The 327 TOEFL Words You Need to Know

Below are the 327 best TOEFL vocabulary words, in alphabetical order.

WORD Definition Sample Sentence

Present in large Living close to a lake means we

ABUNDANT
quantities. have an abundant supply of water.

Each fall, leaves accumulate in our

ACCUMULATE To gradually collect.
driveway.

Correct; free from Make sure your address is accurate

ACCURATE
errors. before submitting your online order.

Having 8AM classes means Im

ACCUSTOMED Used to something.
accustomed to getting up early.

To come into When my grandmother died, I

ACQUIRE
possession of. acquired her cookbook collection.

Refusing to change an The defendant was adamant that he

ADAMANT
opinion. was innocent.

Enough to suit your Our house isnt big, but its

ADEQUATE
needs. adequate for the two of us.

ADJACENT Close to or next to. The park is adjacent to the school.

To change something
The bike seat may be too high;
ADJUST so it serves its
youll probably need to adjust it.
purpose better.

Something that makes

His height gives him an advantage
ADVANTAGE it easier to achieve
in basketball.
success.

My aunt is a major advocate for

ADVOCATE To publicly support.
womens rights.

Unfavorable; against I had an adverse reaction to my

ADVERSE
ones desires. medication and had to stop taking it.

We should aggregate our resources

AGGREGATE To combine.
to share them more easily.
 The salesperson was very
AGGRESSIVE Assertive and pushy. aggressive when trying to get us to
buy the television.

To put aside for a The village needs to allocate funds

ALLOCATE
specific purpose. for building the new school.

Another option or If the ATM is broken, an alternative

ALTERNATIVE
choice. solution is to stop by the bank.

Someone who is
Hes an amateur soccer player and
inexperienced or not
AMATEUR is still learning the rules of the
highly skilled in a
game.
particular area.

Having several When I asked the HR manager what

potential meanings; my chances were of getting the job,
AMBIGUOUS
unclear and difficult to she gave me a very ambiguous
understand. reply.

My son is very ambitious and hopes

AMBITIOUS Having large goals. to be a millionaire by the time hes
thirty.

To change for the I believe we should amend our

AMEND
better; to improve. countrys tax laws.

Our new apartment has ample

AMPLE Plentiful.
space for the two of us.

The basketball player is the teams

Deviation from the
ANOMALY best free thrower, so his missing
norm.
both shots was an anomaly.

The annual company barbeque

ANNUAL Occurring yearly.
takes place every August.

To tease or be hostile
The boy loves to antagonize his little
ANTAGONIZE towards a person or
sister by pulling her hair.
group.

After she got grounded, the

ATTITUDE Manner or feeling. teenager had a bad attitude for the
rest of the day.
 Be sure to attribute credit to your
ATTRIBUTE To give credit. sources when writing a research
paper.

Based on a whim or Flipping a coin is an arbitrary way to

ARBITRARY
random decision. make a decision.

Requiring a lot of After you cross the bridge, theres

ARDUOUS
effort. an arduous walk up the hill.

To lessen a negative The mother assuaged her childs

ASSUAGE
feeling. fear of the dark.

To suppose without I assumed he was rich because he

ASSUME
solid proof. worked as a lawyer.

To increase or make She augments her regular salary by

AUGMENT
larger. babysitting on the weekends.

A benefit of doing homework on

Something positive or
BENEFIT Friday is that your weekend will be
advantageous.
free.

Our neighbor berated us after we

BERATE To scold.
broke his window playing baseball.

The medal was bestowed upon him

BESTOW To give as a gift.
by the president.

To brag or talk with He always boasts of his talents after

BOAST
excessive pride. he wins a game.

To help raise or I gave him a pep talk to boost his

BOOST
increase something. self-esteem before his speech.

The brash man always asked

BRASH Rude and tactless.
inappropriate questions.

It will only have a brief meeting, so

Short (in terms of
BRIEF youll still have plenty of time for
time).
lunch.

After being away for so long, I

Abrupt to the point of
BRUSQUE expected more than her brusque
rudeness.
greeting.
 A harsh, unpleasant The cuckoo clock shop lets off a
CACOPHONY
mixture of noise. cacophony every hour.

CEASE To stop. I wish they would cease arguing.

To express strong Every parent in our district censured

CENSURE
disapproval. the education cuts.

Put the historical events in

Arranged in order of
CHRONOLOGICAL chronological order to make them
time or date.
easier to study.

I didnt understand the instructions,

To make clear; to
CLARIFY so I asked the teacher to clarify
remove confusion.
them.

To combine or grow The people on the street eventually

COALESCE
together. coalesced into a group.

To force someone to
The young boy was coerced into
COERCE do something against
stealing by his friends.
their will.

Being aware or having

Before mountain climbing, you need
COGNIZANT knowledge of
to be cognizant of the risks.
something.

Uniting; becoming Water molecules show strong

COHESION
one. cohesion when they stick together.

To occur at the same This year Thanksgiving coincided

COINCIDE
time. with my birthday.

To fall down or break The old building finally collapsed,

COLLAPSE
down. leaving nothing but a pile of rubble.

To hit one another The two cars collided on the

COLLIDE
with a forceful impact. freeway.

Joining a school play is a big

Dedication to a cause
COMMITMENT commitment. Youll need to practice
or activity.
every evening.

The Chinese community in my city

A group of people who
COMMUNITY is hosting a New Year celebration
live or work together.
next week.
 The mountains concealed the ocean
CONCEAL To hide.
from view.

He believes women should be paid

CONCUR To agree.
as much as men, and I concur.

The conflict between the two

A disagreement or
CONFLICT families has been going on for
fight.
generations.

You should move your plant to a

CONSTRAIN To restrict or repress. bigger pot, otherwise youll
constrain its roots.

To consider I spend a lot of time contemplating

CONTEMPLATE
thoughtfully. what career I want to have.

My neighbors have been

To go on without
CONTINUOUSLY continuously blasting their music
stopping.
since last night.

I told the employees that sales were

To give the opposite
CONTRADICT down, but my boss contradicted me
opinion.
and said sales were actually up.

To give something
(usually money or Every roommate contributes part of
CONTRIBUTE
time) to a common his paycheck to the grocery bill.
fund or cause.

Ive conveyed my interest in working

CONVEY To make known.
for that company.

He always takes copious notes

COPIOUS Abundant.
during class to study later on.

Although many employees left the

Central; of main
CORE company, the core leadership
importance.
remained.

To gradually wear The rust corroded the paint on my

CORRODE
away. car.

Trying to carry four grocery bags at

CUMBERSOME Burdensome; clumsy
once was very cumbersome.
 The courses given by Our school needs to add more
CURRICULUM
a school or program. music courses to its curriculum.

The data from these graphs show

Facts, statistics, or
DATA that yearly temperatures are
pieces of information.
increasing.

To decline in health or After the tree died, its wood began

DECAY
excellence. to decay.

He deceived me by pretending to be
DECEIVE To trick or mislead.
a millionaire.

To find the meaning The spy deciphered the secret

DECIPHER
of. code.

He made a declaration to the office

DECLARATION An announcement.
that he was quitting.

1. To politely refuse.
1. I declined his offer of a ride
DECLINE home.
2. To deteriorate 2. Her health has declined ever
(especially in terms of since she turned 70.
health.)

