All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CARTOGRAPHER
Geometer
Analyst
Mariner
Mapmaker
Cook
Mapmaker
Looking at the parts of this word, we can get a general idea of its meaning. The “-grapher” clearly means “one who draws, graphs, records, etc.” A “photographer” can be said to take a record of the light (“photo-”) in the sense of recording the image before the camera. The “carto-” portion of the word is related to “card” and ultimately to the word “map.” Even if you cannot get to that last point, if you at least see the similarity to “card,” you will likely avoid the options “geometer” and “geomancer.” Based on what has been said, the best option is “mapmaker.”
Example Question #5 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
NULLIFY
Revoke
Validate
Vituperate
Ratify
Sanctify
Revoke
"Nullify" and "revoke" both mean to cancel or invalidate. "Validate" means to ascertain the truth of something. "Ratify" means to affirm or authorize. "Sanctify" means to hold in highest esteem. "Vituperate" means to criticize sharply.
Example Question #6 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
LAUDABLE
Acceptable
Foreseen
Commendable
Adequate
Exacting
Commendable
To “laud” someone is to praise that person. When something is “laudable,” it is “praise worthy.” The only word matching this is “commendable” which itself means “deserving of praise.”
Example Question #7 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
CHURLISH
Mutable
Acrid
Vulgar
Notorious
Haughty
Vulgar
"Churlish" is an adjective that means "rude in a mean-spirited and surly way," or "marked by a lack of civility or graciousness." So, we're looking for another adjective that means something like "rude" or "uncivil." While "haughty" seems like a possible choice because someone who is haughty might also be rude, "haughty" specifically means "arrogantly superior and disdainful," not specifically "rude." On the other hand, "vulgar" means "lacking in cultivation, perception, or taste" or "offensive in language," and is the closest synonym to "churlish," and therefore the best answer choice.
Example Question #8 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
SENSIBLE
Apparent
Blinding
Reasonable
Manifest
Obscure
Reasonable
The word “sensible” is clearly related to the notion of “the senses” and what can be perceived by them. It is often used to express the fact that someone is “down to earth” or quite “practical”—always keeping things at the level of observable reality, not detached in idealism or grand speculation. Because of these latter usages, the word has become synonymous with “reasonable” in many of its normal usages.
Example Question #9 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
AMPLIFY
Duplicate
Maneuver
Intensify
Digitize
Repeat
Intensify
The word “amplify” literally means “to make larger.” The “ampli-” portion is the same as that which is found in “ample” (spacious or plentiful) and “amplitude” (roughly meaning “magnitude,” often used in physics to describe vibrations). The “-fy” means “to do or make.” The word “amplify” is often used to describe the process of making sounds louder, though it can mean “intensify” in the general sense as well.
Example Question #10 : Synonyms: Suffixes
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
LEGIBLE
Readable
Legal
Political
Law-like
Regulated
Readable
The word “legible” comes from the Latin “legere” meaning to read. The English word means clear and readable. It is related to the word “lector,” which means reader. Often people will talk about “legible handwriting,” but the word can be used to describe print words that are likewise readable.
Example Question #1 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Greek
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ICONOCLAST
Critic
Vendor
Fanatic
Peddler
Purveyor
Critic
The suffix -clast is of Greek origin, it means break. An "iconoclast" is a critic, someone who tries to break an institution by attacking it. To provide further help, a "fanatic" is someone who cares deeply about something; "vendor," "purveyor," and "peddler" are all synonyms - they all mean seller.
Example Question #2 : Synonyms: Suffixes From Greek
Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.
ANARCHY
Utopia
Redemption
Disgust
Chaos
Order
Chaos
"Anarchy" means chaos, the lack of a political order. As a word it can be easily broken down to its component parts. The prefix an- means without and the root -arch- means leader, chief. So "anarchy" is without a leader, without a government, the lack of political order.
Example Question #1 : Synonyms: Roots
Immersed most closely means __________.
drowned
available
urgent
critical
absorbed
absorbed
The “-mersed” portion of this word is related to similar forms found in English words like “submerge” and “emerge.” It is derived from the Latin for to dip. The prefix “im-” is a version of “in.” Although “immersion” can describe the process of dunking someone into water, it likewise can mean that someone is completely absorbed in some activity. Consider a sentence like: “He was immersed in programming, little aware of anything in the world other than himself and his computer.” Likewise, we sometimes speak of people studying languages “by immersion,” that is, by living in the context of the language and using only the language being learned instead of their native languages for communication.
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