ISEE Middle Level Verbal : ISEE Middle Level (grades 7-8) Verbal Reasoning

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

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1061 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The boss sent her most discerning man to try and __________ truth from fiction.

Possible Answers:

quantify

terrify

prioritize

disentangle

appoint

Correct answer:

disentangle

Explanation:

To begin with "discerning" means able of observing things, intelligent and able to pick up on small things. So, a "discerning" person would likely be sent to try and figure out the truth and separate truth from fiction. The correct answer then is "disentangle" because this means separate. Additionally, "prioritize" means declare as most important, make a priority; "appoint" means select for a position; "terrify" means frighten, scare; "quantify" means put data into numerical form.

Example Question #1062 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The workers decided to __________ the meeting until the next day.

Possible Answers:

establish

originate

adjourn

placate

aspire

Correct answer:

adjourn

Explanation:

Based on the context of this sentence you know you are looking for a verb that means something like suspend, delay until a later date. So, the correct answer is "adjourn." To "adjourn" can have many, related, meanings - it can mean to leave a place; to pause a meeting; to delay until later. Additionally, "originate" means come from; "aspire" means seek to achieve, aim for; "establish" means set up; "placate" means soothe, calm, relieve.

Example Question #1063 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

He was worried that his muscles might __________ with age, so he resolved to work out more regularly.

Possible Answers:

atrophy

acknowledge

portend

respire

flourish

Correct answer:

atrophy

Explanation:

Based on the context of this sentence you know that the correct answer is a verb that means to weaken, particularly with age or due to lack of use. The correct answer is therefore "atrophy." Additionally, "flourish" means either wave around, brandish or strive, achieve great things, do well; "acknowledge" means recognize, notice; "respire" means breathe; "portend" means foreshadow, provide a warning that something might happen a certain way in the future.

Example Question #1064 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The critics expected him to fail so were __________ by his unprecedented success.

Possible Answers:

confined

confounded

ransacked

anchored

amassed

Correct answer:

confounded

Explanation:

Based on the context of this sentence you are looking for a verb that means something like amazed, stunned, surprised. So, the correct answer is "confounded." Additionally, "ransack" means search through messily; "confine" means imprison; "anchor" means fix in place, root to a spot; "amass" means gather, collect.

Example Question #1065 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Her literature is __________ with a rage that reflects the anger of her day-to-day life.

Possible Answers:

infused

enticed

acquiesced

embellished

maimed

Correct answer:

infused

Explanation:

Based on the context of this sentence you know that the correct answer means filled with, so the correct answer is "infused." To "infuse" means to fill. Additionally, "entice" means tempt, lure, attract; "acquiesce" means give in to, accept the demands of; "maim" means injure, hurt; "embellish" means decorate, adorn, add detail to.

Example Question #1066 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The students arrived early to __________ their territory on the field.

Possible Answers:

heed

usurp

emulate

accent

establish

Correct answer:

establish

Explanation:

Which of these verbs makes sense as an action a group of students might undertake with regard to their "territory"? The correct answer is "establish," which means set up, lay permanent claim to. Additionally, "accent" means give emphasis to, highlight; "usurp" means take over power from, take the control from; "heed" means pay attention to, listen to a warning; "emulate" means copy, match the achievements of.

Example Question #1067 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

She watered her plants every day to __________ their growth.

Possible Answers:

surmount

disentangle

facilitate

defray

exorcise

Correct answer:

facilitate

Explanation:

Watering one's plants would help them to grow, so to solve this problem you are looking for a verb that means something like help the process of, make a process easier. So, the correct answer is "facilitate." Additionally, "surmount" means overcome; "disentangle" means separate, make no longer tangled; "exorcise" means rid of demons, drive out an evil entity; "defray" means pay for the cost of.

Example Question #1068 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

He __________ brutal cold and intense exhaustion in order to make it to the summit of the mountain.

Possible Answers:

atoned

condoned

marauded

dismounted

endured

Correct answer:

endured

Explanation:

To begin with "summit" means top of. So, the subject of this sentence experienced terrible cold and exhaustion in order to make it to the top of the mountain. We are therefore looking for an answer choice that means something like put up with in order to achieve something. The correct answer is therefore "endured." To "endure" means to suffer through something, to go through some difficulty with patience. Additionally, "atone" means make amends for, seek forgiveness for; "condone" means allow to happen, permit, approve of; "dismount" means get down from; "maraud" means roam in search of violence.

Example Question #1069 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Since my father left it is uncomfortable to even __________ to him; let alone directly talk about him.

Possible Answers:

mar

goad

allude

outfox

recite

Correct answer:

allude

Explanation:

The content and structure of this sentence suggests that you are looking for a verb that means hint at, suggest or indirectly call attention to. The correct answer is therefore "allude." Additionally, "outfox" means outwit, defeat through cunning and intelligence; "mar" means spoil, ruin; "goad" means 'egg-on', encourage someone to do something through manipulation; "recite" means speak out loud from memory, read aloud.

Example Question #1070 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Her parents are __________ by her refusal to attend classes.

Possible Answers:

perturbed

stifled

impaled

monitored

nourished

Correct answer:

perturbed

Explanation:

A child refusing to go to class is something that would likely make a parent worried, concerned, upset. So, the correct answer is "perturbed." Additionally, "monitor" means watch, pay attention to, 'keep an eye on'; "impaled" means stabbed; "stifled" means suffocated, repressed, held back, prevented from doing; "nourish" means provide with food and care so as to help growth.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors