400 Must Have Words for the
TOEFL
abandon (v.) -->to leave; to give up
Ex: To save their lives, the sailors had to ~ the sinking ship.
adversely (adj.) -->in a harmful way; negatively
Ex: Excessive rainfall early in the spring can ~ affect the planting of crops.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by affect.
aggregate (adj.) -->gathered into or amounting to a whole
Ex: It is impossible to judge last year's performance without knowing the ~ sales
numbers.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by a term like sum, total, or numbers.
cultivation (n.) -->preparing the land to grow crops; improvement for agricultural
purposes
Ex: With the development of land ~, hunters and gatherers were able to settle in one
place.
fertilize (v.) -->to supply with nourishment for plants by adding helpful substances to
the soil
Ex: This farm ~+ tomatoes more than any other crop.
intensify (v.) -->to increase in power; to act with increased strength
Ex: Jacob's long absence ~+ his certainty that he should marry Rose.
irrigation (n.) -->the supplying of water to dry land
Ex: In dry areas of the country, you can see ditches all over the farm-land for ~.
obtain (v.) -->to gain possession of; to get
,Ex: After a series of difficult interviews, he finally was able to ~ the job.
photosynthesis (n.) -->the process by which green plants make their own food by
combining water, salts, and carbon dioxide in the presence of light Ex: Oxygen is
a by-product of the process of ~.
precipitation (n.) -->water that falls to the Earth's surface
Ex: In the Pacific Northwest, the high level of ~ ensures rich, green plant life.
anticipate (v.) -->to expect; to sense something before it happens
Ex: By placing sensors in earthquake-prone areas, scientists can ~ some tremors in
time to warn the public.
catastrophic (adj.) -->extremely harmful; causing financial or physical ruin
Ex: The architect died in a ~ elevator accident.
collide (v.) -->to come together with great or violent force
Ex: As usual, their holiday was ruined when their in-laws' views on politics ~+ with
their own.
eruption (n.) -->a sudden, often violent, outburst
Ex: The ~ of Mount St. Helens in 1980 caused 57 deaths and immeasurable change to
the face of the mountain.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by an of phrase.
famine (n.) -->severe hunger; a drastic food shortage
Ex: The potato ~ in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century caused large numbers of
Irish people to emigrate to America.
flood (n.) -->an overflowing of water; an excessive amount
Ex: The constant rain and poor drainage system caused a ~ in town.
,Ex: The political party sent out a ~ of letters criticizing their opponents.
impact (n.) -->a strong influence
Ex: The speech about the importance of education made an ~ on me.
Usage Tips: ~ is usually followed by on or of.
persevere (v.) -->to keep going, despite obstacles or discouragement; to maintain a
purpose
Ex: The hikers ~+ despite the bad weather and the icy trail.
plunge (v.) -->to go down suddenly; to decrease by a great amount in a short time Ex:
He fjumped foff fthe fdiving fboard fand f~+ finto fthe fpool.
Ex: fThe fvalue fof fthe fcompany's fstock f~+ fafter fits fchief fexecutive fwas farrested.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fan finto fphrase.
unleash f(v.) f-->to frelease fa fthing for fan femotion
Ex: fWhen fthey fsaw fthe fstrange fman fon ftheir fproperty, fthey f~+ ftheir fdogs.
fEx: fHe fis ffrom fsuch fan funemotional ffamily, fhe fwill fnever flearn fto f~ fhis
ffeelings.
adapt f(v.) f-->to fadjust fto fthe fcircumstances; fto fmake fsuitable
fEx: fDinosaurs fcould fnot f~ fto fthe fwarmer ftemperatures.