My attempt at cake degraded into a

DEGRADE To lower in quality.
crumbly mess.
Let me demonstrate the proper way
DEMONSTRATE To show.
of throwing a football.
To state that
DENY He denied being the robber.
something isnt true.
To significantly Your shopping sprees have
DEPLETE
decrease. depleted my savings.
To deliver and leave Please deposit your books in the bin
DEPOSIT
an item. outside the library.
Worth having or Bravery is a desirable trait for
DESIRABLE
wanting. firefighters to have.
DESPISE To hate. I despise early morning classes.
The police dog detected the missing
DETECT To locate something.
childs scent.
The warning signs on the house
DETER To discourage.
deterred trespassers.
To differ from the I decided to deviate from my normal
DEVIATE
norm. route home and took a shortcut.
The coach devised a plan for
DEVISE To plan or create.
winning the game.
A sharp criticism or The politician went into a diatribe
DIATRIBE
attack. against her opponent.
To wander from the The teacher digressed from the
DIGRESS
main subject. lecture to discuss the weather.
 A situation where one The student faced the dilemma of
DILEMMA must choose between attending school sick or missing her
two difficult choices. exam.
Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet
DIMINISH To shrink or reduce.
to diminish the stain.
DISPOSE To get rid of. I need to dispose of this trash.
Too large or small
The piece of pie I received was
DISPROPORTIONATE when compared to
disproportionately small.
something else.
To interrupt by The protesters disrupted the
DISRUPT
causing a disturbance. politicians speech.
The camera filter distorted the
DISTORT To misrepresent.
image.
To give portions of Distribute the materials evenly
DISTRIBUTE
something. among the class.
Showing a lot of This city has a very diverse
DIVERSE
variety. population.
Because of the accident, the police
To cause a change of
DIVERT had to divert traffic down a side
course.
street.
The theater has dynamic shows, so
DYNAMIC Constantly changing.
you never know what youll see.
To reduce
This prescription will ease your
EASE unpleasantness or
allergies.
difficulty.
Maximizing Now that Im following a schedule at
EFFICIENT
productivity. work, Im much more efficient.
Our team lost the match and was
ELIMINATE To remove.
eliminated from the competition.
A select, above- The elite detective team were also
ELITE
average group. sent for when there were big crimes.
Moving speech or Her eloquent writing has gained her
ELOQUENT
writing. many fans.
To give special
The teacher emphasized the due
EMPHASIZE importance to when
date of the project.
speaking or writing.
To suffer through
He has endured four knee
ENDURE something difficult with
operations so far.
patience.
To intensify or The falling snow enhanced the
ENHANCE
magnify. beauty of the small village.
A perfect example of The duchess is the epitome of
EPITOME
something. class.
Twenty-four is equivalent to two
EQUIVALENT Equal.
dozen.
He apologized for his erroneous
ERRONEOUS Incorrect.
statement.
Try to get an estimate of the number
ESTIMATE An approximate value.
of people attending the concert.
By hiding in the bathroom, we were
EVADE To avoid or escape.
able to evade the intruder.
 At the end of the class, every
EVALUATE To assess. student will evaluate how well the
professor taught.
Facts or information
These fossils are evidence of
EVIDENCE that help prove or
evolution.
disprove something.
The small school evolved into a
EVOLVE To gradually change.
world-class institution.
She is an exemplary student, and
EXEMPLARY Worthy of imitation.
you should copy her study habits.
The young boy was excluded from
EXCLUDE To leave out.
his friends soccer game.
Not admitting the We may not be able to get in since
EXCLUSIVE
majority. that club is very exclusive.
Adding air to bike tires will cause
EXPAND To increase in size.
them to expand.
Expert knowledge or
The surgeons expertise is knee
EXPERTISE skill in a particular
surgeries.
field.
The company exploited its workers
EXPLOIT To use selfishly.
by making them work long hours.
The emails presented exposed the
EXPOSE To reveal or unmask.
companys corruption.
If youre sick on the day the paper is
An act of making
EXTENSION due, the teacher may give you an
something longer.
extension on the due date.
To get or remove The dentist extracted one of my
EXTRACT
something. teeth.
A time when there is
Millions of children in Ethiopia died
FAMINE an extreme lack of
due to the famine there.
food.
This study plan you made for me
FEASIBLE Possible to do. sounds feasible, even with my work
schedule.
Having an end or Remember that life is finite; youre
FINITE
limits. not immortal.
