Synonyms for ISSB — 300 Most Important Words With Meanings (Part 1)

 

I always tell my students one thing before they start learning synonyms for ISSB: don’t learn vocabulary like a dictionary. Learn it like a test skill.

In ISSB verbal intelligence tests, you usually don’t get time to think deeply about a word. You see the word, read the options, and your mind must quickly recognize the closest meaning. That speed only comes when you revise common words again and again.

Below is a complete list of 300 important synonyms for ISSB with simple meanings. I have kept the meanings easy so even students with weak English can revise them without feeling lost.

Teacher’s tip: Don’t try to memorize all 300 words in one sitting. Learn 30 words daily, revise old words before starting new ones, and then practice MCQs.

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ISSB Synonyms List — 300 Words With Meanings

#	Word	Simple Meaning	Important Synonyms
1	Abandon	To leave completely	Leave, desert, forsake
2	Ability	Power or skill to do something	Skill, capability, talent
3	Abnormal	Not normal	Unusual, irregular, odd
4	Abolish	To end officially	Cancel, end, eliminate
5	Absurd	Silly or unreasonable	Foolish, ridiculous, senseless
6	Abundant	More than enough	Plentiful, ample, copious
7	Accurate	Correct and exact	Correct, exact, precise
8	Achieve	To succeed in doing something	Accomplish, attain, gain
9	Active	Energetic and busy	Energetic, lively, dynamic
10	Admire	To respect or like	Respect, appreciate, praise
11	Admit	To accept or confess	Accept, confess, acknowledge
12	Advance	To move forward	Progress, proceed, improve
13	Advice	Guidance or suggestion	Guidance, counsel, suggestion
14	Alert	Watchful and ready	Watchful, attentive, vigilant
15	Allow	To permit	Permit, let, approve
16	Ancient	Very old	Old, antique, historic
17	Apparent	Clear or visible	Obvious, clear, evident
18	Approve	To accept officially	Accept, agree, endorse
19	Artificial	Not natural	Fake, synthetic, man-made
20	Assist	To help	Help, aid, support
21	Attempt	To try	Try, effort, endeavor
22	Attract	To draw attention	Draw, appeal, invite
23	Avoid	To keep away from	Escape, evade, prevent
24	Brave	Not afraid of danger	Courageous, fearless, bold
25	Brief	Short in words or time	Short, concise, limited
26	Brilliant	Very bright or intelligent	Bright, excellent, intelligent
27	Calm	Peaceful and controlled	Peaceful, quiet, composed
28	Candid	Honest and direct	Frank, honest, open
29	Cautious	Careful to avoid danger	Careful, alert, wary
30	Cease	To stop	Stop, end, halt
31	Certain	Sure or definite	Sure, definite, confident
32	Cheerful	Happy and positive	Happy, joyful, pleasant
33	Clever	Quick to understand	Smart, intelligent, sharp
34	Coarse	Rough or not smooth	Rough, harsh, crude
35	Commence	To begin	Start, begin, initiate
36	Common	Usual or ordinary	Usual, ordinary, frequent
37	Conceal	To hide	Hide, cover, keep secret
38	Confident	Sure about yourself	Sure, self-assured, positive
39	Confuse	To make unclear	Puzzle, mix up, bewilder
40	Constant	Continuing without change	Continuous, steady, regular
41	Courage	Ability to face fear	Bravery, boldness, fearlessness
42	Cruel	Very unkind	Harsh, brutal, merciless
43	Curious	Eager to know	Interested, eager, inquisitive
44	Damage	Harm or injury	Harm, injury, destruction
45	Danger	Chance of harm	Risk, threat, hazard
46	Decline	To fall or refuse	Decrease, fall, refuse
47	Defeat	To beat in a contest	Beat, overcome, conquer
48	Defend	To protect	Protect, guard, support
49	Delay	To make late	Postpone, hold up, slow
50	Deliberate	Done intentionally	Intentional, planned, careful
51	Desire	Strong wish	Wish, want, longing
52	Difficult	Not easy	Hard, tough, challenging
53	Diligent	Hardworking and careful	Hardworking, careful, industrious
54	Disaster	A serious sudden problem	Catastrophe, calamity, tragedy
55	Dispute	Argument or disagreement	Argument, conflict, disagreement
56	Eager	Very willing or interested	Keen, enthusiastic, willing
57	Easy	Not difficult	Simple, effortless, uncomplicated
58	Efficient	Working well without waste	Effective, capable, productive
59	Enough	As much as needed	Sufficient, adequate, plenty
60	Equal	Same in amount or value	Same, identical, balanced
61	Essential	Very necessary	Necessary, vital, important
62	Examine	To check carefully	Inspect, check, study
