The 327 TOEFL Words You Need to Know

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

Word Definition Sample Sentence

Living close to a lake means we
Abundant Present in large quantities.
have an abundant supply of water.
Each fall, leaves accumulate in
Accumulate To gradually collect.
our driveway.
Make sure your address is
Accurate Correct; free from errors. accurate before submitting your
online order.
Having 8AM classes means I’m
Accustomed Used to something.
accustomed to getting up early.
When my grandmother died, I
Acquire To come into possession of.
acquired her cookbook collection.
Refusing to change an The defendant was adamant that
Adamant
opinion. he was innocent.
Our house isn’t big, but it’s
Adequate Enough to suit your needs.
adequate for the two of us.
Adjacent Close to or next to. The park is adjacent to the school.
To change something so it The bike seat may be too high;
Adjust
serves its purpose better. you’ll probably need to adjust it.
Something that makes it His height gives him an advantage
Advantage
easier to achieve success. in basketball.
My aunt is a major advocate for
Advocate To publicly support.
women’s’ rights.
I had an adverse reaction to my
Unfavorable; against one’s
Adverse medication and had to stop taking
desires.
it.
Aggregate To combine. We should aggregate our
resources 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 specific The village needs to allocate funds
Allocate
purpose. for building the new school.
If the ATM is broken, an
Alternative Another option or choice. alternative solution is to stop by
the bank.
Someone who is He’s an amateur soccer player and
Amateur inexperienced or not highly is still learning the rules of the
skilled in a particular area. game.
When I asked the HR manager
Having several potential
what my chances were of getting
Ambiguous meanings; unclear and
the job, she gave me a very
difficult to understand.
ambiguous reply.
My son is very ambitious and
Ambitious Having large goals. hopes to be a millionaire by the
time he’s thirty.
To change for the better; to I believe we should amend our
Amend
improve. country’s tax laws.
Our new apartment has ample
Ample Plentiful.
space for the two of us.
The basketball player is the team’s
Anomaly Deviation from the norm. best free thrower, so his missing
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
Antagonize
towards a person or group. little sister by pulling her hair.
Attitude Manner or feeling. After she got grounded, the
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 random Flipping a coin is an arbitrary way
Arbitrary
decision. to make a decision.
After you cross the bridge, there’s
Arduous Requiring a lot of effort.
an arduous walk up the hill.
The mother assuaged her child’s
Assuage To lessen a negative feeling.
fear of the dark.
To suppose without solid I assumed he was rich because he
Assume
proof. worked as a lawyer.
She augments her regular salary
Augment To increase or make larger.
by babysitting on the weekends.
A benefit of doing homework on
Something positive or
Benefit Friday is that your weekend will
advantageous.
be free.
Our neighbor berated us after we
Berate To scold. broke his window playing
baseball.
The medal was bestowed upon
Bestow To give as a gift.
him by the president.
To brag or talk with He always boasts of his talents
Boast
excessive pride. after he wins a game.
To help raise or increase I gave him a pep talk to boost his
Boost
something. self-esteem before his speech.
The brash man always asked
Brash Rude and tactless.
inappropriate questions.
It will only have a brief meeting,
Brief Short (in terms of time). so you’ll still have plenty of time
for lunch.
Brusque Abrupt to the point of After being away for so long, I
 expected more than her brusque
rudeness.
greeting.
A harsh, unpleasant mixture The cuckoo clock shop lets off a
Cacophony
of noise. cacophony every hour.
Cease To stop. I wish they would cease arguing.
To express strong Every parent in our district
Censure
disapproval. censured the education cuts.
Put the historical events in
Arranged in order of time or
Chronological chronological order to make them
date.
easier to study.
I didn’t understand the
To make clear; to remove
Clarify instructions, so I asked the teacher
confusion.
to clarify them.
To combine or grow The people on the street
Coalesce
together. eventually coalesced into a group.
To force someone to do The young boy was coerced into
Coerce
something against their will. stealing by his friends.
Being aware or having Before mountain climbing, you
Cognizant
knowledge of something. need to be cognizant of the risks.
