Sentence Completions: Verbs - ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning

The context of the sentence suggests that Josh would be feeling regret about his opportunities because he missed them. The correct answer must therefore be close in meaning to regret. The correct answer is “rue,” which means to regret. To further help you, "admonish" means to criticize; "absolve" means to free from blame; "display" means show.

Due to the fact that Harry’s car has gone missing, we can assume that the blank word must describe some negative feeling like “worried” or “angered.” This eliminates "ecstatic" and "overjoyed" as answer choices because both words mean very happy. Likewise, "wanton" can be eliminated because it means random, and "whimsical" can be eliminated because it means silly and quirky. The correct answer is “perturbed,” which means worried or disturbed.

The context of the sentence suggests that the cunning chess player got the better of her less capable opponent. This means that the blank word must mean something like "outwitted." "Outfoxed" means outwitted, so "outfoxed" is the correct answer. To help you, "deplore" means hate, "harangue" means criticize verbally, "wounded" means injured, and "circumscribed" means limited or bordered.

From the context of the sentence, you know that the answer choice must describe how the explorers left on their journey. That rules out "encamped," "fortified," and "garrisoned," which all mean settled down in one place. "Dreaded" means feared, so it cannot be the correct answer either. The correct answer is “embarked,” which means set off or began a trip.

Having struck an iceberg, it is logical that the ship would break and sink. The answer choice that most closely resembles that definition is “capsize,” which means to overturn or to sink and is usually used to refer to a boat or ship. To help you, "decreed" means ordered, and "renowned" means famous and well-regarded.

From the context of the sentence, you know that the blank word must mean something close to “ruin.” The correct answer is therefore “mar,” which means ruin something or take away from the greatness of something. To help you, "lull" means calm, "hoax" means deceive with a practical joke when used as a verb, "goad" means encourage, rile up, or provoke, and "assist" is a verb that means help.

The context of the sentence suggests that the runner must have slowed down as a result of running low on energy. This means that the answer choice cannot be "sprint" (run fast) or "accelerate" (speed up or go faster). Likewise it cannot be "hasten," which is a synonym of "hurry," because these two words also suggest speeding up. The correct answer is therefore “falter,” which means_begin losing strength_.

The second clause in this sentence suggests that the author is not going to talk about the man’s secrets. "Protect," "defend," "guard," and "shelter" are all synonyms and opposite in meaning to the answer we are looking for. The correct answer is “divulge,” which means reveal.

The mother wanted to show her displeasure and therefore she was "conveying" her displeasure. To "utter" would be to speak; "pronounce" is to describe verbally; "project" is to communicate; and "exude" is to emit.

The student wants to support her position and therefore wants to "justify" it. "Maintain" is to keep; "disrupt" is to intrude; and "condone" is to allow.

"Obscured" in this context means hidden. The sentence states. "I could not see..." which implies that the speaker is hidden. The other answer choices do not match the context of the sentence.

The sentence tells us that Gareth did not want to make his mother’s suffering worse by telling her bad news. This rules out "thrill" and "delight" as possible answer choices because they both mean make happy or excited. The correct answer is “burden.” A "burden" is a weight you carry that makes life more difficult, and to "burden" someone means to make someone's life more difficult by distressing them. To help you, to "commiserate" means to sympathize.

The sentence tells you that Jenna did not want to discuss her feelings directly, therefore the answer choice must be close in meaning to hinted, or suggested. The correct answer is “alluded,” which means hinted at indirectly. To help you, "contrived" means faked or made-up, "meandered" means traveled somewhere indirectly, like a river, and "detained" means withheld or arrested.

Be careful with that, do not mar the surface! Whenever something is marred, it is scratched up or broken.

She is strong, she will not falter. Faltering refers to failing or becoming unsteady. Someone who is strong, is unlikely to falter (at least at most physical tasks).

Though the other choices do make sense, they would only be found in very specific contexts. While the use of "falter" would be the most common choice to fill in the blank.

I hope this heavy pack doesn't encumber you too much. Encumber most nearly means burden or weigh-down. A heavy pack is very likely to encumber someone.

Sarah uses visual art and poetry as a way of expressing her feelings or conveying her feelings. Thus, convey is the best word to get across the idea of revealing her feelings through her art.

Since Heidi was parched at the end of the hike, this indicates that she drank too little on the hike. During the hike, she tried to quench or satisfy her thirst, but she could not with the amount of water she brought with her.

Because of the sentence's parallel structure, we can infer that we are looking for a verb, so while "ductile" sounds like duck and "fowl" refers to birds, neither of them are the correct answer. From the sentence's context, we can tell that we are looking for a verb that means something like walked, since we know that the duck moved across the grass to follow the tourists, and ducks move across grass by walking. Of the answer choices remaining, only "waddled" and "stomped" describe movement. Since "stomp" means to make a lot of noise while walking, often to demonstrate one's anger, and "waddle" means to walk with small steps while swinging one's body back and forth, "waddle" is the better choice and the correct answer.