A feature that ruins the
I got the diamond for a reduced
FLAW perfection of
price since the stone had a flaw.
something.
Im not sure what to wear since the
FLUCTUATE To change continually. temperature has been fluctuating so
much.
The central point or The program is going to focus on
FOCUS
idea. environmental issues.
The king decided to fortify the castle
FORTIFY To strengthen.
walls to protect them during attacks.
A skeletal structure
Skyscrapers must have a strong
FRAMEWORK designed to support
framework to support all the floors.
something.
Unnecessary; of little You must stop spending your
FRIVOLOUS
importance money on frivolous purchases.
A purpose natural to a The function of petals is to attract
FUNCTION
person or thing. insects to the plant.
 Of primary Learning scales is fundamental to
FUNDAMENTAL
importance. being a good piano player.
A space in between to Be careful to avoid the gap between
GAP
objects. the two steps.
Our answering machine is so bad
Communication that is
GARBLED that peoples voices are always
distorted and unclear.
garbled.
The fire generates heat, which
GENERATE To produce.
keeps the room warm.
The actress had only one small part
Pompous; overly
GRANDIOSE before she got grandiose ideas of
important.
her fame.
Overused and HIs poems contain many hackneyed
HACKNEYED
unoriginal. phrases.
There was no schedule, so the
HAPHAZARD Lacking planning.
event was very haphazard.
Not gentle; Her comments on my performance
HARSH
unpleasant. were very harsh and not kind at all.
In order to avoid the police, the
HASTY In a hurry.
robbers made a hasty retreat.
The nuclear reactor has a lot of
HAZARDOUS Full of risk.
hazardous waste.
To pause, often due to She hesitated before entering the
HESITATE
reluctance. abandoned building.
In the office hierarchy, the manager
HIERARCHY A ranking system.
is higher than the associate.
Something that Her hatred of public transportation is
HINDRANCE causes delay or a hindrance when trying to get
resistance. around New York City.
HOLLOW Empty inside. The dead tree is hollow.
An intense feeling of The haunted house filled me with
HORROR
fear. horror.
My ex-boyfriends new girlfriend was
HOSTILE Extremely unfriendly.
very hostile towards me.
An unproven idea that
Youll need to conduct an
HYPOTHESIS attempts to explain
experiment to test your hypothesis.
something.
IDENTICAL Exactly the same. The twins were completely identical.
Because hed never been able to
ILLITERATE Unable to read. attend school, the man was
illiterate.
To explain by using an The professor illustrated the lesson
ILLUSTRATE
example. with a personal story.
His moving words had a large
IMPACT Effect or influence.
impact on me.
Drinking alcohol will impair your
IMPAIR To worsen.
driving abilities.
We will implement the new schedule
IMPLEMENT To carry out.
starting next semester.
My mother implied that I was the
IMPLY To strongly suggest.
one who forgot to take out the trash.
 After the riots, the mayor imposed a
IMPOSE To force upon.
curfew on the town.
These medical bills are going to
IMPOVERISH To reduce to poverty.
impoverish me.
A reason to do I hate my job, but the big paychecks
INCENTIVE
something. are a good incentive to stick with it.
Continuing without I cant sleep because of the dogs
INCESSANT
pause. incessant barking.
Dont worry about your grade on this
INCIDENTAL A minor part. quiz; its only an incidental part of
your grade.
The ringleader incited the soldiers to
INCITE To urge on.
rebellion.
INCLINATION A preference. My inclination is to go to bed early.
Incapable; lacking The incompetent worker was fired
INCOMPETENT
ability. from his job.
His pitching has been very
INCONSISTENT Changing randomly.
inconsistent all season.
She is an indefatigable hiker and
INDEFATIGABLE Untiring.
can walk all day.
Not able to be Shes the indisputable star of the
INDISPUTABLE
challenged. basketball team.
Not producing any The drug was shown to be
INEFFECTIVE
major impact. ineffective at curing cancer.
Even if youre healthy, death is
INEVITABLE Unable to be avoided.
inevitable in the end.
To guess based on I inferred that she was annoyed
INFER
evidence. based on her body language.
Getting a promotion has really
INFLATE To increase in size.
inflated his ego.
The ability to have an The older sister has been a positive
INFLUENCE
impact of something. influence on her younger siblings.
This cleaning spray inhibits the
INHIBIT To hinder or restrain.
growth of bacteria.
She was the initial president of the
INITIAL The first.
company.
Congress launched an inquiry after
An investigation to
INQUIRY the senator was accused of taking
determine the truth.
bribes.
Necessary to You cant quit. Youre an integral