Water molecules show strong
Cohesion Uniting; becoming one.
cohesion when they stick together.
This year Thanksgiving coincided
Coincide To occur at the same time.
with my birthday.
The old building finally collapsed,
Collapse To fall down or break down. leaving nothing but a pile of
rubble.
To hit one another with a The two cars collided on the
Collide
forceful impact. freeway.
Joining a school play is a big
Dedication to a cause or
Commitment commitment. You’ll need to
activity.
practice every evening.
Community A group of people who live The Chinese community in my
 city is hosting a New Year
or work together.
celebration next week.
The mountains concealed the
Conceal To hide.
ocean from view.
He believes women should be
Concur To agree. paid as much as men, and I
concur.
The conflict between the two
Conflict A disagreement or fight. families has been going on for
generations.
You should move your plant to a
Constrain To restrict or repress. bigger pot, otherwise you’ll
constrain its roots.
I spend a lot of time
Contemplate To consider thoughtfully. contemplating what career I want
to have.
My neighbors have been
Continuously To go on without stopping. continuously blasting their music
since last night.
I told the employees that sales
were down, but my boss
Contradict To give the opposite opinion.
contradicted me and said sales
were actually up.
To give something (usually
Every roommate contributes part
Contribute money or time) to a common
of his paycheck to the grocery bill.
fund or cause.
I’ve conveyed my interest in
Convey To make known.
working for that company.
He always takes copious notes
Copious Abundant.
during class to study later on.
Core Central; of main importance. Although many employees left the
company, the core leadership
 remained.
The rust corroded the paint on my
Corrode To gradually wear away.
car.
Trying to carry four grocery bags
Cumbersome Burdensome; clumsy
at once was very cumbersome.
The courses given by a Our school needs to add more
Curriculum
school or program. music courses to its curriculum.
The data from these graphs show
Facts, statistics, or pieces of
Data that yearly temperatures are
information.
increasing.
To decline in health or After the tree died, its wood began
Decay
excellence. to decay.
He deceived me by pretending to
Deceive To trick or mislead.
be a millionaire.
The spy deciphered the secret
Decipher To find the meaning of.
code.
He made a declaration to the
Declaration An announcement.
office that he was quitting.
Decline 1. To politely refuse. 1. I declined his offer of a ride
By the way: we have built home.
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2. To deteriorate (especially
in terms of health.)
My attempt at cake degraded into
Degrade To lower in quality.
a crumbly mess.
Let me demonstrate the proper
Demonstrate To show.
way of throwing a football.
To state that something isn’t
Deny He denied being the robber.
true.
Your shopping sprees have
Deplete To significantly decrease.
depleted my savings.
Please deposit your books in the
Deposit To deliver and leave an item.
bin outside the library.
Bravery is a desirable trait for
Desirable Worth having or wanting.
firefighters to have.
Despise To hate. I despise early morning classes.
The police dog detected the
Detect To locate something.
missing child’s scent.
The warning signs on the house
Deter To discourage.
deterred trespassers.
I decided to deviate from my
Deviate To differ from the norm. normal route home and took a
shortcut.
The coach devised a plan for
Devise To plan or create.
winning the game.
The politician went into a diatribe
Diatribe A sharp criticism or attack.
against her opponent.
 To wander from the main The teacher digressed from the
Digress
subject. lecture to discuss the weather.
A situation where one must The student faced the dilemma of
Dilemma choose between two difficult attending school sick or missing
choices. her 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 when The piece of pie I received was
Disproportionate
compared to something else. disproportionately small.
To interrupt by causing a The protesters disrupted the
Disrupt
disturbance. politician’s speech.
The camera filter distorted the
Distort To misrepresent.
image.
To give portions of Distribute the materials evenly
Distribute
something. among the class.
This city has a very diverse
Diverse Showing a lot of variety.
population.
Because of the accident, the police
Divert To cause a change of course. had to divert traffic down a side
street.
The theater has dynamic shows, so
Dynamic Constantly changing.
you never know what you’ll see.
To reduce unpleasantness or This prescription will ease your
Ease
difficulty. allergies.
