ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning › Synonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, or Location
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INTERCEPT
Stop
Advance
Continue
Relax
Calm
To "intercept” something or someone means to stop or get in the way of that person or thing. “Advance” means move forward; “continue” means keep going; “relax” means calm down and reduce one's level of stress; and "calm," when used as a verb, means cause to feel relaxed and serene.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
MEANDER
Wander
Confuse
Procrastinate
Muse
Meek
To "meander" means to wander in a winding, indirect way. Therefore, "wander" has the closest meaning to "meander" of the words provided.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
SHIRK
Avoid
Shirt
Warm
Demolish
The word "shirk" means avoid. The best choice is "avoid," as it is a part of the definition of "shirk."
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
RAZE
Destroy
Coddle
Lift
Amplify
Forget
Do not quickly misread this question. The word "raze" is not the same as "raise." The options try to trick you into choosing "lift" or "amplify". When someone "raises" his or her hand, he or she lifts it. Likewise, amplification is the making of something louder—that is, "raising the volume." However, "raze" means to utterly destroy, as when a city is "razed" by an army. Thus, the best option is "destroy."
Synonyms: Select the word or phrase that best matches the word in capital letters.
ATROPHY
Weaken
Strengthen
Enlarge
Authenticate
Disparage
To “atrophy” means to get weaker, to weaken. It is usually used in English to refer to the atrophy of muscles, which is the condition of your muscles getting weaker when you do not use them. To provide further guidance, "atrophy" is an antonym of "strengthen;" "enlarge" means make bigger; "disparage" means make fun of; "authenticate" means to confirm something is real or not forged.
A synonym of "fortify" is __________.
toughen
weaken
annoy
handle
respond
"Fortify" is a verb that can mean "strengthen (a place) with defensive works so as to protect it against attack" or "strengthen or invigorate (someone) mentally or physically," or "strengthen (a drink) with alcohol." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "strengthen." "Weaken," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "weaken" is an antonym of "strengthen." "Toughen," however, is a verb which means "make or become tougher," and because "toughen" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "fortify," "toughen" is the correct answer.
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase that best whose meaning is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
SCROUNGE
Seek
Deter
Determine
Falsify
Threaten
To "scrounge" for something such as food is to actively look for it or "seek" it. This is different from the other word choices that mean the following: to "threaten" is to endanger; to "deter" is to discourage; and to "falsify" is to lie.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
RECUPERATE
Recover
Uncover
Discover
Touch
Hold
To "recuperate" means to rest and recover from something like an illness. To provide further help, "uncover" means reveal, show; "discover" means find.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PURGE
Remove
Inhabit
Protect
Decline
Fail
"Purge" derives from the same Latin root as "pure" (having no blemishes or unadulterated), so it's not surprising that it means remove something in order to benefit or cleanse the whole. "Remove" is thus the closest listed synonym. To “inhabit” a place or building to live in it; “decline” means decrease or reject in a polite way; “protect” means look after or stop from being hurt or damaged; and "fail" means unsuccessfully attempt to accomplish or achieve something.
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CRINGE
Recoil
Deplore
Extradite
Migrate
Banish
To "cringe" means to recoil, to turn away from or back away from in fear or disgust or embarrassment. To provide further help, "migrate" means move from one place to another; "extradite" means deport, allow someone to be taken out of a country so that they can be tried for crimes committed in another country; "banish" means send someone away as punishment and not allow them to return; deplore" means hate, loathe.