All ISEE Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #2 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Select the word or phrase that best matches the word in capital letters.
TURNCOAT
Supporter
Ally
Traitor
Financier
Enemy
Traitor
A “turncoat” is a traitor; someone who betrays his allies and helps his former enemies. Almost every American school child has heard of Benedict Arnold, the famous turncoat from the Revolutionary War. To provide further guidance, an "ally" is someone on your side; an "enemy" is someone who you are fighting against; a "supporter" is a fan; a "financier" is someone who provides the money to make something happen.
Example Question #11 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
CAUCUS
Script
Meeting
Cautious
Zenith
Meeting
A "caucus" is a gathering of members of an organization in order to discuss a special interest or cause. The best choice is "meeting," which means a coming together of people. Considering the other choices, "zenith" means the highest point, "script" means handwriting or a document detailing what should be said and done in a movie or play, and "cautious" means careful.
Example Question #12 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
PATRON
Critic
Cacophony
Establish
Customer
Portray
Customer
A “patron” is a customer, someone who visits a business. To provide further help, a “critic” is someone who judges things, usually art, and often harshly; a “cacophony” is a loud and unpleasant pairing of noises; “establish” means set up; “portray” means depict or show.
Example Question #11 : Synonyms: Nouns
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
BUFFOON
Liberator
Erudite
Fool
Patriarch
Chaperone
Fool
"Buffoon" is a noun meaning "a ridiculous but amusing person; a clown," so we need to pick out an answer choice that is a noun and means "a ridiculous, but amusing person." Of the possible answer choices, "erudite" is not a noun but an adjective, so it cannot be the correct answer. Picking between "fool," "liberator," "patriarch," and "chaperone," "fool" is the best answer choice because "fool" means "a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person," or "a jester or clown, especially one retained in a noble household."
Example Question #14 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
QUACK
Scribe
Creditor
Genuine
Phony
Doctor
Phony
A "quack" is someone who is not genuine, a fake, a phony. To further help you, "genuine" means real; a "scribe" is someone who writes information; a "creditor" is someone who lends money under the expectation that it is favorably paid back.
Example Question #12 : Synonyms: Nouns
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MONARCH
Achievement
Protagonist
King
Document
Narrator
King
"Monarch" means ruler or king, so "king" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "monarch": a "narrator" is a person who tells a story; an "achievement" is the completion of a task or goal; a "document" is a paper with written material on it; and a "protagonist" is the main character in a novel or movie.
Example Question #16 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CHAPERONE
Catastrophe
Supervisor
Protagonist
Voyage
Destruction
Supervisor
A "chaperone" is a supervisor or a person who looks after another person or group, so "supervisor" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "chaperone": a "voyage" is a journey made by traveling via ship; a "protagonist" is the main character of a story; a "catastrophe" is a disaster or great event of terror and suffering; and "destruction" is the action of causing great damage.
Example Question #17 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PUPIL
Worker
Student
Teacher
Parent
Expert
Student
"Pupil" is a noun that can mean apprentice or novice, so the answer choice closest in meaning to "pupil" is "student," a noun meaning a person who is going to school. Considering the other answer choices, "expert" is a noun meaning a specialist or a skilled person, "parent" is a noun meaning a mother or father of a child, and "worker" is a noun meaning someone who does work.
Example Question #18 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ENTOURAGE
Debut
Vacation
Corruption
Escort
Tour
Escort
An “entourage” is a group of people who accompany one person, or an “escort.” A “debut” is the act of doing something, often publicly, for the first time; and “corruption” means dishonesty.
Example Question #19 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
SOPHOMORE
Second-year student
Academic
First-year student
Professor
Itinerant
Second-year student
If you break “sophomore” down into its Latin word parts, it's literal meaning is wise-fool. In American English, we use it to describe a “second-year student.” To provide further help, an “itinerant” is a nomad, someone who walks from place to place without living in any one place; an “academic” is someone who studies or teaches for a living.
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