63	Expand	To make bigger	Enlarge, increase, spread
64	Famous	Known by many people	Well-known, renowned, popular
65	Fatal	Causing death	Deadly, lethal, mortal
66	Fearless	Without fear	Brave, bold, courageous
67	Fertile	Able to produce crops	Productive, fruitful, rich
68	Flexible	Able to bend or adjust	Adaptable, adjustable, bendable
69	Fragile	Easily broken	Delicate, weak, breakable
70	Generous	Ready to give or help	Kind, giving, liberal
71	Genuine	Real and true	Real, authentic, sincere
72	Gloomy	Sad or dark	Sad, dark, dull
73	Grateful	Feeling thankful	Thankful, appreciative, obliged
74	Harmful	Causing damage	Damaging, dangerous, injurious
75	Honest	Truthful and fair	Truthful, sincere, fair
76	Humble	Not proud	Modest, respectful, simple
77	Ignore	To pay no attention	Neglect, disregard, overlook
78	Improve	To make better	Better, enhance, upgrade
79	Increase	To become more	Grow, rise, expand
80	Innocent	Not guilty	Guiltless, harmless, pure
81	Intelligent	Able to understand quickly	Smart, clever, bright
82	Joy	Great happiness	Happiness, delight, pleasure
83	Justice	Fair treatment	Fairness, equity, lawfulness
84	Lazy	Not willing to work	Idle, inactive, sluggish
85	Loyal	Faithful and true	Faithful, devoted, true
86	Major	Important or large	Main, important, large
87	Minor	Small or less important	Small, lesser, unimportant
88	Modern	Related to present time	Current, new, contemporary
89	Modest	Not showing off	Humble, simple, decent
90	Necessary	Needed	Needed, essential, required
91	Nervous	Worried or anxious	Anxious, worried, uneasy
92	Noble	Honorable and good	Honorable, dignified, virtuous
93	Observe	To watch or notice	Watch, notice, examine
94	Obtain	To get something	Get, acquire, receive
95	Ordinary	Normal or usual	Normal, usual, common
96	Patient	Able to wait calmly	Calm, tolerant, enduring
97	Peaceful	Calm and without violence	Calm, quiet, nonviolent
98	Persuade	To make someone agree	Convince, influence, urge
99	Polite	Respectful in behavior	Respectful, courteous, well-mannered
100	Poverty	State of being poor	Need, hardship, destitution
101	Powerful	Having strength or influence	Strong, mighty, influential
102	Praise	To express approval	Admire, compliment, appreciate
103	Prevent	To stop from happening	Stop, avoid, block
104	Rapid	Very fast	Fast, quick, swift
105	Rare	Not common	Uncommon, unusual, scarce
106	Reliable	Can be trusted	Trustworthy, dependable, safe
107	Remedy	A cure or solution	Cure, solution, treatment
108	Request	To ask politely	Ask, appeal, plea
109	Resist	To oppose or withstand	Oppose, withstand, fight
110	Reveal	To show or make known	Disclose, show, expose
111	Rigid	Not flexible	Stiff, strict, inflexible
112	Rude	Not polite	Impolite, harsh, disrespectful
113	Sacred	Holy or respected	Holy, blessed, revered
114	Safe	Free from danger	Secure, protected, harmless
115	Severe	Very serious or harsh	Serious, harsh, strict
116	Silent	Without sound	Quiet, still, mute
117	Simple	Easy to understand	Easy, plain, uncomplicated
118	Sincere	Honest and true	Honest, genuine, truthful
119	Skillful	Having skill	Talented, capable, expert
120	Slow	Not fast	Lazy, sluggish, delayed
121	Smart	Intelligent or neat	Clever, bright, sharp
122	Smooth	Even and not rough	Even, soft, plain
123	Special	Different from ordinary	Unique, particular, important
124	Strong	Powerful physically or mentally	Powerful, firm, mighty
125	Stubborn	Not willing to change	Obstinate, rigid, firm
126	Success	Achievement of a goal	Achievement, victory, triumph
127	Sudden	Happening quickly	Unexpected, quick, abrupt
128	Suitable	Right for a purpose	Appropriate, proper, fitting
129	Support	To help or hold up	Help, assist, back
130	Swift	Very quick	Fast, rapid, quick
131	Tidy	Clean and arranged	Neat, orderly, clean
132	Timid	Shy or fearful	Shy, fearful, nervous
133	Tolerant	Able to accept differences	Patient, accepting, broad-minded
134	Tragic	Very sad	Sad, sorrowful, disastrous
135	Trust	Belief in someone	Faith, confidence, reliance
136	Useful	Helpful or practical	Helpful, beneficial, valuable
137	Vague	Not clear	Unclear, uncertain, indefinite
138	Valuable	Having worth	Precious, useful, important
139	Victory	Success in battle or contest	Win, triumph, success
140	Weak	Lacking strength	Feeble, fragile, powerless
141	Wealthy	Having much money	Rich, affluent, prosperous