Now that I’m following a
Efficient Maximizing productivity. schedule at work, I’m much more
efficient.
Our team lost the match and was
Eliminate To remove.
eliminated from the competition.
Elite A select, above-average The elite detective team were also
group. sent for when there were big
 crimes.
Her eloquent writing has gained
Eloquent Moving speech or writing.
her many fans.
To give special importance The teacher emphasized the due
Emphasize
to when speaking or writing. date of the project.
To suffer through something He has endured four knee
Endure
difficult with patience. operations so far.
The falling snow enhanced the
Enhance To intensify or 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
Estimate An approximate value. number of people attending the
concert.
By hiding in the bathroom, we
Evade To avoid or escape.
were 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 that
These fossils are evidence of
Evidence help prove or disprove
evolution.
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.
Exclude To leave out. The young boy was excluded from
 his friends’ soccer game.
We may not be able to get in since
Exclusive Not admitting the majority.
that club is very exclusive.
Adding air to bike tires will cause
Expand To increase in size.
them to expand.
Expert knowledge or skill in The surgeon’s expertise is knee
Expertise
a particular field. surgeries.
The company exploited its
Exploit To use selfishly. workers by making them work
long hours.
The emails presented exposed the
Expose To reveal or unmask.
company’s corruption.
If you’re sick on the day the paper
An act of making something
Extension is due, the teacher may give you
longer.
an extension on the due date.
The dentist extracted one of my
Extract To get or remove something.
teeth.
A time when there is an Millions of children in Ethiopia
Famine
extreme lack of food. died due to the famine there.
This study plan you made for me
Feasible Possible to do. sounds feasible, even with my
work schedule.
Remember that life is finite;
Finite Having an end or limits.
you’re not immortal.
A feature that ruins the I got the diamond for a reduced
Flaw
perfection of something. price since the stone had a flaw.
I’m not sure what to wear since
Fluctuate To change continually. the temperature has been
fluctuating so much.
The program is going to focus on
Focus The central point or idea.
environmental issues.
Fortify To strengthen. The king decided to fortify the
 castle walls to protect them during
attacks.
Skyscrapers must have a strong
A skeletal structure designed
Framework framework to support all the
to support something.
floors.
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.
Learning scales is fundamental to
Fundamental Of primary importance.
being a good piano player.
A space in between to Be careful to avoid the gap
Gap
objects. between the two steps.
Our answering machine is so bad
Communication that is
Garbled that people’s 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
Grandiose Pompous; overly important. part before she got grandiose ideas
of her fame.
HIs poems contain many
Hackneyed Overused and unoriginal.
hackneyed phrases.
There was no schedule, so the
Haphazard Lacking planning.
event was very haphazard.
Her comments on my performance
Harsh Not gentle; 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
Hierarchy A ranking system. manager is higher than the
associate.
Her hatred of public transportation
Something that causes delay
Hindrance is a hindrance when trying to get
or resistance.
around New York City.
Hollow Empty inside. The dead tree is hollow.
The haunted house filled me with
Horror An intense feeling of fear.
horror.
My ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend
Hostile Extremely unfriendly.
was very hostile towards me.
An unproven idea that You’ll need to conduct an
Hypothesis attempts to explain experiment to test your
something. hypothesis.
The twins were completely
Identical Exactly the same.
identical.
Because he’d never been able to
Illiterate Unable to read. attend school, the man was
illiterate.
To explain by using an The professor illustrated the
Illustrate
example. lesson 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
Implement To carry out.
schedule 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
Impose To force upon.
a curfew on the town.
These medical bills are going to
Impoverish To reduce to poverty.
impoverish me.
I hate my job, but the big
Incentive A reason to do something. paychecks are a good incentive to
stick with it.
I can’t sleep because of the dog’s
Incessant Continuing without pause.
incessant barking.
Don’t worry about your grade on
Incidental A minor part. this quiz; it’s only an incidental
part of your grade.
The ringleader incited the soldiers
Incite To urge on.
to rebellion.
My inclination is to go to bed
Inclination A preference.
early.
The incompetent worker was fired
Incompetent Incapable; lacking 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.
