All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #591 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PROFANE
Considerate
Secular
Potential
Holy
Manageable
Secular
"Profane" is a word that when used as an adjective, can mean either "relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical; secular rather than religious" or "not respectful of orthodox religious practice; irreverent" when describing a person or his or her behavior. As a verb, "profane" means "treat something sacred with irreverence or disrespect." However, all of our potential answer choices are adjectives, so we will need to consider "profane" as an adjective. So, "religious" cannot be the correct answer, because "religious" is an antonym of "profane," not a synonym. "Secular," however, is an adjective that means "denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis." So, because "secular" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "profane," it is the correct answer.
Example Question #592 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INCONGROUS
Divisive
Apathetic
Cacophonous
Ambiguous
Anomalous
Anomalous
Because "incongrous" means out of the ordinary or not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something, the answer choice that is its closest synonym is "anomalous," or deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Example Question #593 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
COMMENSURATE
Correspondent
Burgeoning
Redundant
Critical
Ambiguous
Correspondent
"Commensurate" is an adjective that means "equal or similar to something in size, amount, or degree; in proportion to," so we need to pick out a word that means "proportionate." While "redundant" may sound like a good answer choice because it also deals with relationships between things, "redundant" actually means "repeating something else and therefore unnecessary," so it is not the word we're looking for. "Correspondent," however, besides meaning "a person who writes letters to a person or a newspaper, especially on a regular basis" as a noun, can also function as an adjective meaning "having a close similarity; matching or agreeing almost exactly." Of the available answer choices, "correspondent" is closest in meaning to "commensurate," so it is the correct answer.
Example Question #594 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ANOMALOUS
Conforming
Intransigent
Floundering
Incongruous
Garrulous
Incongruous
"Anomalous" and "incongruous" both mean deviating from normal or unusual. "Conforming" means agreeing or harmonious. "Garrulous" means talkative. "Floundering" means struggling or stumbling. "Intransigent" means adamant or stubborn.
Example Question #595 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INSIPID
Banal
Homogenous
Sedulous
Avant-garde
Appetizing
Banal
"Insipid" and "banal" both mean dull or uninteresting. "Appetizing" means delicious or appealing. "Sedulous" means busy or determined. "Avant-garde" means unconventional or forward-thinking. "Homogenous" means similar or comparable.
Example Question #596 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
PRETERNATURAL
Germane
Munificent
Anomalous
Stupefying
Voluminous
Anomalous
"Preternatural" and "anomalous" both mean unusual or abnormal. "Germane" means appropriate or applicable. "Munificent" means giving or generous. "Stupefying" means stunning or amazing. "Voluminous" means ample or vast.
Example Question #597 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
POTENT
Stewing
Untainted
Forceful
Poisonous
Drinkable
Forceful
The “pot-” portion of this word is derived from the Latin for able and also power. It is found in many English words like “impotent,” “potency,” “omnipotence,” and “potential.” Someone might say, “The speech was extremely potent in stirring the emotions of the crowd; soon, everyone was marching according to the instructions of the speaker.” Among the options provided, “forceful” best conveys this sense of “power.”
Example Question #598 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FUTILE
Ineffectual
Feeble
Bothersome
Useful
Annoying
Ineffectual
When something is futile, it accomplishes nothing. For example, one could say, “No matter how long Thomas spent in the gym, it felt futile, for he was always unable to lift his goal amount of weights.” When something is “ineffectual,” it is “unable to have an effect.” The word is thus somewhat like “ineffective.”
Example Question #599 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
INEXORABLE
Unstoppable
Imaginative
Preventable
Persuadable
Limited
Unstoppable
"Inexorable" is an adjective that means "impossible to stop or prevent," or when describing a person, "impossible to persuade by request or entreaty." So, neither "preventable" nor "persuadable" can be the correct answer because each of those words is an antonym of "inexorable," not a synonym. The correct answer is "unstoppable," an adjective that like "inexorable" means "impossible to stop or prevent."
Example Question #600 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the word that is most nearly the same in meaning as the word in capital letters.
HUGE
modicum
miniscule
hedonist
gargantuan
lucid
gargantuan
Both "miniscule" and "modicum" mean a small amount so they are not correct. "Lucid" means clear, and a "hedonist" is someone who lives for pleasure. "Gargantuan" is a synonym for huge.