142	Wicked	Morally bad	Evil, bad, immoral
143	Wise	Having good judgment	Sensible, intelligent, prudent
144	Worry	To feel anxious	Anxiety, concern, fear
145	Youthful	Young or energetic	Young, fresh, lively
146	Zealous	Very enthusiastic	Enthusiastic, passionate, eager
147	Adapt	To adjust to change	Adjust, modify, fit
148	Adequate	Enough for need	Enough, sufficient, suitable
149	Aggressive	Forceful or attacking	Forceful, hostile, bold
150	Amiable	Friendly and pleasant	Friendly, pleasant, kind
151	Angry	Feeling strong displeasure	Mad, furious, annoyed
152	Announce	To make known publicly	Declare, proclaim, reveal
153	Anxious	Worried or nervous	Worried, nervous, uneasy
154	Arrogant	Too proud	Proud, haughty, conceited
155	Awkward	Clumsy or uncomfortable	Clumsy, uneasy, uncomfortable
156	Barren	Unable to produce crops	Infertile, empty, unproductive
157	Beneficial	Helpful or useful	Helpful, useful, advantageous
158	Bold	Brave and confident	Brave, daring, courageous
159	Bright	Full of light or intelligent	Shining, intelligent, brilliant
160	Capable	Able to do something	Able, competent, skilled
161	Careless	Not careful	Negligent, reckless, inattentive
162	Charitable	Generous to others	Generous, kind, giving
163	Clear	Easy to understand	Obvious, plain, transparent
164	Collapse	To fall down suddenly	Fall, break down, crumble
165	Combine	To join together	Join, unite, merge
166	Comfort	Relief from pain or worry	Relief, ease, consolation
167	Compassion	Sympathy for others	Mercy, kindness, sympathy
168	Competent	Able and skilled	Capable, skilled, qualified
169	Complete	Full or finished	Full, finished, entire
170	Complex	Difficult or complicated	Complicated, difficult, involved
171	Concern	Worry or interest	Worry, care, interest
172	Condemn	To strongly criticize	Criticize, blame, denounce
173	Confess	To admit truth	Admit, acknowledge, reveal
174	Conquer	To defeat or control	Defeat, overcome, capture
175	Consider	To think about	Think, regard, examine
176	Content	Satisfied	Satisfied, pleased, happy
177	Courageous	Very brave	Brave, fearless, bold
178	Cowardly	Lacking courage	Fearful, timid, weak
179	Create	To make something	Make, produce, build
180	Criticize	To point out faults	Blame, judge, condemn
181	Deceive	To trick someone	Trick, cheat, mislead
182	Decrease	To become less	Reduce, lessen, decline
183	Dedicate	To devote to a purpose	Devote, commit, offer
184	Definite	Clear and certain	Certain, fixed, exact
185	Demand	To ask strongly	Require, ask, insist
186	Dense	Thick or crowded	Thick, heavy, crowded
187	Depart	To leave	Leave, go, exit
188	Dependable	Reliable	Reliable, trustworthy, steady
189	Destroy	To ruin completely	Ruin, demolish, damage
190	Detect	To discover or notice	Discover, notice, identify
191	Determine	To decide firmly	Decide, settle, resolve
192	Devoted	Very loyal	Loyal, faithful, dedicated
193	Disclose	To make known	Reveal, expose, show
194	Discourage	To reduce confidence	Dishearten, demotivate, weaken
195	Distant	Far away	Far, remote, removed
196	Doubtful	Not sure	Uncertain, unsure, suspicious
197	Dull	Not bright or interesting	Boring, dim, lifeless
198	Eject	To throw out	Expel, remove, force out
199	Elegant	Graceful and stylish	Graceful, stylish, refined
200	Elevate	To raise	Raise, lift, promote
201	Emphasize	To give importance	Stress, highlight, underline
202	Encourage	To give support or confidence	Support, motivate, inspire
203	Endure	To bear difficulty	Bear, tolerate, withstand
204	Enemy	A person against you	Opponent, foe, rival
205	Enormous	Very large	Huge, massive, gigantic
206	Entire	Whole or complete	Whole, complete, total
207	Error	A mistake	Mistake, fault, blunder
208	Estimate	To roughly calculate	Guess, assess, calculate
209	Evident	Clear to see	Clear, obvious, apparent
210	Exact	Fully correct	Accurate, precise, correct
211	Excellent	Very good	Outstanding, superb, great
212	Excess	More than needed	Extra, surplus, overflow
213	Excuse	Reason given for fault	Reason, justification, explanation
214	Exhausted	Very tired	Tired, drained, worn out
215	Expensive	Costing much money	Costly, dear, high-priced
216	Explain	To make clear	Clarify, describe, interpret
217	Explore	To search or examine	Search, investigate, examine
218	Failure	Lack of success	Defeat, loss, collapse
219	Fair	Just and equal	Just, honest, impartial
