ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning › Synonyms: Determining Part of Speech
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FIELD
Answer
Publish
Recreation
Joy
Talent
This question is using "field" in a way that you might not recognize at first glance. The word does indeed indicate a kind of physical field in which grass (and other things) might be found. The word can also be used as a verb. In this sense, we say things such as, "He fielded questions regarding the event." This means that the person received and answered the questions. (This is somewhat like a baseball catcher being in the field and catching balls—though, in this case, the "balls" are questions!)
Synonyms: Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
EXTRACT
remove
push
write
edit
The word "extract" literally means pull out. The prefix "ex-" should be familiar, for it is used in words like "exit" (go out) and "exhume" (dig a body out of the ground). The "-tract" portion comes from the Latin for to pull. It is related to the word "tractor"—a farm vehicle that pulls large machinery. Therefore, to "extract" means pull out. Among the options provided, "remove" is the best synonym for "extract." Sometimes, we use the word "extract" to describe how someone can "pull out" a selection of text from a larger work. This smaller section is "extracted" and is sometimes called an "extract." However, do not be fooled into thinking that "write" or "edit" mean the same thing as such textual extraction!
Choose the best synonym for the word in capital letters.
ANCHOR
secure
imitate
lengthen
follow
change
"Anchor"means to secure firmly in position.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
EXTRACT
Remove
Demand
Imply
Found
Improve
To "extract" means to remove, so "remove" is the correct answer. To help you, to "imply" means to suggest without directly stating, to "founder" means to struggle and sink, and an "impasse" is a deadlock.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
BUFF
Polish
Forgotten
Malinger
Invited
Jesting
"Buff" is a word that can take on a variety of meanings; as an adjective, it can mean " a yellowish-beige color" or, more informally, "being in good physical shape with fine muscle tone." As a verb, "buff" can mean "polish something." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "yellow," "in good physical shape," or "polish something." "Polish" is an answer choice, and because it is the answer choice that is closest in meaning to "buff," "polish" is the correct answer.
A synonym of "maroon" is __________.
strand
rescue
maintain
waver
pardon
"Maroon" is a verb that means "leave someone trapped and isolated in an inaccessible place, especially an island." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "abandon." "Rescue," then, cannot be the correct answer because "rescue" is an antonym of "maroon." "Strand," however, when used as a verb, means either "drive or leave a boat, sailor, or sea creature aground on a shore," or "leave someone without the means to move from somewhere." Because "strand" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "maroon," "strand" is the correct answer.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
JAR
Shake
Tremble
Appease
Flex
Mar
Don't get the verb confused with the noun: when used as a verb, "jar" means send a painful and damaging shock. "Shake" is the best match, because "shake" can mean shock, distress, or discompose.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PLUNDER
Loot
Skirmish
Campaign
Report
Publicize
For this question, your habits might help you get it correct very quickly. Perhaps you have heard the expression "loot and plunder." These words are synonyms. When used as verbs, they mean to steal, usually in the midst of wartime. As nouns, they just refer to what is stolen. Thus, you can say, "The pirate plundered his captives," but you could also say, "The pirate looted his captives."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
GORGE
Stuff
Cultivate
Poke
Beautify
Defend
There are a couple meanings of "gorge" that you may be familiar with, both of which derive from an old French word meaning "throat." As a noun, a gorge is a narrow pass, often between mountains. Since our synonym options here are verbs, though, we need to use the verb "gorge," which means to consume greedily. The most literal sense would involve eating (filling your "throat"), though you can also gorge (or stuff) yourself metaphorically with things like knowledge or a movie marathon.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MEDIUM
Material
Jab
Concern
Spirit
Pungency
"Medium," when used as a noun, can mean " the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance," "the material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer," or "a person claiming to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and to communicate between the dead and the living." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "an intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed," "the material or form used by an artist," or "a person claiming to be in contact with the spirits of the dead." While a medium might claim to be in contact with a spirit, "medium" does not mean "spirit," so "spirit" cannot be the correct answer. "Material," however, is synonymous with "the material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer," and because "material" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "medium," "material" is the correct answer.