She’s the indisputable star of the
Indisputable Not able to be challenged.
basketball team.
Not producing any major The drug was shown to be
Ineffective
impact. ineffective at curing cancer.
Even if you’re healthy, death is
Inevitable Unable to be avoided.
inevitable in the end.
I inferred that she was annoyed
Infer To guess based on evidence.
based on her body language.
Inflate To increase in size. Getting a promotion has really
 inflated his ego.
The older sister has been a
The ability to have an impact
Influence positive influence on her younger
of something.
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
An investigation to
Inquiry after the senator was accused of
determine the truth.
taking bribes.
Necessary to complete the You can’t quit. You’re an integral
Integral
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 meaning of I need you to interpret this
Interpret
something. German speech for me.
To come between people, When the toddlers couldn’t share
Intervene objects, or an event and their toys, their mothers had to
change what is happening. intervene.
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 stranger’s 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
Irascible Easy to anger. seems irascible, he’s actually very
loving.
 The use of words to give a “I love spending my Friday nights
Irony meaning opposite to their doing homework,” she said with
literal meaning. irony.
Not sure which direction to go in,
Irresolute Uncertain.
he stood irresolute.
To be a successful doctor, you’ll
Words specific to a certain
Jargon need to learn a lot of medical
job or group.
jargon.
The newlyweds jointly opened up
Jointly Together.
a bank account.
My brother has a real knack for
Knack A special talent or 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.
president’s speech.
During winter break, my plants
To become weak; to be
Languish languished since I was visiting my
neglected.
parents and couldn’t water them.
The professor will give a 30
Lecture A talk given to an audience.
minute lecture before the quiz.
I’m leery of taking the dark-
Leery Wary.
looking 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.
Likely Probable. I don’t have much homework, so
 it’s likely I’ll be able to go out
tonight.
His claims about me are
Ludicrous Ridiculous.
absolutely ludicrous.
To continue at the same She has maintained the same
Maintain
level. weight since high school.
This test is a major part of your
Major Very important.
final grade.
To influence, especially in He tried to manipulate the results
Manipulate
an unfair way. of the election.
To increase to the greatest The store’s goal this year is to
Maximize
possible size. maximize its profit.
To find the size and By measuring the tree, I found it
Measure
dimensions of something. was seven feet tall.
The meal the chef made was only
Mediocre Ordinary, average.
mediocre.
My mother will mend the hole in
Mend To fix.
my shirt.
Her method for making bread
Method A way of doing something.
takes three days.
To move from one place to Every fall, the geese migrate to
Migrate
another. Florida.
The smallest or lowest You need to get a minimum of
Minimum
amount possible. 70% 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 they’re
ineffective.
I need to modify my style so it
Modify To change.
looks more professional.
Morose Gloomy, depressed. The boy was morose after hearing
 he didn’t make the football team.
The negligent babysitter invited
Negligent Lazy, neglectful. her 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 over her bed made it
Obvious Easily understood.
obvious who her favorite singer
was.
Someone on the opposite The soccer player blocked her
Opponent
side for a game or contest. opponent’s shot at the goal.
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
Origin
something began. the origin of the Nile.
This work of art is a paradigm of
A typical example of
Paradigm the period; you’ll see many
something.
examples of it in the museum.
The parsimonious woman only
Parsimonious Frugal, stingy.
donated a dollar to charity.
My leg was feeling much better,
Partake To join in. so I decided to partake in the
soccer match.
Partial Preferring one option over We can get strawberry ice cream,
others. but I’m actually more partial to
 chocolate.
Something existing in very During the drought, the town had
Paucity
small amounts; scarcity. a paucity of fresh water.
The highest or most Winning the championship was
Peak
important point. the peak of his career.
There are some peripheral fights
Peripheral Located on the side or edge.
going on at the outdoor concert.
Let the maple syrup permeate
Permeate To penetrate or pass through.
your waffles before eating them.
I may have lost my last six games,
To continue, especially when
Persist but I will continue to persist trying
facing opposition.
to 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
Poll
votes. is going to win the election.