INTEGRAL
complete the whole. part of this team.
When making a cake, you need to
INTEGRATE To combine. fully integrate the wet and dry
ingredients.
To explain the I need you to interpret this German
INTERPRET
meaning of something. speech for me.
To come between
When the toddlers couldnt share
people, objects, or an
INTERVENE their toys, their mothers had to
event and change
intervene.
what is happening.
The intrepid mountain climber
INTREPID Fearless.
reached the top of Mt. Everest.
 The pattern on this blanket is so
INTRICATE Highly detailed.
intricate.
We found the strangers questions
INVASIVE Intrusive.
too personal and very invasive.
The police are going to investigate
INVESTIGATE To examine or study.
the crime scene.
Even though my grandfather seems
IRASCIBLE Easy to anger.
irascible, hes actually very loving.
The use of words to
I love spending my Friday nights
give a meaning
IRONY doing homework, she said with
opposite to their literal
irony.
meaning.
Not sure which direction to go in, he
IRRESOLUTE Uncertain.
stood irresolute.
To be a successful doctor, youll
Words specific to a
JARGON need to learn a lot of medical
certain job or group.
jargon.
The newlyweds jointly opened up a
JOINTLY Together.
bank account.
A special talent or My brother has a real knack for
KNACK
skill. solving tricky math problems.
Building a house requires a lot of
LABOR Work or effort.
labor.
I stayed with the front group of
LAG To fall behind. runners for the first few miles, but
after that I began to lag.
The cartoonist lampooned the
LAMPOON To mock or ridicule.
presidents speech.
During winter break, my plants
To become weak; to
LANGUISH languished since I was visiting my
be neglected.
parents and couldnt water them.
A talk given to an The professor will give a 30 minute
LECTURE
audience. lecture before the quiz.
Im leery of taking the dark-looking
LEERY Wary.
shortcut.
The way he became mayor is
LEGITIMATE Lawful.
completely legitimate.
The judge gave the criminal a
LENIENT Merciful; less harsh. lenient sentence due to his bad
childhood.
I dont have much homework, so its
LIKELY Probable.
likely Ill be able to go out tonight.
His claims about me are absolutely
LUDICROUS Ridiculous.
ludicrous.
To continue at the She has maintained the same
MAINTAIN
same level. weight since high school.
This test is a major part of your final
MAJOR Very important.
grade.
To influence,
He tried to manipulate the results of
MANIPULATE especially in an unfair
the election.
way.
To increase to the The stores goal this year is to
MAXIMIZE
greatest possible size. maximize its profit.
 To find the size and
By measuring the tree, I found it
MEASURE dimensions of
was seven feet tall.
something.
The meal the chef made was only
MEDIOCRE Ordinary, average.
mediocre.
My mother will mend the hole in my
MEND To fix.
shirt.
A way of doing Her method for making bread takes
METHOD
something. three days.
To move from one Every fall, the geese migrate to
MIGRATE
place to another. Florida.
The smallest or lowest You need to get a minimum of 70%
MINIMUM
amount possible. on the test to pass the class.
The advertisement for the weight
loss pills is very misleading since
MISLEADING Giving the wrong idea.
studies have shown theyre
ineffective.
I need to modify my style so it looks
MODIFY To change.
more professional.
The boy was morose after hearing
MOROSE Gloomy, depressed.
he didnt make the football team.
The negligent babysitter invited her
NEGLIGENT Lazy, neglectful. friends over while the children were
upstairs.
I was hurt when my friend greeted
NONCHALANT Indifferent, unexcited.
me so nonchalantly.
To follow orders or My dog always obeys me when I
OBEY
instructions. ask her to sit.
The spy obtained the secret codes
OBTAIN To get.
we need.
The large poster of Michael Jackson
OBVIOUS Easily understood. over her bed made it obvious who
her favorite singer was.
Someone on the
The soccer player blocked her
OPPONENT opposite side for a
opponents shot at the goal.
game or contest.
For the past ten generations the
royal family has oppressed the
OPPRESS To unfairly burden.
peasants by keeping them in
poverty.
The source; where The explorers are trying to find the
ORIGIN
something began. origin of the Nile.
This work of art is a paradigm of the
A typical example of
PARADIGM period; youll see many examples of
something.
it in the museum.
The parsimonious woman only
PARSIMONIOUS Frugal, stingy.
donated a dollar to charity.
My leg was feeling much better, so I
PARTAKE To join in. decided to partake in the soccer
match.
We can get strawberry ice cream,
Preferring one option
PARTIAL but Im actually more partial to
over others.
chocolate.
 Something existing in
