400 Words for TOEFL (Unknown ones) Flashcards
irrigation
The supplying of water to dry land
In dry areas of the country, you can see ditches all over the farm- land for irrigation.
precipitation
Water that falls to the Earth’s surface
famine
Severe hunger; a drastic food shortage
persevere
To keep going, despite obstacles or discouragement; to maintain a purpose
plunge
To go down suddenly; to decrease by a great amount in a short time
constraint
Something that restricts thought or action
The constraints of military life kept Eileen from seeing Private Mor- ris more than once a month.
deplete
To greatly decrease the supply of a resource or material The prolonged war depleted the country’s national treasury
dispose of
To throw away; to get rid of; to kill
She disposed of her unwanted possessions before moving. The tyrant cruelly disposed of all his enemies.
elementally
In terms of elements; basically Elementally, coal and diamonds are the same.
arbitrary
Chosen simply by whim or chance, not for any specific
reason. The decision to build a school in Blackberry Township was
arbitrary, without any thought to future housing patterns.
denominator
The number written below the line in a fraction In the fraction 1⁄2, the number 2 is the denominator.
Usage tips The phrase lowest common denominator means “the most basic and unsophisticated things that most people share.”
infinitesimal
Immeasurably small
The number of contaminants in the water was infinitesimal, so the water was safe to drink.
rate
The cost per unit of a good or service; the motion or change that happens in a certain time.
Postal rates in Japan are among the highest in the world.
adjacent
Next to
Even though the villages are adjacent to each other, their residents
speak different languages.
feasibly
Practically; in a way that can work
Scientists can’t feasibly bring energy from deep ocean currents to
where it is needed—on land.
gut
To empty or hollow out
In order to remodel the house, we must first gut it and throw away
all the old fixtures.
integrally
In a whole or complete manner
Writing and spelling are taught integrally as part of the reading program.
retain
To keep or hold
The rain fell so heavily that the banks of the river could not retain all the water.
seep
To pass slowly for a long time, as a liquid or gas might
As the containers rusted, the toxic waste seeped into the ground
circulate
To move throughout an area or group; to move along a
somewhat circular route
The gossip circulated quickly through the small town
corrode
To be slowly weakened by chemical reactions
Sitting in salt water, the old coins corroded and became very easy to
break.
derive
To come from, usually through a long, slow process The Cyrillic alphabet was derived from the Greek alphabet
detection
Discovering something that cannot easily be found With new medical technology, the detection of cancer is much easier
nowadays.
expeditiously
Quickly and efficiently
Using carrier pigeons, the military commanders exchanged mes-
sages expeditiously.
combustion
The process of burning
When air quality is poor, combustion of materials in a fireplace is
prohibited.
convey
To transport from one place to another; to transmit or make
known
A messenger conveyed the prince’s letter to the commander of the army.
discretely
Separately; distinctly
In order to understand how the engine worked, each component needed to be studied discretely.
nucleus
A central or essential part around which other parts are
gathered; a core
The nucleus of many European cities is the town square.
permeate
Tospreadorflowthroughout;topassthroughorpenetrate The smell of cooking permeated the entire apartment building.
acquisition
The act of taking possession of something
Our recent acquisition of over 2,000 books makes ours the biggest
library in the region.
anomaly
Something unusual
White tigers get their beautiful coloring from a genetic anomaly
consciously
With awareness of one’s actions
He may have hurt her feelings, but he never would have done so
consciously.
recede
To move back or away from
After the age of 30, his hairline began to recede further back from his forehead
retrieve
To bring or get back
Most dogs can be trained to retrieve objects that their owners have thrown
agnostic
Believing that humans cannot know whether there is
a god
His devoutly Christian parents had problems with his agnostic beliefs.
animism
The belief that natural objects, such as trees, have souls
Desert cultures that practice animism often believe that winds con- tain spirits.
be inclined to
To favor an opinion or a course of action
He couldn’t say which candidate he favored, but he had always
been inclined to vote Republican.
deify
To worship as a god
When people deify the leader of their country, the leader is able to
abuse power more easily.
ecclesiastical
Relating to a church
He was looking specifically for a university where he could study
ecclesiastical history.
exalt
To praise or honor
He would often exalt the virtues of his new wife.
pious
Having or exhibiting religious reverence
Sometimes she was so pious that the rest of us felt like heathens.
aggravate
To make worse; to anger or intensify Running will aggravate your sore knees.
decrepit
Weakened or worn out because of age, illness, or exces-
sive use
The once-beautiful building was now dirty, decrepit, and roofless.
fatally
Causing death or disaster
The soldier was fatally wounded in the battle.
forensics
The use of science and technology to investigate facts in criminal cases
Advances in the study of forensics have made it much easier to identify criminals from very small traces of evidence.
persist
To continue to exist; to hold to a purpose, despite any
obstacle
If your symptoms persist, you should go see a doctor.
vein
Any of the tubes that form a branching system, especially those
that carry blood to the heart
She became fascinated with human anatomy, especially when she
learned how veins transport oxygen.
anesthesia
Techniques for reducing sensation and feeling, especially
to control pain
The Civil War was the first American war when anesthesia was widely used in surgery on soldiers.
augment
To make bigger or better by adding to
In some types of popular cosmetic surgery people augment parts of
their bodies.