Only take one sleeping pill since
Potent Powerful.
they’re 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 I’ve ever
Praise
admiration. read; I can’t praise it enough.
The flower girls preceded the
Precede To come before. bride when they walked down the
aisle.
When collecting data, it’s
Precise Exact. important that your measurements
are very precise.
 Harvard is one of the most
Prestigious Having a high reputation. prestigious colleges in the United
States.
If more people don’t start washing
Prevalent Widespread. their hands, disease will become
more prevalent.
Maeve’s 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 I’m sorry for interrupting; please
Proceed
something. proceed with your speech.
The dog’s progeny all have yellow
Progeny Offspring.
fur.
I’m promoting this new indie
To further to progress of
Promote movie so that more people will
something.
buy tickets 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
Proximity Nearness in time or space. they bought houses in close
proximity to each other.
Disagreement or fight; to Nina and her boyfriend always
Quarrel
have an argument. quarrel over money.
The distance between two
The range of ages at the concert
Range things, often the maximum
spanned from 12 to 65.
and the minimum.
An official position or Archibald was promoted to the
Rank
station. rank of first captain.
Rebuke To sternly disapprove or After staying out too late, Grace
reprimand. received a rebuke from her
 parents.
At the end of his speech, the
Recapitulate To give a brief summary. politician made sure to
recapitulate his main points.
Two days after the flood, the
Recede To retreat. seawater finally began to recede
from our house.
I need to ask Mr. Smith if he’ll
To present someone with
Recommend recommend me for this leadership
confidence and approval.
position.
To make changes that Melanie’s father is in charge of
Reform
improve something. reforming to school system.
To supervise or control a Ben needs to regulate how much
Regulate process so that it functions he eats in order to stay at a healthy
correctly. weight.
The builders reinforced the
To strengthen with added
Reinforce house’s wooden frame with steel
support.
beams.
To say no to something that Lydia rejected my invitation to the
Reject
is offered. homecoming dance.
To free; to allow to be The CEO decided to release the
Release
known. company’s profits from last year.
I rely on coffee to get my through
Rely To depend on.
my mornings.
To express disapproval or The coach reproached the players
Reproach
disappointment. for failing to play their best.
The camping trip requires that
To need for a specific
Require every participant bring their own
purpose.
food and sleeping bag.
To feel bitterness or anger I’ve always resented my sister
Resent towards someone or because she is my mother’s
something. favorite child.
 Due to his declining health, the
To give up an office or
Resign mayor decided to resign from
position.
office.
Resist the impulse to have ice
Resist To withstand the effect of.
cream for breakfast.
Matt resolved to get better grades
Resolve To come to a firm decision. next semester by studying every
night.
To confine or keep within My doctor told me to restrict
Restrict
limits. myself to one glass of wine a day.
To continue to do something I’ve decided to retain my normal
Retain
or keep something. hairstyle.
1. I felt calmer after the lion
1. To draw back in. retracted its claws.
Retract 2. To withdraw something 2. After numerous errors were
after it’s found to be untrue. found, the newspaper retracted the
story.
Alexis got out of the car to
Retrieve To bring back. retrieve the ball her little brother
had thrown.
You aren’t expected to actually
Rhetorical Used just for style or 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.
A retirement fund is one way to
Something that serves as
Safeguard safeguard your finances for the
protection or ensures safety.
future.
Scrutinize To very carefully examine. The judges were looking for
perfection, so they scrutinized
 every entry.
This section of the stadium
Section A part of the whole.
dressed completely in red.
Jane selected a blue dress to wear
Select To choose.
to the wedding.
Librarians need to know how
Things that follow each
Sequence order books in the correct
other in a certain order.
sequence.
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 don’t need to worry about
Shallow Not deep. getting your dress wet. The water
is very shallow here.
To protect from something The empty barn gave the men
Shelter
harmful. shelter during the storm.
Hopefully this cream will cause
Shrink To become smaller.
my scar to shrink.
The Gettysburg Address was a
Significant Important, noteworthy. significant event during the Civil
War.
A person, place, or thing You shouldn’t use Wikipedia as a
Source where something was source when writing school
obtained. papers.