During the drought, the town had a
PAUCITY very small amounts;
paucity of fresh water.
scarcity.
The highest or most Winning the championship was the
PEAK
important point. peak of his career.
Located on the side or There are some peripheral fights
PERIPHERAL
edge. going on at the outdoor concert.
To penetrate or pass Let the maple syrup permeate your
PERMEATE
through. waffles before eating them.
To continue, I may have lost my last six games,
PERSIST especially when facing but I will continue to persist trying to
opposition. win.
How does your question pertain to
PERTAIN Relate.
the lecture?
In high school, I went through a
A period or stage in a
PHASE phase where I only wore black
process.
clothes.
A record of opinions or The polls show that my candidate is
POLL
votes. going to win the election.
Only take one sleeping pill since
POTENT Powerful.
theyre very potent.
Your boyfriend is too dramatic. I
PRAGMATIC Practical, sensible. think you need a more pragmatic
man.
To give approval or The book is the best Ive ever read;
PRAISE
admiration. I cant praise it enough.
The flower girls preceded the bride
PRECEDE To come before.
when they walked down the aisle.
When collecting data, its important
PRECISE Exact. that your measurements are very
precise.
Harvard is one of the most
Having a high
PRESTIGIOUS prestigious colleges in the United
reputation.
States.
If more people dont start washing
PREVALENT Widespread. their hands, disease will become
more prevalent.
Maeves primary goal in life is to
PRIMARY First; most important.
become a doctor.
Prior to becoming a teacher, Elena
PRIOR Previous or earlier.
worked as a book editor.
To continue doing Im sorry for interrupting; please
PROCEED
something. proceed with your speech.
The dogs progeny all have yellow
PROGENY Offspring.
fur.
Im promoting this new indie movie
To further to progress
PROMOTE so that more people will buy tickets
of something.
to it.
Dave hopes his new business will
PROSPER To do well.
prosper and make him a millionaire.
The twins hated to be apart, so they
Nearness in time or
PROXIMITY bought houses in close proximity to
space.
each other.
 Disagreement or fight; Nina and her boyfriend always
QUARREL
to have an argument. quarrel over money.
The distance between
two things, often the The range of ages at the concert
RANGE
maximum and the spanned from 12 to 65.
minimum.
An official position or Archibald was promoted to the rank
RANK
station. of first captain.
To sternly disapprove After staying out too late, Grace
REBUKE
or reprimand. received a rebuke from her parents.
At the end of his speech, the
To give a brief
RECAPITULATE politician made sure to recapitulate
summary.
his main points.
Two days after the flood, the
RECEDE To retreat. seawater finally began to recede
from our house.
To present someone I need to ask Mr. Smith if hell
RECOMMEND with confidence and recommend me for this leadership
approval. position.
To make changes that Melanies father is in charge of
REFORM
improve something. reforming to school system.
To supervise or
Ben needs to regulate how much he
control a process so
REGULATE eats in order to stay at a healthy
that it functions
weight.
correctly.
To strengthen with The builders reinforced the houses
REINFORCE
added support. wooden frame with steel beams.
To say no to
Lydia rejected my invitation to the
REJECT something that is
homecoming dance.
offered.
To free; to allow to be The CEO decided to release the
RELEASE
known. companys profits from last year.
I rely on coffee to get my through
RELY To depend on.
my mornings.
To express
The coach reproached the players
REPROACH disapproval or
for failing to play their best.
disappointment.
The camping trip requires that every
To need for a specific
REQUIRE participant bring their own food and
purpose.
sleeping bag.
To feel bitterness or
Ive always resented my sister
anger towards
RESENT because she is my mothers favorite
someone or
child.
something.
To give up an office or Due to his declining health, the
RESIGN
position. mayor decided to resign from office.
To withstand the effect Resist the impulse to have ice
RESIST
of. cream for breakfast.
Matt resolved to get better grades
To come to a firm
RESOLVE next semester by studying every
decision.
night.
To confine or keep My doctor told me to restrict myself
RESTRICT
within limits. to one glass of wine a day.
 To continue to do
Ive decided to retain my normal
RETAIN something or keep
hairstyle.
something.
1. I felt calmer after the lion
1. To draw back in.
retracted its claws.
2. To withdraw
2. After numerous errors were
RETRACT something after its
found, the newspaper retracted the
found to be untrue.
story.

