ISEE Lower Level Verbal : Synonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, or Location

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #602 : Identifying Synonyms

Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.

TRANSMIT

Possible Answers:

Ask for

Send out 

Beg for 

Get lost

Send back 

Correct answer:

Send out 

Explanation:

“Transmit” means to send out, to broadcast, or to disseminate. The word is particularly used to describe the “transmission” of messages.

Example Question #611 : Identifying Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

MINGLE

Possible Answers:

Detain

Remove

Mix

Separate

Remain

Correct answer:

Mix

Explanation:

"Mingle" means physically mix together or socialize by mixing with other people at an event, so the correct answer is "mix." None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "mingle": "detain" means keep in a certain location or in custody; "remain" means stay; to "remove" something means to take it away; and "separate," when used as a verb, means divide.

Example Question #612 : Identifying Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DIMINISH

Possible Answers:

Trick

Reduce

Recalculate

Expand

Correct answer:

Reduce

Explanation:

The word "diminish" is related to words like "miniature" and "miniscule." The prefix "mini-" is also likely very familiar to you. A "mini-poodle" is a very small kind of dog. When something "diminishes," it becomes smaller or less intense. To make something "diminish in size," you reduce its size. To "reduce" means to lessen or decrease.

Example Question #781 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

EXTINGUISH

Possible Answers:

Protect

Insure

Water

Illuminate

Destroy

Correct answer:

Destroy

Explanation:

When many people hear the word "extinguish," they think of "extinguishing a fire." This means that we use water to douse or "put out" the flame. This is a true use of the word, but it is based on a more fundamental meaning, namely, to destroy or end the existence of something. The most tempting wrong answer is likely "water," for just as we "water the plants," we might think of "watering a fire" in order to extinguish it. However, this is a rather strange use of the word "water." Also, "extinguish" really does have a broader meaning than "watering." The best option is "destroy," which best captures the sense of ending the existence of something.

Example Question #782 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

INFLATE

Possible Answers:

Pour

Enjoy

Discuss

Exaggerate

Puff

Correct answer:

Exaggerate

Explanation:

We usually use the word "inflate" to describe someone "blowing up" a balloon. The word literally means to blow into. The word "flatulence" is used to describe when someone "has gas." To "in-flate" is to put gas into something—at least in the literal sense of the word "inflate." However, it can also be used merely to express "making bigger." For instance, an "inflated ego" describes someone who thinks more highly of himself or herself than is appropriate. His or her "ego" (self-sense) is "blown up." When you inflate something, therefore, you make it larger. For this reason, the word "inflate" can mean "exaggerate."

Example Question #783 : Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

DISSOLVE

Possible Answers:

Insult

Saturate

Mix

Drink

Scatter

Correct answer:

Scatter

Explanation:

We most often use the word "dissolve" to describe the process of placing a solid substance in a liquid in order to mix it into the liquid completely, making it "one" (sort of) with the liquid. This forms a solution—for instance, salt water. When you mix in the salt, all of the salt molecules break up into their ionic parts, which are able to scatter throughtout the water and be mixed throughout it. (There are other ways that solutions occur, of course. This is just an example!)

Notice the word used to describe the process: "scatter." Although we tend to use the word "dissolve" for the making of liquid solutions, it can have this more general meaning of scattering. For instance, a group of people, gathered together can then dissolve—they spread apart and are no longer one crowd. Therefore, "scatter" is the best option among those provided.

Example Question #616 : Identifying Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

EXTERMINATE

Possible Answers:

Poison

Assault

Eliminate

Slash

Attack

Correct answer:

Eliminate

Explanation:

Often, we use the word "exterminate" or "exterminator" when talking about the type of person who kills insects in a house. The killing of insects is not the reason for this title, however. Instead, an "exterminator" is someone who "wipes out" or completely kills everything of a given type—insects, deer, or (sadly, as has happened in some wars) people. To "exterminate," therefore, means more than merely to "attack" or to "poison." It means to "eliminate"—that is, to destroy completely.

Example Question #617 : Identifying Synonyms

Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

SLACK

Possible Answers:

Roped

Untied

Chained

Loose

Looped

Correct answer:

Loose

Explanation:

You might know the word "slack" from its use in the related form "slacker," meaning someone who does not do his or her work with devotion or care. A "slacker" is someone who is not hard working and therefore could be said to be "loose" in work habits. To be "slack" is to be loose—like a "slack rope" that is loose. Don't be fooled by all the "rope and chain" related words among the answers. To be slack describes being loose, not necessarily anything about ropes or chains—though ropes and chains could be "taut" (tight and/or rigid) or slack.

Example Question #618 : Identifying Synonyms

A synonym of "deploy" is __________.

Possible Answers:

station

merge

wheeze

return

retreat

Correct answer:

station

Explanation:

"Deploy" is a verb that means either "move troops into position for military action" or "bring into effective action; utilize." Of the possible answer choices, "station," a word that when used as a verb means "put in or assign to a specified place for a particular purpose, especially a military one," is the answer choice closest in meaning to "deploy," so "station" is the correct answer.

Example Question #619 : Identifying Synonyms

A synonym of "cultivate" is __________.

Possible Answers:

blight

cull

opine

apprehend

plow

Correct answer:

plow

Explanation:

"Cultivate" is a verb that can mean either "prepare and use land for crops or gardening" or "try to acquire or develop a quality, sentiment, or skill." While "blight" might look like a potentially correct answer because like "cultivate," it can specifically refer to plants, "blight" actually means "infect plants or a planted area with blight (a plant disease)," so it is not a synonym of "cultivate" and cannot be the correct answer. "Plow," however, is a verb that means "turn up the earth of an area of land with a plow, especially before sowing," and because it is the answer choice closest in meaning to "cultivate," "plow" is the correct answer.

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