The farm was almost empty; there
Sparse Thinly scattered. were just a few sparse trees here
and there.
You need to specify which size
To clearly indicate which
Specify shirt you want before I can order
one.
it.
Speculate To form a theory without My sister loves to speculate on the
 strong evidence. private lives of celebrities.
The hermit lives a solitary
Solitary Alone; without others.
existence deep in the mountains.
After losing the competition, the
Somber Gloomy; depressing.
chess players were very somber.
The mother sang a lullaby to
Soothe To calm or comfort.
soothe her crying baby.
The shelter was squalid and
Squalid Filthy and unpleasant.
overcrowded.
We’re lucky to live in a country
Stable Unlikely to change or fail.
with such a stable government.
With few new jobs created, the
Sluggish, showing little
Stagnant economy has remained stagnant
movement.
for the past five years.
The football team will need a
A plan to reach a desired
Strategy good strategy to win the game
outcome.
tomorrow.
The first king was a good ruler,
Coming after something in
Subsequent but subsequent kings have all been
time.
corrupt.
If you don’t have sugar, honey
A person or thing acting in
Substitute makes a good substitute for this
place of another.
recipe.
Maya’s perfume was very subtle;
Difficult to notice right
Subtle you had to get close to her to
away.
smell it.
Enough to serve a particular Make sure you have sufficient
Sufficient
purpose. food for the camping trip.
The class didn’t have time to read
To briefly give the main
Summarize the book, so the professor
points.
summarized it for them.
Supervise To oversee work or a My dad didn’t think we were old
 enough to build the fort on our
process.
own, 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. The power outage suspended
1. To temporarily stop.
the school concert.
Suspend 2. To hang something from
2. The lamp is suspended from the
somewhere.
high ceiling.
The couple became suspicious
Having the belief that when they saw strange men
Suspicious someone is doing something removing their neighbor’s
dishonest or illegal. expensive electronics during the
night.
I stopped trying to sustain the
Sustain To keep going. friendship after he made fun of
how I looked.
A cross is symbolic of
Symbolic Serving as a symbol.
Christianity.
The laptop manual is full of
Relating to a specific subject
Technical technical terms only a computer
or craft.
expert can understand.
Everyone on the train must get off
Terminal Situated at the end.
at the terminal stop.
I tolerate the rude man since he is
Tolerate To put up with.
my husband’s best friend.
To move from one place to Ben’s work is going to transfer
Transfer
another. him from Chicago to Detroit.
The transition from student to
Changing from one state or
Transition employee can often take awhile to
condition to another.
get used to.
Transparent 1. See-through material. 1. The glass vase is completely
 transparent.
2. Easy to detect. 2. Her attempt to flatter the movie
star was very transparent.
The fee for instruction at a College tuition prices have gone
Tuition
school. up in recent decades.
The prince’s bodyguards had
Unobtrusive Not attracting attention. mastered the art of being
unobtrusive.
Ian was lucky to walk away from
Unscathed Unharmed.
the car crash unscathed.
Even when she’s having a bad
Upbeat Happy; optimistic. day, my mom always has an
upbeat attitude.
Since I tried my hardest on the
Unjust Unfair. exam, I felt my teacher’s criticism
of me was unjust.
She vacillated between the two
Vacillate To waver or be indecisive. dresses before finally deciding to
wear a skirt.
The soldiers had valid concerns
Valid Just; well-founded.
about the battles they’d be facing.
The plane vanished behind the
Vanish To disappear quickly.
clouds.
To be different from
Vary
something else in a group.
Verdict A judgement or decision. The jury delivered a guilty verdict.
A small trace of something
The empty castle still had a few
Vestige that is disappearing or has
vestiges of its former wealth.
already disappeared.
A small container used to The chemist carefully filled the
Vial
hold liquids. vial with the bubbling solution.
Vilify To speak poorly of; to Mark was vilified by his angry ex-
 slander. girlfriend.
The puffy wedding dress had
Voluminous Taking up a lot of 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
Widespread
region. across that country.
Plants will wilt if you don’t water
Wilt To droop and become limp.
them regularly.