Alexis got out of the car to retrieve

RETRIEVE To bring back.
the ball her little brother had thrown.
Used just for style or You arent expected to actually
RHETORICAL
impact. answer rhetorical questions.
The boys father was happy to see
RIGID Stiff; unyielding. the base of the treehouse was rigid
and sturdy.
Rotate the sculpture so I can see
ROTATE To turn.
the other side.
Something that serves A retirement fund is one way to
SAFEGUARD as protection or safeguard your finances for the
ensures safety. future.
The judges were looking for
To very carefully
SCRUTINIZE perfection, so they scrutinized every
examine.
entry.
This section of the stadium dressed
SECTION A part of the whole.
completely in red.
Jane selected a blue dress to wear
SELECT To choose.
to the wedding.
Things that follow
Librarians need to know how order
SEQUENCE each other in a certain
books in the correct sequence.
order.
1. The robbers suffered severe
1. Harsh or strict. consequences for stealing.
SEVERE 2. Grave, critical. 2. My uncle is currently battling a
severe illness in the hospital.

You dont need to worry about

SHALLOW Not deep. getting your dress wet. The water is
very shallow here.
To protect from The empty barn gave the men
SHELTER
something harmful. shelter during the storm.
Hopefully this cream will cause my
SHRINK To become smaller.
scar to shrink.
The Gettysburg Address was a
SIGNIFICANT Important, noteworthy. significant event during the Civil
War.
A person, place, or
You shouldnt use Wikipedia as a
SOURCE thing where something
source when writing school papers.
was obtained.
The farm was almost empty; there
SPARSE Thinly scattered. were just a few sparse trees here
and there.
To clearly indicate You need to specify which size shirt
SPECIFY
which one. you want before I can order it.
 To form a theory
My sister loves to speculate on the
SPECULATE without strong
private lives of celebrities.
evidence.
The hermit lives a solitary existence
SOLITARY Alone; without others.
deep in the mountains.
After losing the competition, the
SOMBER Gloomy; depressing.
chess players were very somber.
The mother sang a lullaby to soothe
SOOTHE To calm or comfort.
her crying baby.
The shelter was squalid and
SQUALID Filthy and unpleasant.
overcrowded.
Unlikely to change or Were lucky to live in a country with
STABLE
fail. such a stable government.
With few new jobs created, the
Sluggish, showing little
STAGNANT economy has remained stagnant for
movement.
the past five years.
A plan to reach a The football team will need a good
STRATEGY
desired outcome. strategy to win the game tomorrow.
The first king was a good ruler, but
Coming after
SUBSEQUENT subsequent kings have all been
something in time.
corrupt.
A person or thing If you dont have sugar, honey
SUBSTITUTE acting in place of makes a good substitute for this
another. recipe.
Mayas perfume was very subtle;
Difficult to notice right
SUBTLE you had to get close to her to smell
away.
it.
Enough to serve a Make sure you have sufficient food
SUFFICIENT
particular purpose. for the camping trip.
The class didnt have time to read
To briefly give the
SUMMARIZE the book, so the professor
main points.
