400 Must Have Words for the TOEFL

abandon (v.) - answer-to leave; to give up Ex: To save their lives, the sailors had to ~ the sinking ship. adversely (adj.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-to supply with nourishment for plants by adding helpful substances to the soil Ex: This farm ~+ tomatoes more than any other crop. intensify (v.) - answer-to increase in power; to act with increased strength Ex: Jacob's long absence ~+ his certainty that he should marry Rose. irrigation (n.) - answer-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.) - answer-to gain possession of; to get Ex: After a series of difficult interviews, he finally was able to ~ the job. photosynthesis (n.) - answer-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.) - answer-water that falls to the Earth's surface Ex: In the Pacific Northwest, the high level of ~ ensures rich, green plant life. anticipate (v.) - answer-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.) - answer-extremely harmful; causing financial or physical ruin Ex: The architect died in a ~ elevator accident. collide (v.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-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.) - answer-to keep going, despite obstacles or discouragement; to maintain a purpose Ex: The hikers ~+ despite the bad weather and the icy trail. plunge (v.) - answer-to go down suddenly; to decrease by a great amount in a short time Ex: He jumped off the diving board and ~+ into the pool. Ex: The value of the company's stock ~+ after its chief executive was arrested. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by an into phrase. unleash (v.) - answer-to release a thing or an emotion Ex: When they saw the strange man on their property, they ~+ their dogs. Ex: He is from such an unemotional family, he will never learn to ~ his feelings. adapt (v.) - answer-to adjust to the circumstances; to make suitable Ex: Dinosaurs could not ~ to the warmer temperatures. Ex: The teacher ~+ the exercises for his more advanced students. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by to. diverse (n.) - answer-various; showing a lot of differences within a group Ex: India is one of the most linguistically ~ countries in the world. Usage Tips: An -ly adverb (e.g., linguistically) often comes before ~. evolve (v.) - answer-to develop; to come forth Ex: Modern-day sharks ~+ from their ancestor Eryops, which lived more than 200 million years ago. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by into or from. feature (n.) - answer-part, characteristic Ex: The best ~ of this car is its heated seats. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by of. generation (n.) - answer-a group of people born at about the same time Ex: As older managers retired, a new ~ of leaders took control of the company. Usage Tips: Before ~, an adjective like new, next, earlier, or older is common. ~ is often followed by of. inherent (adj.) - answer-naturally characteristic; always found within something, because it's a basic part of that thing Ex: No job can be interesting all the time. Boredom is ~ in any kind of work. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by in. migration (n.) - answer-movement from one place to another by a group of people or animals Ex: The ~ of farm workers from one state to the next depends primarily on the harvest. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by to or from. physical (adj.) - answer-related to the body; related to materials that can be seen or felt Ex: Because of the shape of its throat, an ape does not have the ~ ability to speak. Ex: The mountains form a ~ barrier between the west and the east. Usage Tips: ~ usually comes before the noun it describes. process (n.) - answer-a series of steps leading to a result Ex: To get a good job, most people go through a long ~ of letter-writing and interviews. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by of plus the -ing form of a verb. survive (v.) - answer-to continue living (despite some danger or illness) Ex: After getting lost in the mountains, Gordon ~+ by eating wild plants and catching fish. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by a phrase with by. constraint (n.) - answer-something that restricts thought or action Ex: The ~+ of military life kept Eileen from seeing Private Morris more than once a month. contamination (n.) - answer-being made less clean by a germ or hazardous substance Ex: The ~ in the river came from the factory located just upstream. deplete (v.) - answer-to greatly decrease the supply of a resource or material Ex: The prolonged war ~+ the country's national treasury. dispose of (v.) - answer-to throw away; to get rid of; to kill Ex: She ~+ her unwanted possessions before moving. The tyrant cruelly disposed of all his enemies. Usage Tips: ~ should be learned as a unit. In this meaning, ~+ does not occur without of. elementally (adv.) - answer-in terms of elements; basically Ex: ~, coal and diamonds are the same. emission (n.) - answer-sending out from a small space into the general environment; a substance discharged into the air Ex: The Environmental Protection Agency regulates the ~ of pollutants into the air. Usage Tips: ~ is usually followed by an of phrase. extinction (n.) - answer-complete disappearance; the end of existence Ex: Human beings have caused the ~ of many other species. Usage Tips: ~ implies an absolute end; an ~+ thing cannot be brought back into existence. reservoir (n.) - answer-a place where a liquid is collected and stored Ex: Cult members threatened to poison the town's water ~. shrink (v.) - answer-to become reduced in size, amount, or value Ex: If you dry your clothing on the "high heat" setting, they may ~. stable (adj.) - answer-firm and dependable; showing little change Ex: He fell because the ladder wasn't ~. adjust (v.) - answer-to change; to get accustomed to something Ex: Travelers are advised to ~ their watches before arriving in the new time zone. arbitrary (adj.) - answer-chosen simply by whim or chance, not for any specific reason Ex: The decision to build a school in Blackberry Township was ~, without any thought to future housing patterns. denominator (n.) - answer-the number written below the line in a fraction Ex: In the fraction 1⁄2, the number 2 is the ~. Usage Tips: The phrase lowest common ~ means "the most basic and unsophisticated things that most people share." exponentially (adv.) - answer-at a very fast rate Ex: In Turkey, the value of the lira has decreased ~ in the last several decades. Usage Tips: ~ is taken from mathematics, where an ~+ is a number indicating how many times something is multiplied by itself. For example, 43 contains the ~+ "3", indicating 4 × 4 × 4. infinitesimal (adj.) - answer-immeasurably small Ex: The number of contaminants in the water was ~, so the water was safe to drink. maximize (v.) - answer-to increase or make as great as possible Ex: A coach helps each athlete ~ his or her potential. parallel (adj.) - answer-being an equal distance apart everywhere Ex: The street where I live runs ~ to the main road through town. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by to. proportion (n.) - answer-a part in relation to the whole Ex: The average employee spends a large ~ of each workday answering e-mails. Usage Tips: ~ is often followed by of. rate (n.) - answer-the cost per unit of a good or service; the motion or change that happens in a certain time Ex: Postal ~+ in Japan are among the highest in the world. Usage Tips: Some grasses grow at the ~ of one inch per day.