ISEE Upper Level Verbal : Using Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots to Identify Synonyms

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Upper Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Synonyms: Suffixes

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

CHURLISH

Possible Answers:

Vulgar

Mutable

Haughty

Notorious

Acrid

Correct answer:

Vulgar

Explanation:

"Churlish" is an adjective that means "rude in a mean-spirited and surly way," or "marked by a lack of civility or graciousness." So, we're looking for another adjective that means something like "rude" or "uncivil." While "haughty" seems like a possible choice because someone who is haughty might also be rude, "haughty" specifically means "arrogantly superior and disdainful," not specifically "rude." On the other hand, "vulgar" means "lacking in cultivation, perception, or taste" or "offensive in language," and is the closest synonym to "churlish," and therefore the best answer choice.

Example Question #7 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Latin

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

SENSIBLE

Possible Answers:

Reasonable

Obscure

Blinding

Manifest

Apparent

Correct answer:

Reasonable

Explanation:

The word “sensible” is clearly related to the notion of “the senses” and what can be perceived by them. It is often used to express the fact that someone is “down to earth” or quite “practical”—always keeping things at the level of observable reality, not detached in idealism or grand speculation. Because of these latter usages, the word has become synonymous with “reasonable” in many of its normal usages.

Example Question #8 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Latin

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

AMPLIFY

Possible Answers:

Maneuver

Repeat

Duplicate

Digitize

Intensify

Correct answer:

Intensify

Explanation:

The word “amplify” literally means “to make larger.” The “ampli-” portion is the same as that which is found in “ample” (spacious or plentiful) and “amplitude” (roughly meaning “magnitude,” often used in physics to describe vibrations).   The “-fy” means “to do or make.” The word “amplify” is often used to describe the process of making sounds louder, though it can mean “intensify” in the general sense as well.

Example Question #3 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Latin

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

LEGIBLE

Possible Answers:

Law-like

Regulated

Readable

Legal

Political

Correct answer:

Readable

Explanation:

The word “legible” comes from the Latin “legere” meaning to read. The English word means clear and readable. It is related to the word “lector,” which means reader. Often people will talk about “legible handwriting,” but the word can be used to describe print words that are likewise readable.

Example Question #1 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Greek

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

ICONOCLAST

Possible Answers:

Critic

Purveyor

Peddler

Fanatic

Vendor

Correct answer:

Critic

Explanation:

The suffix -clast is of Greek origin, it means break. An "iconoclast" is a critic, someone who tries to break an institution by attacking it. To provide further help, a "fanatic" is someone who cares deeply about something; "vendor," "purveyor," and "peddler" are all synonyms - they all mean seller.

Example Question #101 : Using Prefixes, Suffixes, And Roots To Identify Synonyms

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

ANARCHY

Possible Answers:

Chaos

Utopia

Disgust

Order

Redemption

Correct answer:

Chaos

Explanation:

"Anarchy" means chaos, the lack of a political order. As a word it can be easily broken down to its component parts. The prefix an- means without and the root -arch- means leader, chief. So "anarchy" is without a leader, without a government, the lack of political order

Example Question #1 : Synonyms: Roots From Latin

Immersed most closely means __________.

Possible Answers:

drowned

critical

available

urgent

absorbed

Correct answer:

absorbed

Explanation:

The “-mersed” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “submerge” and “emerge.” It is derived from the Latin for to dip. The prefix “im-” is a version of “in.” Although “immersion” can describe the process of dunking someone into water, it likewise can mean that someone is completely absorbed in some activity. Consider a sentence like: “He was immersed in programming, little aware of anything in the world other than himself and his computer.” Likewise, we sometimes speak of people studying languages “by immersion,” that is, by living in the context of the language and using only the language being learned instead of their native languages for communication.

Example Question #2 : Synonyms: Roots From Latin

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

INVULNERABLE

Possible Answers:

Presumptuous

Invincible

Rugged

Enervated

Victorious

Correct answer:

Invincible

Explanation:

The word “vulnerable” comes from the Latin for wound. With the “-able” prefix, it would mean able to be wounded. Therefore, when someone is “in-vulnerable,” he or she is not able to be wounded. The word “invincible” does not necessarily pertain to wounds, but it does mean unable to be conquered. You may have heard of the famous line attributed to Julius Caesar: “Veni, vidi, vici,” “I came, I saw, I conquered.” The last word, “vici,” is a form of “vincere,” meaning, to conquer. To be “invincible,” is thus to be “un-conquerable.”

Example Question #3 : Synonyms: Roots From Latin

Select the word that is most nearly the same in meaning as the word in capital letters.

DILETTANTE

Possible Answers:

refined

dabbler

procrastinator

miserable

Correct answer:

dabbler

Explanation:

From the Latin "delectare," which means to delight (compare with the English cognate "delectable"), a "dilettante" is one who engages in an activity for the sheer enjoyment of it—an amateur or dabbler. Be careful not to confuse this word with "dilatory" (causing delay) or "debutante" (a girl making her "debut" into society).

Example Question #2 : Synonyms: Roots

Diffidence most closely means __________.

Possible Answers:

opposition

dissimilarity

bashfulness

controversy

negation

Correct answer:

bashfulness

Explanation:

The word “diffidence” literally means “not having faith” in oneself. The “-fidence” portion of the word is related to other English words pertaining to faith, such as “fidelity” and “confidence.” When someone does not have faith or trust in himself or herself, that person is often bashful or shy due to that lack of confidence. A related word, “diffident” is the adjective form of the word.

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