All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #711 : Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INTRACTABLE
Complex
Magnanimous
Umanageable
Strenuous
Indefatigable
Umanageable
"Intractable" means difficult or burdensome; therefore, "unmanageable" is the best answer.
Example Question #711 : Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
LIBERAL
Expensive
Drinking
Extended
Immoral
Generous
Generous
The word “liberal” has become very charged because of its political connotations. However, the original meaning can be discerned from the general sense that you likely have concerning its political meaning. The word “liberal” comes from the Latin for “free.” When someone gives things liberally, he or she gives them freely (as though they cost nothing). For this reason, the word “liberal” can mean “open-minded” (i.e. free-minded) as well as “generous” and a number of related meanings. Among the options provided for this question, the word “generous” most closely answers to the meaning of “liberal.”
Example Question #712 : Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MAGNANIMOUS
Beneficent
Particular
Free
Stingy
Unforgiving
Beneficent
"Magnanimous" is an adjective that means "very generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or someone less powerful than oneself." So, neither "stingy" nor "unforgiving" can be the correct answer because each of those words is an antonym of "demure." "Beneficent," an adjective that means "of a person: generous or doing good" or "resulting in good," is the answer choice closest in meaning to "magnanimous," so it is the correct answer.
Example Question #2424 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
WANTON
Dormant
Homely
Dissolute
Reverent
Civilian
Dissolute
Because "wanton" means immoral or sexually promiscuous, the best answer choice is "dissolute," which means lax in morals or licentious.
Example Question #2425 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
HEADSTRONG
Terrible
Stubborn
Meek
Portentous
Yielding
Stubborn
"Headstrong" is an adjective that means "self-willed and obstinate," or "not willing to do what other people want : very stubborn." So, neither "yielding" nor "meek" can be the correct answer because "yielding" and "meek" are both antonyms of "headstrong." "Stubborn" is the closest synonym to "headstrong" amongst the listed answers, so it is the correct answer.
Example Question #2426 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
HAUGHTY
Conceited
Wealthy
Affluent
Prosperous
Overstated
Conceited
While one might think that “haughty” is related to someone being wealthy, what it generally means is that someone has a “high opinion” of himself or herself. Such a person would judge others as being “beneath” him or her. An adequate description of such a “haughty person” would be “conceited,” which means “being very proud, judging one’s abilities to be great.”
Example Question #712 : Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
LETHARGIC
Incapable
Vacuous
Idiotic
Worthless
Inert
Inert
A person who is “lethargic” lacks energy and does not care much for undertaking any activities. Among the options provided, “inert” is closest to this. In chemistry, you may have spoken of “inert” compounds or elements—those that do not undergo chemical reactions. “Inert” is derived from the combination of “in-,” here used as meaning “not” (as in “indivisible”), and the word for “skill” or “art” in Latin. To be “inert” is therefore to lack skills, arts, or (at least) activities.
Example Question #2431 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PRUDISH
Censorious
Respectful
Moral
Boring
Honorable
Censorious
A prude is someone who is easily offended about sexual morality, often being judgmental of others. By extension, the term can generally mean “judgmental.” When someone is “censorious,” he or she is very critical—like one who censors the actions of others.
Example Question #2432 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PAROCHIAL
Ecclesiastical
School
Educational
Dying
Illiberal
Illiberal
The word “parochial” is related to statutes in the law of the Catholic Church defining the geographic boundaries in which a parish church exists. The word became extended in meaning to signify the character of someone that someone never leaves that small area. If someone becomes limited in travel, that person will likely also be limited in his or her exposure to new ideas. For that reason, the word “parochial” has taken on the additional meaning of “narrow or limited in outlook.” Illiberal can mean “uncultured” in the sense of being “not free-thinking or broad minded.”
Example Question #491 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
VITRIOLIC
Evaluative
Analytical
Spiteful
Glassy
Unhappy
Spiteful
The adjective “vitriolic” describes a kind of speech that is critical not in there merely “evaluative” sense but instead in a nasty and spiteful manner. An example use of the word would be, “She did not merely speak mild words to her adversary but instead, in great anger, shouted vitriolic condemnations against him.”
All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
