ISEE Upper Level Verbal : ISEE Upper Level (grades 9-12) Verbal Reasoning

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

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1811 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

PERMEATE

Possible Answers:

Perfuse

Persevere

Complete

Remain

Fulfill

Correct answer:

Perfuse

Explanation:

The word “permeate” is a combination of the prefix “per-”, here used to mean “through,” and the Latin root for “to go or pass.” It means to “go through” in the sense of something that fills a space. For example, one might say, “The smell of the fresh apple pie permeated the room, filling it with the wonderful odors of the autumnal dessert.” The word “perfuse” means “to pour through” in a sense close to that of “permeate.” Its “-fuse” portion is related to the same form that is found in “infuse” and “diffuse.”

Example Question #1812 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

RESUSCITATE

Possible Answers:

Recall

Concoct

Revive

Submerge

Conjure

Correct answer:

Revive

Explanation:

The word “resuscitate” is derived from Latin roots meaning “to raise up again.” It is from this that we get the general sense of “resuscitate” as meaning “to bring back to life from a near death situation.” The word “revive” best signifies this, as it means “to bring back to life.” The “-vive” in “revive” is related to other words for life such as “vivify” and “survive.”

Example Question #1813 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

SUBMERGE

Possible Answers:

Drown

Sail

Plunge

Navigate

Combine

Correct answer:

Plunge

Explanation:

The “-merge” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “emerge” and “immersion.” It is derived from the Latin for “to dip.” The prefix “sub-” means “beneath” or “under,” as is used in the word “submarine” (meaning “beneath water”). When someone “submerges” something else, he or she “dips it under water.” Plunge is the best option among those given.

Example Question #1814 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

EMERGE

Possible Answers:

Plunge

Materialize

Crisis

Coagulate

Drown

Correct answer:

Materialize

Explanation:

The “-merge” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “submerge” and “immersion.” It is derived from the Latin for “to dip.” The prefix “e-” is a form of “ex-”, meaning “out of” as used in the word “exit”—“to go out of.”   When someone or something “emerges” it “comes out of being dipped.” A better definition is “coming into view or becoming apparent.” When something “materializes,” it comes to exist actually. Often, this is used to describe something appearing as well.

Example Question #1815 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

PERSIST

Possible Answers:

Fill

Overcome

Persevere

Exasperate

Destroy

Correct answer:

Persevere

Explanation:

The prefix “per-” often means “through,” but it likewise can function as an intensifier or as something implying completion. For example, the word “perfect” literally means “thoroughly or completely made.” The word “persist” is derived from this second usage of “per-” and a base derived from the Latin for “to stand.” The latter can be found in words like “resist,” “consist,” and “exist.” Someone who “persists,” stands firm through difficulties. Such a person could be said to persevere, which is nearly a perfect synonym.

Example Question #61 : Synonyms: Prefixes

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

PROCRASTINATE

Possible Answers:

Pain

Mindless

Delay

Loaf

Ignore

Correct answer:

Delay

Explanation:

You likely know the word “procrastinate” as an insult or as a panicked word when you have put off your work and find a deadline quickly approaching. The word literally means “to put off until tomorrow.” The prefix “pro-” means “forward or toward,” and the “-cras-” portion of the word comes from the Latin for tomorrow.   Note that this is not the same as the “crass” that means “unrefined or rude.” One can fairly say that “to procrastinate” is “to delay.”

Example Question #62 : Synonyms: Prefixes

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

ACQUIRE

Possible Answers:

Pilfer

Snatch

Fudge

Steal

Obtain

Correct answer:

Obtain

Explanation:

The word “acquire” actually comes from the compounding of the prefix “ad-” and the a base related to “question” and “enquiry.” The prefix means “to or toward” and is found in many English words like “advance” and “adapt.” The general sense of the word is “to obtain or buy,” and this meaning is related to the combination of the words’ parts, which would mean, “to seek for something,” implying that one would seek rather strongly for that thing in order to “be at it,” that is, to have or own it.

Example Question #63 : Synonyms: Prefixes

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

IMPARTIAL

Possible Answers:

Discrete

Superfluous

Equitable

Poignant

Comprehensive

Correct answer:

Equitable

Explanation:

Because "impartial" means treating all sides equally; fair and just, the best answer choice is "equitable," which means fair and impartial.

Example Question #64 : Synonyms: Prefixes

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

SUPERFICIAL

Possible Answers:

Overlook

Vapid

Surface

Annoying

Witless

Correct answer:

Surface

Explanation:

While “superficial” often is used to describe someone who is “not deep” or perhaps “trivial” in his or her interests, the word literally means “being on the upper most face.” The word “surface” is actually closely related to the word. The prefix “super-” means “above,” and “-ficial” comes from relatives of “face or surface.” Therefore, someone who is “superficial” is “on the surface” (that is, not going any deeper than the uppermost layer). The word “superficial” can be used as an adjective that merely means “surface” or “surface-level” as in “superficial wounds,” which would mean “surface wounds” or “surface-level wounds.”

Example Question #65 : Synonyms: Prefixes

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

REDUNDANT

Possible Answers:

Conflicting

Idiocy

Illegible

Unneeded

Perplexing

Correct answer:

Unneeded

Explanation:

The word “redundant” comes from the prefix “re-” meaning “again,” and (perhaps strangely at first sight) the word for “wave.” The “-und-” portion is the same as that found in “undulation,” which means “a wave motion.” Something that is “redundant” is something that is “surging up (like a wave) again.” A redundant expression uses multiple words where they are not needed since they both express the same thing. (It is like the same meaning “surges up” twice!) Think of the expression “usually customary.” Customs are actions that are regularly performed by a group, person, etc. There is no need to use the modifier “usually.”

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors