Essential Words For TOEFL

 

brash

adj. confident or aggressive; lacking regard for consequences
adv. brashly
syn. reckless
n. brashness

  • The brash young man made many poor business decisions.
  • Lucy’s brashness often got her into trouble at school.

clarify

v. to make more easily understood; to make clear
n. clarification
syn. explain

  • Chapter 2 in the textbook clarifies the process of osmosis.
  • A clarification of the government’s position on this matter is necessary.

conceal

v. to prevent from being seen or discovered
n. concealment
syn. hide

  • The students concealed their feelings about the course.
  • His concealment of the evidence made his case more difficult to prove.

confirm

v. to make certain; give support
adj. confirmed
syn. prove
n. confirmation

  • The director confirmed that the meeting would be on the tenth.
  • We have just received confirmation of your reservation on the flight to Los Angeles.

convenient

adj. easy to reach; near; suitable to one’s needs
adv. conveniently
syn. practical
n. convenience

  • The investigator suspected that the disappearance of the evidence was too convenient to be accidental.
  • For the convenience of the student body, the library is located in a central location.

core

adj. the central or most important part of something
n. core
syn. chief

  • The core curriculum consists of courses that are required of all students.
  • The core of an apple is not edible.

critical

adj. very serious or unsafe; finding fault
v. critique
syn. dangerous
n. criticism
n. critic
adv. critically

  • It is critical to follow the directions for the experiment exactly as the instructor indicates.
  • The runner accepted criticism from his coach very well.

discrepancy

n. a difference between things that should be similar or equal
syn. inconsistency

  • The discrepancy in her experiment data led her to believe that she had made a mistake.
  • There is usually a discrepancy between how coffee smells and how it tastes.

distort

v. to change from the original shape or condition, usually in an unnatural way
adj. distorted syn. deform
n. distortion

  • Time and space are distorted when traveling at the speed of light.
  • Distortion of the image from a microscope can be caused by low light.

diverse

adj. various; distinct from others
adv. diversely
syn. different
n. diversity
v. diversify

  • Freud had many diverse interests in psychology.
  • The diversity of life forms on the earth makes zoology an interesting area of study.

eventually

adv. to happen at some time in the future, usually gradually
syn. finally

  • A good education will eventually pay big dividends.
  • Eventually the couple will pay off their mortgage and own their house.

prosperous

adj. successful, wealthy
adv. prosperously
syn. thriving
v. prosper
n. prosperity

  • In the early 1900s, San Francisco was a prosperous city.
  • Bacteria prosper under the proper conditions.

purposefully

adv. done for a special reason
adj. purposeful
syn. deliberately
adv. purposely
n. purpose

  • The course syllabus was designed purposefully to be easy to follow.
  • He was authorized to spend the money for business purposes.

reveal

v. to uncover; to expose
adv. revealingly
syn. disclose
adj. revealing
n. revelation

  • The president revealed some of his ideas before he gave his speech.
  • The report made some revelations about the nature of the conflict.

scarcely

adv. almost not
adj. scarce
syn. hardly
n. scarcity

  • The woman scarcely spoke a word of English.
  • Due to a scarcity of water, a rationing plan was established.

simultaneous

adj. occurring at the same time
adv. simultaneously
syn. concurrent

  • The boys simultaneously screamed, “Ice cream!”
  • This student is skilled at performing many tasks simultaneously.

theoretically

adv. according to a reasoned, but not proven, point of view
adj. theoretical
syn. hypothetically
n. theory
v. theorize

  • His argument was theoretically appealing, but not realistic.
  • Leonardo da Vinci theorized that Earth was not the center of the universe.