ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning › Synonyms: Nouns for Tangible Things
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
CAR
Automobile
Boat
Airplane
Transportation
A "car" is a vehicle with wheels that drives over land, so the answer choice closest in meaning to "car" is "automobile," as an "automobile" is a passenger vehicle with wheels. Considering the other answer choices, none are as close in meaning to "car" as is "automobile": a "boat" is a vessel that transports things on water; an "airplane" is a vessel for transporting things in air; and "transportation" is a noun meaning the thing one uses to or way in which one moves oneself or things from one place to another.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ADHESIVE
Glue
Wood
Friend
Enemy
Mirror
An "adhesive" is something sticky, like glue, used to stick two objects together. While "wood glue" can be a useful tool, by itself "wood" refers to a solid substance drawn from trees. "Friend" is a liked companion, and thus mostly unrelated. "Enemy" is an antonym to "friend." "Mirrors" while often framed by "wood" and held together with an "adhesive" (like wood glue!) it is unrelated as a noun to the word "adhesive."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
WEARINESS
Exhaustion
Hearsay
Wealth
Poverty
Frankness
To be "weary" means to be tired, so "weariness" is tiredness or exhaustion. To provide further help, "frankness" is honesty, often brutal honesty; "poverty" is the state of being very poor, the opposite of "wealth"; "hearsay" is gossip, unreliable information passed along within a group of people.
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
CADAVER
Corpse
Nurse
Warlock
Professor
Administrator
A “cadaver” is a dead body and is most similar in meaning to a “corpse.” To provide further help, an “administrator” is someone who manages an organization; a “warlock” is a male wizard.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ACCOLADE
Award
Apparel
Inkling
Wound
Sleet
An "accolade" is an award or reward given in recognition of someone's accomplishments. To provide further help, "apparel" is clothing; an "inkling" is an idea, a notion, an unsure idea about something; "sleet" is a combination of rain and snow.
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
HEMORRHAGE
Bleeding
Hurting
Crying
Screaming
Sprinting
“Hemorrhage” means excessive bleeding or uncontrolled blood loss. It can also, less frequently, be used to describe any type of rapid loss of something.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
QUAGMIRE
Bog
Mine
Home
Trap
Question
A "quagmire" is a swamp or bog. Therefore, "bog" is the correct synonym.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PRECIPICE
Cliff
Idea
Plan
Attack
Hill
A "precipice" is another word for a cliff. "Cliff" is the best choice because it is a part of the definition of "precipice." Considering the other choices, "previous" means coming before something, "premeditated" means planned beforehand, and "attack" means begin an offensive action against.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
GLOSS
Patina
Fuzziness
Dullness
Food
Laziness
"Gloss," when used as a noun, means either "shine or luster on a smooth surface" or "a superficially attractive appearance or impression." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "shine" or "a superficial attractive appearance." "Dullness" can't be the correct answer, then, because "dullness" is the opposite of "shine or luster." "Patina," however, can mean "a gloss or sheen on wooden furniture produced by age and polishing," or "an impression or appearance of something," and because "patina" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "gloss," "patina" is the correct answer.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FEAT
Accomplishment
Failure
Reason
Nuisance
Hardship
A "feat" is an accomplishment, something achieved or completed. To provide further help, a "hardship" is a difficulty; a "nuisance" is something irritating or annoying.