Essential Words For TOEFL

ambiguous

adj. of unclear meaning; something that can be understood
in more than one way
adv. ambiguously
syn. vague
n. ambiguity

  • The men received an ambiguous message from their boss.
  • Her letter was full of ambiguities.

arbitrary

adj. an action or decision made with little thought, order, or reason
adv. arbitrarily
syn. haphazard
n. arbitrariness

  • Her choice of clothing seemed arbitrary.
  • The teacher arbitrarily decided to give the class a test.

assert

v. to express or defend oneself strongly; to state positively
adv. assertively
syn. declare
n. assertiveness
n. assertion
adj. assertive

  • The government asserted its control over the banking system.
  • The company president is an assertive individual.

astounding

adj. very surprising
v. astound
syn. astonishing
adv. astoundingly

  • The scientists made an astounding discovery.
  • The fans were astounded by their team’s success.

astute

adj. very intelligent, smart, clever
adj. astutely
syn. perceptive
n. astuteness

  • He was an astute worker, finishing in half the time it took the others to finish.
  • They astutely determined that there would be no chance to finish on time.

concur

v. to have the same opinion or draw the same
conclusion
n. concurrence
syn. agree

  • The director concurred with the conclusions of the committee’s report.
  • Do you concur with the details of the business plan?

deceptively

adv. making something appear true or good when it is false or bad
adj. deceptive
syn. misleadingly
v. deceive
n. deception

  • The magician deceptively made the rabbit disappear.
  • Richard deceived Joe about the cost of the coat.

designate

v. to specify, name, or select to do a task; to indicate
n. designation
syn. assign
n. designator

  • The president designated the vice president to represent him at the meeting.
  • The designated driver drove every one home after the party.

determined

adj. strong in one’s opinion, firm in conviction, to find out
n. determination
syn. resolute
v. determine

  • They were determined to go to graduate school.
  • The judge determined that the man was lying.

elicit

v. to get the facts or draw out the truth
n. elicitation
syn. extract

  • A lawyer will elicit all the facts necessary to prove her case.
  • Elicitation of the truth can be difficult at times.

embody

v. to be a good example of a concept or idea
n. embodiment
syn. exemplify

  • The constitution is an embodiment of American ideals.
  • Charlotte embodies all of the qualities of a good leader.

instigate

v. to cause a conflict or argument
n. instigator
syn. initiate
adj. instigative
adv. instigatively

  • No one knew who had instigated the demonstration.
  • Dissatisfaction with government policies instigated the revolution.

mundane

adj. common or routine
adv. mundanely
syn. ordinary
n. mundaneness
n. mundanity

  • The student’s mundane summer job frustrated her.
  • His mother asked him to do all the mundane household chores.

petition

v. to make a request
n. petition
syn. appeal

  • Canada petitioned the United Nations to consider its case.
  • The student’s petition was denied.

relinquish

v. to give up control
n. relinquishment
syn. abdicate

  • The troubled executive relinquished her control of the company.
  • The relinquishment of his claim to the building will allow the building to be sold.

resilient

adj. strong enough to recover from difficulty or disease
adv. resiliently
syn. tenacious
n. resilience

  • She has a resilient personality and will soon feel better.
  • The doctor was surprised by his patient’s resilience.

stagnant

adj. not moving or developing
n. stagnation
syn. still
v. stagnate

  • The stagnant water was a perfect home for frogs.
  • Some say that television causes the mind to stagnate.