220	Faithful	Loyal and true	Loyal, devoted, reliable
221	Familiar	Well known	Known, common, recognizable
222	Favourable	Helpful or positive	Helpful, positive, supportive
223	Feeble	Weak	Weak, frail, powerless
224	Fierce	Very strong or aggressive	Violent, intense, aggressive
225	Final	Last or ending	Last, ultimate, concluding
226	Firm	Strong and steady	Strong, solid, steady
227	Foolish	Lacking sense	Silly, stupid, unwise
228	Forgive	To stop blaming	Pardon, excuse, overlook
229	Fortunate	Lucky	Lucky, blessed, favored
230	Freedom	State of being free	Liberty, independence, release
231	Fresh	New or clean	New, clean, recent
232	Friendly	Kind and pleasant	Kind, warm, amiable
233	Frighten	To make afraid	Scare, terrify, alarm
234	Gather	To collect together	Collect, assemble, accumulate
235	Gentle	Kind and soft	Soft, kind, mild
236	Glad	Happy	Happy, pleased, joyful
237	Great	Very good or large	Excellent, large, important
238	Greedy	Wanting too much	Selfish, hungry, grasping
239	Grief	Deep sadness	Sorrow, sadness, misery
240	Guilty	Responsible for wrong	Blameworthy, responsible, at fault
241	Habit	Regular behavior	Custom, routine, practice
242	Hasty	Done too quickly	Quick, hurried, rushed
243	Help	To assist	Assist, aid, support
244	Hidden	Not visible	Concealed, secret, covered
245	Huge	Very large	Enormous, massive, gigantic
246	Hostile	Unfriendly or aggressive	Unfriendly, aggressive, opposing
247	Humiliate	To make someone feel ashamed	Embarrass, shame, disgrace
248	Hurry	To move quickly	Rush, hasten, speed
249	Ideal	Perfect or most suitable	Perfect, best, suitable
250	Identify	To recognize	Recognize, detect, name
251	Important	Having great value	Significant, major, vital
252	Include	To contain as part	Contain, involve, comprise
253	Indicate	To point out or show	Show, point, signal
254	Injure	To hurt	Hurt, harm, wound
255	Inspire	To motivate	Motivate, encourage, influence
256	Instant	Immediate	Immediate, quick, sudden
257	Joyful	Full of happiness	Happy, cheerful, delighted
258	Kind	Helpful and gentle	Gentle, caring, generous
259	Knowledge	Information and understanding	Information, learning, wisdom
260	Large	Big in size	Big, huge, vast
261	Legal	Allowed by law	Lawful, valid, permitted
262	Liberty	Freedom	Freedom, independence, release
263	Limit	Boundary or restriction	Boundary, restriction, control
264	Lonely	Feeling alone	Alone, isolated, solitary
265	Maintain	To keep in good condition	Keep, preserve, continue
266	Mature	Fully developed or sensible	Sensible, grown, responsible
267	Mercy	Kindness shown to someone	Kindness, compassion, pity
268	Mistake	An error	Error, fault, blunder
269	Motive	Reason for action	Reason, purpose, intention
270	Natural	Not artificial	Real, normal, original
271	Neat	Clean and orderly	Tidy, clean, organized
272	Neglect	To ignore or not care	Ignore, disregard, overlook
273	New	Recently made or found	Fresh, recent, modern
274	Obey	To follow orders	Follow, comply, submit
275	Oppose	To go against	Resist, fight, object
276	Optimistic	Hopeful about future	Hopeful, positive, confident
277	Permit	To allow	Allow, approve, authorize
278	Plentiful	Available in large amount	Abundant, ample, plenty
279	Poor	Having little money	Needy, deprived, penniless
280	Precious	Very valuable	Valuable, costly, dear
281	Predict	To say what may happen	Foretell, forecast, estimate
282	Preserve	To protect or keep safe	Protect, save, maintain
283	Proud	Feeling self-respect or arrogance	Arrogant, pleased, dignified
284	Quick	Fast	Fast, rapid, swift
285	Quiet	Silent or calm	Silent, calm, still
286	Recognize	To identify	Identify, know, detect
287	Reduce	To make less	Decrease, lessen, lower
288	Refuse	To say no	Reject, decline, deny
289	Reject	To not accept	Refuse, deny, dismiss
290	Respect	High regard for someone	Honor, admire, value
291	Responsible	Answerable or dependable	Accountable, reliable, mature
292	Reward	Prize for good work	Prize, award, benefit
293	Rough	Not smooth	Coarse, uneven, harsh
294	Satisfy	To make pleased or enough	Please, fulfill, content
295	Serious	Important or not joking	Grave, important, severe
296	Short	Small in length or time	Brief, little, limited
297	Significant	Very important	Important, meaningful, major
298	Solve	To find an answer	Resolve, answer, fix
299	Truthful	Honest and true	Honest, sincere, accurate
300	Visible	Can be seen	Seen, clear, apparent

