ISEE Upper Level

The Verbal Reasoning section contains 40 questions in 20 minutes, about 30 seconds per question, the fastest pace on the ISEE. It measures vocabulary knowledge and the ability to reason with words through two question types: synonyms and sentence completion. Synonym questions usually come first, followed by sentence completions with one or two blanks.

Each synonym question presents a single word in capital letters followed by four answer choices. The task is to select the word whose meaning is most nearly the same as the capitalized word.

Understanding Word Relationships

Synonyms share a core meaning, but perfect synonyms are rare in English. Most pairs differ in intensity, formality, or connotation. "Happy" and "elated" both describe a positive emotional state, but "elated" suggests a stronger degree of happiness. When no choice matches exactly, choose the one closest to the word's primary meaning.

Focus on the primary definition. Many English words have several meanings, but synonym questions usually test the common definition rather than an obscure secondary sense. If none of the choices fits the common meaning, consider a second meaning of the word (for example, novel as an adjective means "new and original," not "a book").

Synonym Question Strategies

Define before looking

Form your own definition of the capitalized word before reading the choices. If you know the word means "to make smaller," look for that idea among the choices.

Use context from memory

Recall a sentence where you have seen the word. "The judge admonished the defendant" suggests that admonish relates to warning or scolding.

Eliminate clearly wrong answers

Cross out choices unrelated to the target word. With no penalty for wrong answers, eliminating even one choice improves the odds of a guess.

Watch for traps

Some wrong choices look or sound like the target word. Ingenious (clever) and ingenuous (naive) look alike but are nearly opposite; an antonym among the choices is often a trap.

Match the connotation

Words carry positive, negative, or neutral charges. Thrifty and stingy both describe careful spending, but thrifty is positive and stingy is negative.

Look-Alike Pair	HowtoTellThemApart
ingenious/ingenuous	Ingeniousmeanscleverandinventive;ingenuousmeansinnocentandtrusting
imminent/eminent	Imminentmeansabouttohappen;eminentmeansdistinguished
credulous/credible	Credulousmeanstooreadytobelieve;crediblemeansbelievable
prodigal/prodigy	Prodigalmeanswastefullyextravagant;aprodigyisapersonwithexceptionaltalent
venal/venial	Venalmeansopentobribery;venialmeansminorandforgivable

Word Parts: Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Strong vocabulary grows through steady practice over weeks, not last-minute memorization. Latin and Greek word parts form the foundation of thousands of English words, so learning them lets you decode an unfamiliar word by recognizing its components.

LatinRoot	Meaning	Examples
aud	hear	audible audience auditorium , ,
bene	good well ,	benefit benevolent beneficial , ,
dict	say speak ,	dictate predict contradict , ,
duc/duct	lead	conduct produce deduce , ,
fac/fact	make do ,	factory manufacture artifact , ,
mal	bad	malfunction malevolent malice , ,
port	carry	transport portable import , ,
scrib/script	write	describe manuscript prescription , ,
spec	see look ,	spectacle inspect perspective , ,
vert/vers	turn	convert reverse versatile , ,

Commonlatinroots(Continued)

GreekRoot	Meaning	Examples
geo	earth	geography geology geometry , ,
graph	write	paragraph autograph graphic , ,
log/logy	word study ,	dialogue biology apology , ,
path	feeling disease ,	sympathy pathology empathy , ,
phil	love	philosophy philanthropist bibliophile , ,
phon	sound	telephone symphony phonetic , ,
psych	mind	psychology psychic psychiatry , ,
therm	heat	thermometer thermal hypothermia , ,

Prefixes

Prefixes attach to the beginning of a word and change its meaning. Recognizing a prefix often reveals a word's meaning even when the base word is unfamiliar.

Type	Prefi xesandMeanings	Examples
Negative	un-; in-, im-, il -, ir-; dis-; non-; anti - (against);	unable impossible illegal irregular disconnect , , , , ,
	mis- (wrongly)	nonexistent antisocial mislead , ,
Quantity	mono-, uni - (one); bi -, du- (two); tri - (three);	monotone uniform bicycle duplicate trilogy quadrant , , , , , ,
	quad (four); multi poly- (many); semi - -, -,	polygon hemisphere ,
	hemi (half) -
Directionandposition	pre- (before); post- (after); sub - (under);	preview postscript subterranean superior interact , , , , ,
	super- (above); inter- (between); trans-	transform
	(across)

Suffixes

Suffixes attach to the end of a word and usually signal its part of speech, which helps on sentence completions where the blank must be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

PartofSpeech	Suffi xes	Examples
Noun	-tion , -sion , -ment , -ness , -ity , -ty , -er , -or , -	decision achievement darkness certainty actor , , , , ,
	ist -ance -ence , ,	scientist confidence ,
Adjective	-ful -less -ous -ious -able -ible -ive -al , , , , , , ,	grateful endless curious visible creative musical , , , , ,
Verb	-ize -ify -ate -en , , ,	organize clarify evaluate strengthen , , ,
Adverb	-ly -ward -wise , ,	carefully backward clockwise , ,	1

Break an unfamiliar word into parts: in- (not) + cred (believe) + -ulous (inclined to) gives incredulous, "not inclined to believe," or skeptical. Word parts narrow the choices even when the full definition is uncertain.