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.
Which of the following is the best synonym for the word “incarcerate”?
C — Imprison. “incarcerate” means v. to imprison; confine; jail. Study “incarcerate” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “impecunious”.
B — Destitute. “impecunious” means adj. Poor and penniless; broke. Study “impecunious” →
Which of the following words is a synonym for restraint?
B — control. “restraint” means n. a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control.. Study “restraint” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “relic”.
A — Artifact. “relic” means n. artifact; remnant; keepsake. Study “relic” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “circumstantial”:
A — Incidental. “circumstantial” means Adj. based on circumstances; indirect. Study “circumstantial” →
Which word is the best synonym for “pensive” in the following sentence? Despite the cheerful surroundings, Sarah remained pensive throughout the evening.
B — Thoughtful. “pensive” means adj. thoughtful reflective melancholy. Study “pensive” →
Select the best synonym for the word “adorn”:
A — embellish. “adorn” means v. to decorate or add beauty to. Study “adorn” →
Choose the word that is the best synonym for “curative”:
A — Healing. “curative” means adj. healing; therapeutic; medicinal. Study “curative” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “transient”.
B — Temporary. “transient” means adj. temporary; brief; passing. Study “transient” →
In the hot summer sun, the hikers became increasingly torpid, struggling to continue their journey up the mountain.
B — lethargic. “torpid” means adj. sluggish; inactive; dormant. Study “torpid” →
In the authoritarian regime, anyone labeled as a dissident would face severe consequences. Which word below is closest in meaning to “dissident”?
B — protester. “dissident” means n. a person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state. Study “dissident” →
Which word is the best synonym for simper?
D — grin. “simper” means v. to smile in a silly or affected way. Study “simper” →
In the heated debate, the politician accused his rival of spreading calumny about his past business dealings.
B — slander. “calumny” means n. Slander and defamation; libel. Study “calumny” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “opportune”?
B — timely. “opportune” means adj. suitable or convenient for a particular occurrence. Study “opportune” →
Which of the following is a synonym for the word “epitome”?
A — Example. “epitome” means n. perfect example; embodiment; essence. Study “epitome” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to “vapid”:
B — Lifeless. “vapid” means adj. dull; boring; lifeless. Study “vapid” →
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “deft”?
C — skillful. “deft” means adj. skillful and quick in one''s movements. Study “deft” →
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to: Bygone
C — Past. “bygone” means adj. past former previous. Study “bygone” →
Choose the word that is most similar in meaning to “unearth”:
C — uncover. “unearth” means v. to discover or find something that was hidden or lost. Study “unearth” →
Which of the following is a synonym for “laudable”?
A — Praiseworthy. “laudable” means adj. Praiseworthy and commendable; admirable. Study “laudable” →
The typo was a small, ______ error, not a deliberate attempt to mislead.
A — inadvertent. “inadvertent” means adj. not resulting from or achieved through deliberate planning.. Study “inadvertent” →
The sudden good news helped ______ the exhausted team's fading spirits.
C — bolster. “bolster” means V. to support; strengthen; reinforce. Study “bolster” →
The controversial topic tends to ______ the group into two opposing camps.
B — polarize. “polarize” means v. divide split separate. Study “polarize” →
The daring theft succeeded only through the quiet ______ of a dishonest guard.
D — connivance. “connivance” means n. willingness to secretly allow or be involved in wrongdoing, especially an immoral or illegal act. Study “connivance” →
The singers' ______ voices clashed instead of blending into harmony.
B — discordant. “discordant” means adj. disagreeing or incongruous. Study “discordant” →
Deep green was the ______ color in the painting, covering most of the canvas.
A — predominant. “predominant” means adj. Having superior strength, influence, or authority; prevailing.. Study “predominant” →
In the competition, each team saw the other as an ________ they needed to defeat.
A — adversary. “adversary” means N. opponent; enemy; rival. Study “adversary” →
With cool ______, she focused on real solutions instead of dwelling on blame.
C — pragmatism. “pragmatism” means n. practical approach; realism. Study “pragmatism” →
The stirring speech helped ______ the crowd into immediate action.
D — galvanize. “galvanize” means v. stimulate; energize; motivate. Study “galvanize” →
A serious lack of clean water can badly ______ a small village's growth.
B — hinder. “hinder” means v. to delay or obstruct the progress of something. Study “hinder” →
He tends to ______ every minor illness as though it were a terrible disaster.
D — dramatize. “dramatize” means v. exaggerate theatricalize emphasize. Study “dramatize” →
If you miss far too many payments, you may ______ on the entire loan.
A — default. “default” means n. a failure to fulfill an obligation, especially to repay a loan.. Study “default” →
The small town was strikingly ______, with nearly everyone sharing the same customs.
A — homogeneous. “homogeneous” means adj. uniform; similar; consistent. Study “homogeneous” →
Surprisingly, the stubborn old manager was ______ to the bold new idea.
A — amenable. “amenable” means adj. agreeable cooperative suitable. Study “amenable” →
His constant rude remarks began to ______ even his closest friends.
D — alienate. “alienate” means v. estrange isolate separate. Study “alienate” →
The bite of that rare snake can be quickly ______ without immediate treatment.
C — lethal. “lethal” means adj. capable of causing death; extremely harmful. Study “lethal” →
The eager young painter tried hard to ______ the style of the great masters.
B — emulate. “emulate” means v. imitate copy follow. Study “emulate” →
The generous donor chose to ______ the school with a huge sum of money.
D — endow. “endow” means v. give provide bestow. Study “endow” →
The wise old teacher hoped that his stories would ______ the young listeners.
A — edify. “edify” means v. to instruct or improve morally or intellectually. Study “edify” →
The volcano had been ______ for so long that the villagers forgot its danger.
B — quiescent. “quiescent” means adj. inactive; dormant; still. Study “quiescent” →
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.