Synonyms: Verbs About Physical Changes, Movement, or Location - ISEE Lower Level Verbal Reasoning

If you "elude" something or someone, it means you evade or a void it. For instance, you might elude your parents after you receive your report card if you know your grades are not stellar.

There are two definitions of scour. In this definition, it means to polish or clean. The other meaning of scour is to search thoroughly.

If something or someone is concealed, they are hidden from view or camouflaged.

An illustrative example with the word evict is when someone is evicted from their home. This means that they are removed.

"Deploy" is a verb that means either "move troops into position for military action" or "bring into effective action; utilize." Of the possible answer choices, "station," a word that when used as a verb means "put in or assign to a specified place for a particular purpose, especially a military one," is the answer choice closest in meaning to "deploy," so "station" is the correct answer.

"Cultivate" is a verb that can mean either "prepare and use land for crops or gardening" or "try to acquire or develop a quality, sentiment, or skill." While "blight" might look like a potentially correct answer because like "cultivate," it can specifically refer to plants, "blight" actually means "infect plants or a planted area with blight (a plant disease)," so it is not a synonym of "cultivate" and cannot be the correct answer. "Plow," however, is a verb that means "turn up the earth of an area of land with a plow, especially before sowing," and because it is the answer choice closest in meaning to "cultivate," "plow" is the correct answer.

"Withstand" is a verb that means either resist successfully or not take any damage from. We need to pick out an answer choice that means something like resist. "Succumb," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "succumb" is a verb that means intend to resist but fail to do so, making it an antonym of "withstand," not a synonym. "Resist," however, is a verb that means endure, and because "resist" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "withstand," "resist" is the correct answer.

"Merge" is a verb that means "combine or cause to combine to form a single entity," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "combine." "Split" cannot be the correct answer, then, because "split" means "break or cause to break forcibly into parts, especially into halves or along the grain," making it an antonym, not a synonym, of "merge." "Unite," however, is a verb that means "come or bring together for a common purpose or action," and because "unite" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "merge," "unite" is the correct answer.

"Incarcerate" is a verb that means "imprison or confine," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "imprison." "Release," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "release" means "allow or enable to escape from confinement; set free," making "release" an antonym, not a synonym, of "incarcerate." "Jail," however, when used as a verb, means "put (someone) in jail," and because "jail" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "incarcerate," "jail" is the correct answer.

"Impede" is a verb that means "delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "delay" or "hinder." "Permit," then, cannot be the correct answer, because "permit," when used as a verb, means "give authorization or consent to (someone) to do something," a meaning that is not similar to "delay" or "hinder." "Hamper," however, is a word that when used as a verb, means "hinder or impede the movement or progress of," and because "hamper" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "hinder," "hamper" is the correct answer.

"Vanish" means to disappear.

"Deplete" means to use up a supply, as in the sentence, "When your food supplies become depleted, you will need to buy more."

"Diminish" is the correct answer because it means to make or become less. Both "deplete" and "diminish" have to do with a quantity becoming smaller.

Incorrect answers:

"Designate" means to appoint to a position, as in the sentence, "The class election was a tie, so the teacher designated a student as the class president."

"Enter" means to go into, as in the sentence, "Make sure your headlights are on when you enter the tunnel."

"Imitate" means to copy or to follow as a model, as in the sentence, "The winner of the talent show imitated a famous singer."

The word "enclose" means to close in on all sides. "Confine" is the best answer, since it shares the same definition as "enclose." Considering the other choices, "prison" is something that you can be enclosed in, "inside" means within something, and "bare" means without a covering.

The word "distort" means to twist out of shape. "Change" is the best option because it is the only choice that has to do with changing the shape of something else. Considering the other choices, "insult" means to be rude towards another, "distinguish" means to make different, and "attract" means to draw in.

The word "circumvent" means _avoid. "_Avoid" is the best choice, as it is a part of the definition of circumvent. Considering the other choices, "wind" is air in motion, "round" means circular or curved, and "assist" is a verb that means help.

The word "incarcerate" means put in jail or imprison."Imprison" is the best choice because it is a part of the definition of "incarcerate."

The word "liberate" means set free. The word "free" (used as a verb) is the best choice because it is a part of the definition of the word "liberate."

The correct answer is "remove." To "withdraw" something means to remove it. The other words are all the opposites of "remove."

The correct answer is "keep," because to "retain" something means to keep it. The other words all mean the opposite of "keep."

To "fortify" something is to reinforce it, which means to make it stronger. For a classic example, think about a building, like a castle. You could fortify the castle by building extra walls and defensive structures, which would strengthen it against attack. As for the other answer choices, "deteriorate" means fall apart, "corrupt" (when used as a verb) means make worse in quality or less moral, and "maintain" means keep something in the same condition.