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How to Revise These 300 Synonyms

If you try to memorize all 300 words in one day, you will probably forget most of them. A better way is to divide them into small groups.

Day	Words to Learn	Revision Task
Day 1	Words 1–30	Read meanings and make 10 MCQs.
Day 2	Words 31–60	Revise Day 1 before starting new words.
Day 3	Words 61–90	Write difficult words in a small notebook.
Day 4	Words 91–120	Ask a friend to test you orally.
Day 5	Words 121–150	Practice speed recall.
Day 6	Words 151–200	Revise weak words only.
Day 7	Words 201–300	Take a full 50-question synonym mock test.

Final Teacher’s Advice

Synonyms are easy marks if you prepare them properly. But don’t just read the list passively. Cover the synonym column and test yourself. Then reverse the process: look at the synonym and recall the original word.

Also, don’t panic if two options look similar in the test. Choose the closest meaning according to the word, not according to what “sounds good.”

Learn slowly, revise daily, and practice MCQs under time pressure. That is the method that actually works for ISSB vocabulary.

Disclaimer: This synonym list is prepared for general ISSB-style verbal intelligence practice and English vocabulary improvement. Exact words may vary by test, batch, and official paper pattern. Meanings and synonyms are simplified for learning purposes, so always consider sentence context when choosing the closest option in MCQs. 🇵🇰