Synonyms - ISEE Lower Level Verbal Reasoning

The verb "to astound" means "to amaze." When something is described as being "astonishing," it is amazing. Thus, we could say, "It was astonishing how quickly John made progress at learning to play the organ. In only two years, he was more skilled than most people who had taken twenty years of lessons."

When two things are "similar," they are very much alike; however, they are not completely alike. When two things are 100% alike, they are equal or, simply, "the same." The word "similar," however, refers to things that are alike without being exactly the same. For instance, two cups could be similar in shape, though they are each a little bit different. Likewise, two shirts might have similar colors, though they are not exactly the same as each other.

Seldom means rarely or not often happening, so "rarely" is the correct answer. To help you, "impressive" means demanding notice, striking, or great.

In this question, the word "novel" is being used as an adjective, meaning new or inventive. The only word with a similar meaning is "innovative_,"_ which means original or new. "Celebrated" means renowned, while "literary"means having to do with literature or reading, and was meant to throw you off if you had only seen the stem word as a noun (meaning a book-length work of fiction) rather than as an adjective. "Puzzling" means confusing or perplexing .

"Regular" is an adjective that means occurring at even intervals, frequent, or usual. So, the answer choice closest in meaning to "regular" is "usual," an adjective that means typically occurring . None of the other answers are close in meaning to "regular": "atypical" is an antonym of "regular" and means not typical ; "regulated" means controlled; and "trite" means unoriginal.

To yield means to give in or to relent; for example, a parent may relent in terms of the requests of a child.

The prefix "ultra-" means super or excessively, so “ultramodern” means extremely modern. Of the five answer choices, this is closest in meaning to “innovative,” which means original, modern, genius, offbeat. To provide further help, an “allusion” is an indirect reference to something; an “aqueduct” is a pipe that brings water from a natural source to a community; “assimilation” is the process of becoming part of a new culture after you move there; “apolitical” means not political, uninterested in politics.

“Consecutive” means occurring in order, one after the other. This is closest in meaning to “successive.” To provide further help, “incoherent” means not able to be understood; “comparable” means able to be compared, similar; “consensus” means agreement; “proclivity” means tendency of doing something.

The prefix "ir-" is a negation prefix, so “irreversible” has the opposite meaning of “reversible.” Since “reversible” means able to be reversed, able to be changed back, then “irreversible” means not able to be changed, or “permanent.” To provide further help, “temporary” is an antonym of “permanent;” “mercurial” means enigmatic, hard to predict; “enigmatic” means mysterious; “lackadaisical” means lazy or careless.

"Urgent" means pressing or immediate, so "pressing" is the correct answer. "Urgent" has a meaning different from that of "repetitive," which means tedious due to repetition,"steady," which means unvarying or consistent; and "unending," which means not having an end or lasting for a very long time.

Someone who is "sluggish" is lazy and slow, so "lazy" is the correct answer.None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "sluggish": "debilitated" means_weakened_ or hindered; "depressed" means feeling sad over a period of time or having the condition depression; and "dull" means boring or blunt.

Something "permanent" will remain a certain way for a long time. The other answer choices have meanings as follows: "partial" means _only a part of something; "_delayed" means late; and "occasional" means occurring infrequently.

The prefix morph- means shape. So, to "morph" literally means to change shape. Additionally, "suffer" means feel pain; "rejoice" means celebrate, draw happiness from; "unite" means bring together, join, connect; "preach" means deliver a speech to a group of people, particularly a religious message.

"Correct" is an adjective that means true or not containing any errors. So, the answer choice closest in meaning to "correct" is "accurate," an adjective that means correct, especially as concerns specific details. None of the other answers are close in meaning to "correct": "wrong" is an antonym of "correct" and means incorrect ; "lame" means not able to walk due to an injury; and "intelligent" means smart .

Whenever we say that we "admire" someone, we mean that we have a very high opinion of that person. We respect such people for who they are and for what they do. Although such persons are sometimes famous, often they are not. We admire our grandparents, even if few people know them. This means that we respect them, and thus "respected" is the best option.

"Puny" means weak and small. To further help you, "dazed" means stunned, especially by a blow; "bemused" means confused and puzzled.

The word "labor" can be used as a noun meaning work. When used as a verb, however, it emphasizes the difficulty involved with a given attempt to work on something. Thus, it basically means to work very hard at something. Therefore, the only option that is acceptable is "struggle." If you said, "I labored at the task all day," this could be translated, "I struggled very hard all day at the task."

The prefix vol- means will. "Will" when used as a noun refers to a person's ability to do what they want to do. So, someone with "free will" is in control of his or her own life and can do what he or she wants to do. So, "voluntary" means done of one's own free will, optional, chosen. Additionally, "innocent" means not guilty; "invincible" means unstoppable, unable to be defeated; "scarce" means rare, in short supply; "sore" means in pain, hurting.

The prefix pro- means forward. So, to "prolong" means to extend, to extend something forward into the future. Additionally, to "discover" means to find; to "offend" means to upset someone, to cause anger; "menace" means threaten, scare; to "retire" means to stop doing something, often to stop working.