summarized it for them.
My dad didnt think we were old
To oversee work or a
SUPERVISE enough to build the fort on our own,
process.
so he supervised us.
The king was supplanted by his
To take the place of
SUPPLANT treacherous younger brother who
something else.
locked him in the dungeon.
1. To temporarily 1. The power outage suspended
stop. the school concert.
SUSPEND 2. To hang something 2. The lamp is suspended from the
from somewhere. high ceiling.

Having the belief that The couple became suspicious

someone is doing when they saw strange men
SUSPICIOUS
something dishonest removing their neighbors expensive
or illegal. electronics during the night.
I stopped trying to sustain the
SUSTAIN To keep going. friendship after he made fun of how
I looked.
SYMBOLIC Serving as a symbol. A cross is symbolic of Christianity.
 The laptop manual is full of
Relating to a specific
TECHNICAL technical terms only a computer
subject or craft.
expert can understand.
Everyone on the train must get off at
TERMINAL Situated at the end.
the terminal stop.
I tolerate the rude man since he is
TOLERATE To put up with.
my husbands best friend.
To move from one Bens work is going to transfer him
TRANSFER
place to another. from Chicago to Detroit.
Changing from one The transition from student to
TRANSITION state or condition to employee can often take awhile to
another. get used to.
1. The glass vase is completely
1. See-through
transparent.
material.
TRANSPARENT 2. Her attempt to flatter the movie
2. Easy to detect.
star was very transparent.

The fee for instruction College tuition prices have gone up

TUITION
at a school. in recent decades.
The princes bodyguards had
Not attracting
UNOBTRUSIVE mastered the art of being
attention.
unobtrusive.
Ian was lucky to walk away from the
UNSCATHED Unharmed.
car crash unscathed.
Even when shes having a bad day,
UPBEAT Happy; optimistic. my mom always has an upbeat
attitude.
Since I tried my hardest on the
UNJUST Unfair. exam, I felt my teachers criticism of
me was unjust.
She vacillated between the two
To waver or be
VACILLATE dresses before finally deciding to
indecisive.
wear a skirt.
The soldiers had valid concerns
VALID Just; well-founded.
about the battles theyd be facing.
The plane vanished behind the
VANISH To disappear quickly.
clouds.
To be different from
VARY something else in a
group.
A judgement or
VERDICT The jury delivered a guilty verdict.
decision.
A small trace of
something that is The empty castle still had a few
VESTIGE
disappearing or has vestiges of its former wealth.
already disappeared.
A small container used The chemist carefully filled the vial
VIAL
to hold liquids. with the bubbling solution.
To speak poorly of; to Mark was vilified by his angry ex-
VILIFY
slander. girlfriend.
Taking up a lot of The puffy wedding dress had
VOLUMINOUS
space. voluminous sleeves.
 I always save my money whereas
WHEREAS On the contrary.
my brother is constantly in debt.
The monk is wholly devoted to his
WHOLLY Completely.
faith.
Occurring over a large There is widespread poverty across
WIDESPREAD
region. that country.
To droop and become Plants will wilt if you dont water
WILT
limp. them regularly.