Synonyms - ISEE Lower Level Verbal Reasoning

"Sparse" means scarce or not abundant. "Scant" similarly means scarce or not abundant, so "scant" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, a "concept" is an idea, a "duplicate" is an exact copy and to "duplicate" something means to make an exact copy of it, "thrifty" means using what you have carefully and not wasting anything, and "nonchalant" means calm and unconcerned about something.

Assorted means made up of various types of things. To further help you, a concept is an idea; the wilderness is the wild; metropolitan means a large city area; circumstantial means because of a situation, lucky.

"Solitary" means lone, alone, or by oneself, so "lone" is the correct answer. To help you, "paired" means put together into a group of two, "guardian" means defender, and "luxurious" means fancy and expensive.

Immense means massive, huge, or very significant. To further help you, it is an antonym of the other four answer choices, as it has the opposite meaning to them. Miniscule, petite and lilliputian are all synonyms that mean very small.

Scant means slight or little. To further help you, precious means valuable and important to someone; delicious means tasty; significant means important or noteworthy; elementary means basic.

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

The word "impoverished" literally means "in-poverty" or in the state of poverty. To "impoverish" someone is to make that person to be poor. The "-ed" form indicates that this is a passive participle, meaning that it is an adjective describing someone to whom the action of "impoverishing" has occurred. To be "impoverished" therefore means to be made poor or merely to be poor.

"Tyrant" is a noun that means either "a cruel and oppressive ruler" or "a person exercising power or control in a cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary way," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "a cruel ruler." While "king" may seem like a good answer choice because a king is a kind of ruler, a king is not necessarily a cruel ruler like a tyrant is. "Despot," however, means "a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way." Because "despot" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "tyrant," "despot" is the correct answer.

"Inconvenient" is an adjective consisting of the negative prefix "in-" and "convenient," so we can infer that it means something like "not convenient"; it actually means "causing trouble, difficulties, or discomfort." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "not convenient" or "causing trouble." "Timely," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "timely" is an adjective that means "done or occurring at a favorable or useful time; opportune," making it an antonym, not a synonym, of "inconvenient." "Inopportune," however, is an adjective that consists of the negative prefix "in-" and "opportune," so it means "not opportune," or more specifically, "occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time." Because "inopportune" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "inconvenient," "inopportune" is the correct answer.

"Tardy" means late.

The correct answer is "speedy," or in a quick manner, as "swift" means occurring or moving very quickly. "Slow" is an opposite of "swift" and "dance" is not related in meaning to "swift" at all. While to "run" does mean to move quickly, "run" is a verb and "swift" is an adjective, so their meanings are very different.

Something that is "chronic" continues for a long time. "Continual" is a synonym of "chronic." "Time" is not as good a choice because it refers to the general concept of time and not any length of time. "Old" also does not work here because it means great in age and does not refer to an ongoing process like the words "chronic" and "continual" do.

"Intermediate" means in the middle or in-between, so _t_he best choice is "in-between" which also means in the middle . Don't confuse the word "meddle," which means to interfere, with the word "middle."

The word "sluggish" means slow or lazy. "Slow" is the best choice, as it is a part of the definition of "sluggish." Considering the other choices, "stiff" means rigid . While it may seem related, the word "sluggish" describes some sort of motion, though very little, while "stiff" does not. "Active" is an antonym of the word "sluggish." "Slug" is only related because sluggish means slug-like, as in as slow as a slug.

"Frequent" means happening again and again with little time in between events. Anorther word for "frequent" is often, so "often" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, "jealous" means envious or wanting what someone else has, "usually" means under normal circumstances, a "burrow" is a hole in the ground that certain animals dig and live in, and to "burrow" means to dig a hole in the ground, and "modest" means not taking as much credit as one should for one's achievements or talent.

Primitive means having to do with the early history of the world or of humanity, or simple and relatively undeveloped. "Ancient" means extremely old, so "ancient" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "primitive."

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.