amend” →
Select the word that means the same as “bond”:
A — connection. “bond” means n. a connection, link, or binding force.. Study “bond” →
Choose the best synonym for the word “garish”:
B — gaudy. “garish” means adj. excessively bright, colorful, and showy. Study “garish” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “pedantic”:
B — Meticulous. “pedantic” means adj. scholarly academic nitpicking. Study “pedantic” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “consensus”?
C — harmony. “consensus” means n. general agreement among a group of people. Study “consensus” →
Choose the word that is the closest synonym to “abject” in the following sentence: The family lived in abject poverty, struggling to meet their basic needs.
A — miserable. “abject” means adj. wretched; miserable; degraded. Study “abject” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “provocative”?
B — Stimulating. “provocative” means adj. provocative; inflammatory; stimulating. Study “provocative” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “procure”?
A — Obtain. “procure” means v. to obtain; acquire; secure. Study “procure” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “substantiate”.
B — Verify. “substantiate” means v. To prove; verify. Study “substantiate” →
The detective had a keen sense of observation and was able to solve the mystery quickly. Which word most closely matches the meaning of “keen”?
B — sharp. “keen” means adj. having a sharp edge or point; intellectually sharp or perceptive. Study “keen” →
Which word is a synonym of “incongruous”?
C — Inconsistent. “incongruous” means adj. inappropriate inconsistent mismatched. Study “incongruous” →
Choose the best synonym for the following word: Rhetorical.
B — Persuasive. “rhetorical” means adj. Persuasive and questioning; oratorical. Study “rhetorical” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for “discordant”?
C — conflicting. “discordant” means adj. disagreeing or incongruous. Study “discordant” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “abstruse”?
B — complex. “abstruse” means adj. difficult to understand or comprehend. Study “abstruse” →
Select the synonym for the word prestigious. The university is known for its prestigious faculty, which includes several Nobel laureates.
A — Respected. “prestigious” means Adj. having high status; esteemed; renowned. Study “prestigious” →
Which word is a synonym for “manifest” as it is used in the sentence: “Her joy was manifest on her face”?
A — apparent. “manifest” means adj. clear or obvious to the eye or mind. Study “manifest” →
The dishonest banker was arrested for a massive ______ that cost investors millions.
D — fraud. “fraud” means n. wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.. Study “fraud” →
It is a strange ______ that the more he saved, the poorer he seemed to feel.
D — paradox. “paradox” means n. contradiction; puzzle; anomaly. Study “paradox” →
Over time, the small scattered groups began to ______ into one strong movement.
A — coalesce. “coalesce” means v. to merge; unite; combine. Study “coalesce” →
After one easy win, the team grew ______ and stopped practicing hard.
C — complacent. “complacent” means adj. showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one''s achievements. Study “complacent” →
The ______ young man drifted through life without any goal or real effort.
C — feckless. “feckless” means adj. lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible. Study “feckless” →
Twelve chosen citizens together ______ a jury in a criminal trial.
C — constitute. “constitute” means v. to make up or form something. Study “constitute” →
Wise sailors always ______ the warnings of a fast-approaching storm.
C — heed. “heed” means v. to pay attention to; listen to and consider. Study “heed” →
His ______ beard and badly wrinkled shirt showed he had not slept in days.
D — unkempt. “unkempt” means adj. having an untidy or disheveled appearance. Study “unkempt” →
The prisoner begged the governor for ______ and a much shorter sentence.
D — clemency. “clemency” means n. mercy; leniency; forgiveness. Study “clemency” →
A few brave voices of ______ rose against the popular but foolish plan.
A — dissent. “dissent” means n. disagreement, especially with a prevailing or officially accepted view. Study “dissent” →
Behind his cheerful ______, he was actually deeply and secretly unhappy.
D — façade. “façade” means n. front; appearance; false front. Study “façade” →
In the world of art, Leonardo da Vinci is often regarded as a __________ individual, having mastered painting, science, and numerous other disciplines.
C — consummate. “consummate” means adj. perfect; complete; accomplish. Study “consummate” →
The old play is now a ______ work, studied in nearly every school.
B — canonical. “canonical” means adj. Classical and authoritative; standard. Study “canonical” →
The young artist secretly longed for the ______ of the famous critics.
A — approbation. “approbation” means n. Approval and endorsement; sanction. Study “approbation” →
The ______ actor believed that no one could possibly perform better than him.
C — conceited. “conceited” means adj. Arrogant and vain; egotistical. Study “conceited” →
He grew tired of always playing a ______ role and longed to lead.
D — subservient. “subservient” means adj. submissive servile subordinate. Study “subservient” →
A very tight budget can seriously ______ the choices a family is able to make.
D — constrain. “constrain” means v. to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.. Study “constrain” →
The newspaper was forced to ______ the false and deeply damaging story.
B — retract. “retract” means v. to withdraw or take back. Study “retract” →
The weather stayed pleasantly ______, neither too hot nor too cold.
B — moderate. “moderate” means adj. not extreme in quality, degree, or amount. Study “moderate” →
Based on the clues, the detective was able to ___ who the culprit was.
A — deduce. “deduce” means v. to reach a conclusion by reasoning. Study “deduce” →
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.