The college augmented its course offerings because students com- plained that there were too few choices.
certifiably
In a manner that is officially recognized
He couldn’t be institutionalized until he was declared certifiably
insane.
inject
To insert a liquid by means of a syringe
The doctor used a needle to inject the medicine slowly into her arm.
obese
Excessively overweight
More Americans are obese now because U.S. culture encourages overeating and discourages exercise.
procedure
A specific way of performing or doing something
The flight attendant explained the emergency evacuation
procedure.
divination
Foretelling the future by finding patterns in physical
objects
In Turkey, women offer divinations by reading the dregs from a cof- fee cup.
haunt
To continually appear (in the form of a ghost) in the same
place or to the same person
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Ghosts 61
Some say the ghost of Princess Hilda haunts this castle, appearing as a headless form while she plays the piano.
dreg
Abschaum, Bodensatz
horror
Strong fear mixed with disgust
On Halloween night, all the horror movies were rented out.
intermediary
Acting as an agent between people or things
The plaintiff’s lawyer suggested that they hire an intermediary to help them discuss their case.
plaintiff
Kläger
self-perpetuating
Having the power to renew oneself for an in-
definite period of time
It is difficult to escape from a lie, as they are often self-perpetuating.
psychic
Relating to the supposed ability of the human mind to sense things that cannot be observed
The governor’s assistant claimed to have unique psychic abilities enabling him to read people’s minds.
assimilate
To consume and incorporate; to become similar
Not all of the overseas students could assimilate into the rigidly controlled school.
cremation
The act of burning the dead
Cremation is particularly common in Japan, where land for burial is
very limited.
domesticate
To make something suitable for being in a home The Barnes family hoped to domesticate the tiger, but their neigh-
bors were skeptical.
fossilize
Tobecomepreservedinclayorstoneorashafterdeath,so that a natural record is left of the original organism; to become rigid and stuck in old ways
relic
Something left from a long-ago culture, time period, or person Relics of the war can still be found in the sand dunes along this
shore.
rite
A ceremony meant to achieve a certain purpose
Many cultures have fertility rites that supposedly make it more likely for women to bear children.
ritually
As part of a traditional ceremony or habit
The children ritually kissed their parents on the cheek before bed
saga
A long story about important events long ago
Many American families tell sagas about their ancestors’ arrival in the United States.
vestige
A visible trace that something once existed
The wilted flowers were the only vestige of their romantic weekend.
amend
To change for the better
The residents voted to amend their neighborhood policy on fences
biased
Leaning unfairly in one direction
Her newspaper article was criticized for being heavily biased toward the mayor’s proposal.
burden
Something that is carried; a source of stress or worry
The donkey walked slowly under the burden of its heavy load.
The failing company faced the burden of bad debts and a poor reputation.
counter
To act in opposition to; to offer in response
The hockey player countered the punch with a smashing blow from
his hockey stick.
Jane countered every accusation with a specific example of her achievements.
de facto
Truly doing a job, even if not officially
Popular support established the Citizens Party as the de facto government.
discriminate
To choose carefully among options
The governor wisely discriminated between urgent issues and those that could wait.
notion
A belief; a fanciful impulse
The notion that older office equipment is unreliable is inaccurate. One morning, she suddenly took the notion to paint her kitchen red
oppress
To keep down by force; to weigh heavily on
Factory management oppressed workers through intimidation.
paradigm
A pattern or model; a set of assumptions
The usual paradigm for economic growth in developed countries does not apply to some poor nations.
prejudiced
Causing to judge prematurely and unfairly
Many consumers are prejudiced against commercial goods made in
third-world countries.
distinctly
Clearly
I distinctly remember saying that we would meet at noon.
erudite
Highly educated
Even though Stella was only a freshman, she was considered erudite by both her classmates and her professors.
fortify
To strengthen
The high-priced drink had extra vitamins and minerals to fortify
the body.
implicitly
Without being stated; unquestioningly
By joining the competition, she agreed implicitly to the rules.
parochial
Restricted in outlook; relating to the local parish
Marla moved from her rural community to get away from its parochial thinking.
rigor
Strictness; difficult situations that come from following rules strictly
The wrestler followed his diet with rigor.
The rigors of military life toughened the young men quickly.
roster
A list, especially of names
Two of the names on the roster were misspelled.
secular
Worldly rather than spiritual; not related to religion Few private schools in the United States are secular.
suspend
To cause to stop for a period; to hang as to allow free movement
The trial was suspended when the judge learned that one of the jury members knew the defense lawyer.
The circus acrobat was suspended in midair.
allegiance
Loyalty
My allegiance to my country is based on respect for its principles.
artillery
Large guns that shoot powerful shells; army units that han-
dle such guns
An artillery barrage broke down the city’s thick walls within seconds.
The 47th Artillery fired on rebels camped in the city center.
cease
Stop
The lightning continued even after the thunder had ceased.
in the trenches adv’l
In the middle of the hardest fighting or work With their unrealistic view of this war, our generals don’t know
what things are like out in the trenches.
rank
To put into a many-leveled order, depending on importance or
achievement
The Marines ranked Jim Hurst highest among all their officer can- didates.
ratio
The relationship of one number or amount to another
Military analysts say that the ratio of attackers to defenders in a battle should be about three to one for the attackers to win.
strategic
Related to long-term plans for achieving a goal The United States has formed strategic friendships with Tajikistan
and Mongolia to have Central Asian bases in the future.
annex
To make something (usually land) part of another unit
Bardstown grew by annexing several farms at the north edge of town.
apex
The highest point
Gregory knew that his running skills had to be at their apex during the tournament.
