All ISEE Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #31 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
MENTOR
Assistant
Lawyer
Advisor
Partner
Fighter
Advisor
A "mentor" is a teacher, an advisor, someone who provides guidance and advice to someone else with less experience. An "assistant" is someone who works for someone else and/or someone who helps someone else. "Partner" is not synonymous as it denotes an equal relationship, not one in which one party is more experienced or skilled than the other.
Example Question #32 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
DONOR
Mentor
Taker
Athlete
Giver
Actor
Giver
A "donor" is someone who gives charitably, a giver, someone who makes a donation. To provide further help, a "mentor" is a teacher, someone who provides guidance and advice to someone less experienced. "Actor" and "athlete" are completely unrelated to the word "donor."
Example Question #33 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
DEVOTEE
Fan
Misogynist
Resident
Critic
Donor
Fan
A "devotee" is someone who is devoted to something, a fan, a passionate supporter. To provide further help, a "critic" is someone who judges other people's work, particularly someone who expresses a negative opinion about some form of art; a "resident" is a person who lives somewhere; a "misogynist" is a person who hates women; a "donor" is a giver, someone who gives to a charity.
Example Question #34 : Identifying Synonyms
A synonym of "tyrant" is __________.
herald
peasant
despot
prince
king
despot
"Tyrant" is a noun that means either "a cruel and oppressive ruler" or "a person exercising power or control in a cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary way," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "a cruel ruler." While "king" may seem like a good answer choice because a king is a kind of ruler, a king is not necessarily a cruel ruler like a tyrant is. "Despot," however, means "a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way." Because "despot" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "tyrant," "despot" is the correct answer.
Example Question #35 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FACTION
Assembly
Ability
Meeting
Purpose
Camp
Camp
A "faction" is a group that gets together to achieve some particular person. Usually, a "faction" is a small group, often excluding others from the group. Now, the words "meeting" and "assembly" might be tempting. They are not really the best options. Instead, the little word "camp" is the best. A "camp" is a small group, often with the negative overtones that we also express in "faction." Yes, a "camp" is a place that you can go to stay in the woods. A "camp" can also be a small group that is very factional.
Example Question #36 : Identifying Synonyms
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
FIEND
Communicator
Reviewer
Villain
Ally
Interrogator
Villain
The word "fiend" comes originally from the word for a demon or a devil. We generally use it, however, to describe any kind of villain. It is in this sense that it is being used in this question. Such a villain need not be a wicked person in a story. We sometimes use the word also when we describe someone who abuses his or her fellow human beings, as when we say, "Thomas was nothing more than a fiend, given how he stole from all of the elderly in his neighborhood."
Example Question #1 : Synonyms: Nouns For Tangible Things
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
MISSIVE
Letter
Mist
Send
Miss
Letter
A "missive" is a letter. "Letter" is the best choice as it is a part of the definition of "missive."
Example Question #37 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
FESTIVITY
Dance
Music
Party
Joy
Party
"Festivity" is a noun which means a happy celebration, so the answer choice closest in meaning is "party," which is a noun meaning a celebratory social gathering. Considering the other answer choices, none are close in meaning to "festivity": "dance," when used as a noun, means a specific pattern of aesthetically pleasant bodily movements set to music or a school gathering at which dancing occurs; "music" is a noun meaning specific patterns of aesthetically pleasant sounds made with (a) voice(s) and/or instrument, and "joy" is a noun meaning happiness.
Example Question #38 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Select the one word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.
CAR
Transportation
Boat
Automobile
Airplane
Automobile
A "car" is a vehicle with wheels that drives over land, so the answer choice closest in meaning to "car" is "automobile," as an "automobile" is a passenger vehicle with wheels. Considering the other answer choices, none are as close in meaning to "car" as is "automobile": a "boat" is a vessel that transports things on water; an "airplane" is a vessel for transporting things in air; and "transportation" is a noun meaning the thing one uses to or way in which one moves oneself or things from one place to another.
Example Question #39 : Identifying Synonyms
Synonyms: Choose the answer that most closely matches the word in capital letters.
CADAVER
Nurse
Professor
Warlock
Corpse
Administrator
Corpse
A “cadaver” is a dead body and is most similar in meaning to a “corpse.” To provide further help, an “administrator” is someone who manages an organization; a “warlock” is a male wizard.