Ex: fThe fteacher f~+ fthe fexercises ffor fhis fmore fadvanced fstudents.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fto.
diverse f(n.) f-->various; fshowing fa flot fof fdifferences fwithin fa
fgroup fEx: fIndia fis fone fof fthe fmost flinguistically f~ fcountries fin fthe
fworld. fUsage fTips: fAn f-ly fadverb f(e.g., flinguistically) foften fcomes
fbefore f~.
evolve f(v.) f-->to fdevelop; fto fcome fforth
, Ex: fModern-day fsharks f~+ ffrom ftheir fancestor fEryops, fwhich flived fmore fthan f200
fmillion fyears fago.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby finto for ffrom.
feature f(n.) f-->part, fcharacteristic fEx: fThe
fbest f~ fof fthis fcar fis fits fheated fseats.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fof.
generation f(n.) f-->a fgroup fof fpeople fborn fat fabout fthe fsame ftime
Ex: fAs folder fmanagers fretired, fa fnew f~ fof fleaders ftook fcontrol fof fthe fcompany.
fUsage fTips: fBefore f~, fan fadjective flike fnew, fnext, fearlier, for folder fis fcommon. f~
fis foften ffollowed fby fof.
inherent f(adj.) f-->naturally fcharacteristic; falways ffound fwithin fsomething, fbecause
fit's fa fbasic fpart fof fthat fthing
Ex: fNo fjob fcan fbe finteresting fall fthe ftime. fBoredom fis f~ fin fany fkind fof fwork.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fin.
migration f(n.) f-->movement ffrom fone fplace fto fanother fby fa fgroup fof fpeople for
fanimals
Ex: fThe f~ fof ffarm fworkers ffrom fone fstate fto fthe fnext fdepends fprimarily fon fthe
fharvest.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fto for ffrom.
physical f(adj.) f-->related fto fthe fbody; frelated fto fmaterials fthat fcan fbe fseen for
ffelt fEx: fBecause fof fthe fshape fof fits fthroat, fan fape fdoes fnot fhave fthe f~ fability
fto fspeak.
Ex: fThe fmountains fform fa f~ fbarrier fbetween fthe fwest fand fthe feast.
Usage fTips: f~ fusually fcomes fbefore fthe fnoun fit fdescribes.
process f(n.) f-->a fseries fof fsteps fleading fto fa fresult
TOEFL
abandon (v.) -->to leave; to give up
Ex: To save their lives, the sailors had to ~ the sinking ship.
adversely (adj.) -->in a harmful way; negatively
Ex: Excessive rainfall early in the spring can ~ affect the planting of crops.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by affect.
aggregate (adj.) -->gathered into or amounting to a whole
Ex: It is impossible to judge last year's performance without knowing the ~ sales
numbers.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by a term like sum, total, or numbers.
cultivation (n.) -->preparing the land to grow crops; improvement for agricultural
purposes
Ex: With the development of land ~, hunters and gatherers were able to settle in one
place.
fertilize (v.) -->to supply with nourishment for plants by adding helpful substances to
the soil
Ex: This farm ~+ tomatoes more than any other crop.
intensify (v.) -->to increase in power; to act with increased strength
Ex: Jacob's long absence ~+ his certainty that he should marry Rose.
irrigation (n.) -->the supplying of water to dry land
Ex: In dry areas of the country, you can see ditches all over the farm-land for ~.
obtain (v.) -->to gain possession of; to get
,Ex: After a series of difficult interviews, he finally was able to ~ the job.
photosynthesis (n.) -->the process by which green plants make their own food by
combining water, salts, and carbon dioxide in the presence of light Ex: Oxygen is
a by-product of the process of ~.
precipitation (n.) -->water that falls to the Earth's surface
Ex: In the Pacific Northwest, the high level of ~ ensures rich, green plant life.
anticipate (v.) -->to expect; to sense something before it happens
Ex: By placing sensors in earthquake-prone areas, scientists can ~ some tremors in
time to warn the public.
catastrophic (adj.) -->extremely harmful; causing financial or physical ruin
Ex: The architect died in a ~ elevator accident.
collide (v.) -->to come together with great or violent force
Ex: As usual, their holiday was ruined when their in-laws' views on politics ~+ with
their own.
eruption (n.) -->a sudden, often violent, outburst
Ex: The ~ of Mount St. Helens in 1980 caused 57 deaths and immeasurable change to
the face of the mountain.
Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by an of phrase.
famine (n.) -->severe hunger; a drastic food shortage
Ex: The potato ~ in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century caused large numbers of
Irish people to emigrate to America.
flood (n.) -->an overflowing of water; an excessive amount
Ex: The constant rain and poor drainage system caused a ~ in town.
,Ex: The political party sent out a ~ of letters criticizing their opponents.
impact (n.) -->a strong influence
Ex: The speech about the importance of education made an ~ on me.
Usage Tips: ~ is usually followed by on or of.
persevere (v.) -->to keep going, despite obstacles or discouragement; to maintain a
purpose
Ex: The hikers ~+ despite the bad weather and the icy trail.
plunge (v.) -->to go down suddenly; to decrease by a great amount in a short time Ex:
He fjumped foff fthe fdiving fboard fand f~+ finto fthe fpool.
Ex: fThe fvalue fof fthe fcompany's fstock f~+ fafter fits fchief fexecutive fwas farrested.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fan finto fphrase.
unleash f(v.) f-->to frelease fa fthing for fan femotion
Ex: fWhen fthey fsaw fthe fstrange fman fon ftheir fproperty, fthey f~+ ftheir fdogs.
fEx: fHe fis ffrom fsuch fan funemotional ffamily, fhe fwill fnever flearn fto f~ fhis
ffeelings.
adapt f(v.) f-->to fadjust fto fthe fcircumstances; fto fmake fsuitable
fEx: fDinosaurs fcould fnot f~ fto fthe fwarmer ftemperatures.
Ex: fThe fteacher f~+ fthe fexercises ffor fhis fmore fadvanced fstudents.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fto.
diverse f(n.) f-->various; fshowing fa flot fof fdifferences fwithin fa
fgroup fEx: fIndia fis fone fof fthe fmost flinguistically f~ fcountries fin fthe
fworld. fUsage fTips: fAn f-ly fadverb f(e.g., flinguistically) foften fcomes
fbefore f~.
evolve f(v.) f-->to fdevelop; fto fcome fforth
, Ex: fModern-day fsharks f~+ ffrom ftheir fancestor fEryops, fwhich flived fmore fthan f200
fmillion fyears fago.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby finto for ffrom.
feature f(n.) f-->part, fcharacteristic fEx: fThe
fbest f~ fof fthis fcar fis fits fheated fseats.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fof.
generation f(n.) f-->a fgroup fof fpeople fborn fat fabout fthe fsame ftime
Ex: fAs folder fmanagers fretired, fa fnew f~ fof fleaders ftook fcontrol fof fthe fcompany.
fUsage fTips: fBefore f~, fan fadjective flike fnew, fnext, fearlier, for folder fis fcommon. f~
fis foften ffollowed fby fof.
inherent f(adj.) f-->naturally fcharacteristic; falways ffound fwithin fsomething, fbecause
fit's fa fbasic fpart fof fthat fthing
Ex: fNo fjob fcan fbe finteresting fall fthe ftime. fBoredom fis f~ fin fany fkind fof fwork.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fin.
migration f(n.) f-->movement ffrom fone fplace fto fanother fby fa fgroup fof fpeople for
fanimals
Ex: fThe f~ fof ffarm fworkers ffrom fone fstate fto fthe fnext fdepends fprimarily fon fthe
fharvest.
Usage fTips: f~ fis foften ffollowed fby fto for ffrom.
physical f(adj.) f-->related fto fthe fbody; frelated fto fmaterials fthat fcan fbe fseen for
ffelt fEx: fBecause fof fthe fshape fof fits fthroat, fan fape fdoes fnot fhave fthe f~ fability
fto fspeak.
Ex: fThe fmountains fform fa f~ fbarrier fbetween fthe fwest fand fthe feast.
Usage fTips: f~ fusually fcomes fbefore fthe fnoun fit fdescribes.
process f(n.) f-->a fseries fof fsteps fleading fto fa fresult
