All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1067 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Winston Churchill’s contemporaries spent many a __________ evening in his company; he was considered knowledgeable and pleasant to be around.
convivial
mercenary
cautious
endangered
meticulous
convivial
The second clause in the sentence describes Winston Churchill as knowledgeable and pleasant to be around. From this information you can infer that the blank word must describe some amiable or positive quality about Churchill. Of the five answer choices only convivial describes fits comfortable. Convivial means enjoyable company or pleasant. Meticulous refers to someone who is precise and extremely careful; mercenary means doing something for money; cautious means careful; endangered means threatened.
Example Question #1068 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After experiencing terrible famine and starvation, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the average young Irish boy looked extremely sickly and __________.
portly
pulchritudinous
emaciated
comely
corpulent
emaciated
The context described in the sentence indicates that the blank word must relate to some physical appearance brought on by starvation. This rules out corpulent and portly which both mean big or fat. It also rules out pulchritudinous which means beautiful and comely which means cute. The remaining, correct, answer is “emaciated” which means very thin to the point of wasting away.
Example Question #421 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
To make his grandmother’s cooking more __________, Bert is often forced to add copious amounts of salt and pepper.
palatable
voracious
auriferous
unsettling
bombastic
palatable
The context of this question suggests that Bert is forced to add salt and pepper to his grandmother’s cooking in order to make it taste better. This indicates that the correct answer is “palatable” which means pleasant tasting. Voracious describes someone with a big appetite; unsettling means worrying; bombastic means verbose or pretentious; auriferous describes a mineral that contains gold.
Example Question #422 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
He expected me to be up at the crack of dawn, cooking his friends a fancy breakfast; I thought that was rather __________.
scrupulous
unequivocal
illogical
presumptuous
particular
presumptuous
The correct answer is "presumptuous," meaning assuming too much or arrogant. "Illogical" could also describe someone's request, but "presumptuous" is the better choice because it more specifically describes the situation of someone expecting too much.
Example Question #471 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The party guests enjoyed a __________ buffet of rich food and exotic delicacies.
diffident
endemic
banal
homogenous
sumptuous
sumptuous
"Sumptuous" means luxurious or splendid. "Banal" means commonplace or mundane. "Diffident" means hesitant or lacking in confidence. "Endemic" means native or local. "Homogenous" means similar or comparable.
Example Question #472 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Devin was a particularly grave child, often finding his peers’ idea of enjoyment to be merely __________.
frivolous
playful
merry
joyous
enjoyable
frivolous
Often, we think of the adjective “grave” as meaning that someone is ill-tempered or “grumpy;” however, its most proper meaning is “serious” or perhaps even “solemn.” According to this meaning, the sentence implies (by using the word “merely”) an opposition between such gravity and the attitude of Devin’s peers. When something is “frivolous,” it appears to be utterly unserious, which would indeed be a fitting opposite to Devin’s grave manner.
Example Question #473 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Rarely thinking more than two days in advance, Robin would __________ undertake grand projects that few believed she could complete in an adequate manner.
irrationally
simultaneously
regularly
frequently
impetuously
impetuously
For whatever might be said about the regularity of Robin’s undertaking of grand projects, the sentence definitely conveys that she does so without much forethought. When someone acts “impetuously,” he or she acts quickly and without much planning or thought. The word comes from the Latin meaning “to attack” or also “to seek.” The “im-” prefix here intensifies the sense of “attacking” (to the point that one attacks a task without even planning). The general root “-pet-” found in this word is related to the same root found in “petition,” “impetus,” and “repeat.”
Example Question #474 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Answer the following sample question. Select the word or pair of words that most correctly completes the sentence.
Though the politician apologized profusely for his behavior, his excuses seemed rather __________.
arcane
eloquent
acrimonious
lucid
disingenuous
disingenuous
"Disingenuous" means deceitful, dishonest, or insincere. "Acrimonious" means bitter or spiteful. "Arcane" means secret or elusive. "Eloquent" means having a skillful way with words or speech. "Lucid" means easily understood or obvious.
Example Question #475 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
By accepting the demands of his opposition, the senator was attempting to be __________ towards those who he might need on his side in the future.
extravagant
smug
contagious
conciliatory
arrogant
conciliatory
From the context of this sentence you know that the blank must be describing some sort of accommodating gesture or compromise made by the senator. Contagious means likely to spread from one to another; extravagant refers to luxury; arrogant and smug both mean cocky. Only conciliatory, which means trying to end an argument and make peace, makes sense in context.
Example Question #1271 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.
Although wholly innocent of any crime, Nathan had a similar appearance to a particularly __________ criminal.
aggrieved
devastating
notorious
belligerent
willful
notorious
The contrast here is between someone who is completely innocent and a criminal that must be particularly “nasty.” The word “notorious” means “well known,” often implying that said person is well known for bad or criminal acts. The word is related to English words like “noted,” in the sense of being known or recognized.
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