Essential Words for the TOEFL (7th edition) » Lesson 14

Word List
  • ample
    adv. amply
    →
    adj. more than enough
    syn. sufficient
    There is ample evidence that the young man was speeding when the accident occurred.
    She was amply paid for the work she completed.
  • arduous
    adv. arduously; n. arduousness
    →
    adj. very difficult or challenging; requiring hard work
    syn. demanding
    The mountain tour guides climbed the mountain at an arduous pace.
    The farmer’s crops survived despite the arduous summer heat.
  • arid
    →
    adj. being of little rain or water
    syn. dry
    The area known as the Sahara Desert is one of the most arid places in the world.
    The valley on the leeward side of the mountain was extremely arid.
  • avert
    n. aversion; adj. avertable
    →
    v. to stop from occurring; to turn away or aside
    syn. prevent
    She could have averted the accident if she had not been texting while driving.
    The citizens packed sandbags along the river bank to avert the flooding of their streets.
  • defy
    adv. defyingly; adj. defying
    →
    v. to show little fear or regard for rules or established norms; to challenge
    syn. resist
    I defy you to find that book in the library’s collection.
    The circus performer demonstrated her death-defying routine.
  • diligent
    n. diligence; adv. diligently
    →
    adj. done with persistence and hard work; with attention to details
    syn. conscientious
    Stephanie displayed great diligence in the completion of her assignments.
    The diligent worker received recognition for his accomplishments.
  • enact
    adj. enacted; n. enactment
    →
    v. to pass a law
    syn. legislate
    Congress enacted the legislation during its last session.
    The enactment of the laws was in the hands of the Senate.
  • feign
    adj. feigned
    →
    v. to pretend; make believe
    syn. simulate
    She feigned illness when it was time to visit the dentist.
    The athlete feigned his injury.
  • fertile
    v. fertilize; n. fertility; n. fertilizer
    →
    adj. able to produce abundantly
    syn. rich
    The delta areas of rivers are known for their fertile soil.
    Fertilizers are used on crops to increase yields.
  • freshly
    adj. fresh; v. freshen; n. freshness
    →
    adv. caught or produced not long ago
    syn. recently
    Freshly harvested produce is hard to find in the winter months.
    The product’s freshness depends on an efficient transportation system to bring it to market.
  • function
    adv. functionally; adj. functional; v. function
    →
    n. the normal purpose of something
    syn. role
    It is the function of the director to organize and lead the department.
    Most appliances cannot function without electricity.
  • fundamental
    adv. fundamentally
    →
    adj. a primary or basic element
    syn. essential
    The student government promised fundamental changes in the registration process.
    He is fundamentally strong in his area of expertise.
  • indiscriminate
    adv. indiscriminately
    →
    adj. not chosen carefully; unplanned
    syn. arbitrary
    The indiscriminate arrangement of the products made the store confusing.
    The book’s chapters seem to be organized indiscriminately.
  • pinpoint
    adj. pinpoint
    →
    v. to find or describe something with precision
    syn. locate
    The engineers were immediately able to pinpoint the problem with the bridge.
    The new, advanced thermometer measures the temperature with pinpoint accuracy.
  • selective
    adv. selectively; adv. select; v. select; n. selection; n. selectivity
    →
    adj. carefully chosen
    syn. discriminating
    They were very selective when they chose the members of the academic team.
    He selected Spanish as his language class.
  • spacious
    adv. spaciously; n. space; n. spaciousness
    →
    adj. having a lot of room syn. expansive
    The spacious plains of the Midwest make up the nation’s breadbasket.
    A vacuum is an empty space.
  • withstand
    →
    v. to fight without surrender; to persist
    syn. survive
    She cannot withstand the pressures of her job.
    The old building withstood the terrible storm.
Matching

Choose the synonym.

  1. sufficient
    • a. crucial
    • b. essential
    • c. ample
    • d. extensive
  2. survive
    • a. erode
    • b. weaken
    • c. elude
    • d. withstand
  3. defy
    • a. resist
    • b. determine
    • c. simulate
    • d. discriminate
  4. arduous
    • a. predictable
    • b. demanding
    • c. functional
    • d. chronic
  5. arid
    • a. dry
    • b. fertile
    • c. fresh
    • d. drab
  6. avert
    • a. prevent
    • b. amaze
    • c. assert
    • d. allow
  7. selective
    • a. inaccessible
    • b. rich
    • c. recent
    • d. discriminating
  8. diligent
    • a. fundamental
    • b. erratic
    • c. evident
    • d. conscientious
  9. spacious
    • a. crucial
    • b. superficial
    • c. minuscule
    • d. expansive
  10. pinpoint
    • a. locate
    • b. enact
    • c. dictate
    • d. sustain
Multiple-Choice Test Questions

  1. Naturally formed caves evolve mainly as a result of the solvent action of water and the chemical compounds it contains. Known as caves of solution, they are most common in regions that have ample rainfall.

    The word ample in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. infrequent
    • b. abundant
    • c. exemplary
    • d. erratic
  2. In the early days of gliding, gliders were towed by cars. Today, gliders are towed in the sky by airplanes to a height between 600 and 900 meters above the ground. Flight duration depends on finding updrafts of air along mountain slopes, near cumulus clouds, or over arid terrain where rising thermal currents occur.

    The word arid in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. rocky
    • b. hot
    • c. dry
    • d. high
  3. The Conestoga Indians were a powerful people, defying the invading Iroquois, until the Iroquois defeated them in about 1675. Part of the tribe fled to the Roanoke River. Others subsequently settled at Conestoga, near what is now Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

    The word defying in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. ridiculing
    • b. honoring
    • c. resisting
    • d. overthrowing
  4. Fasting has been practiced for centuries for many diverse purposes. Some fasts were to induce fertility. Others were intended to avert catastrophe or to serve as penance for sin. American Indians held tribal fasts to escape threatening disasters. The Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru observed penitential fasts to pacify their gods.

    The word avert in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. overcome
    • b. assert
    • c. confirm
    • d. prevent
  5. Monte Albán, near Oaxaca, Mexico, was the center of the Zapotec culture that flourished around the year 100 A.D. Its gigantic stone structures were set around a spacious plaza created by leveling the top of a mountain.

    The word spacious in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. exhaustive
    • b. expansive
    • c. circular
    • d. fertile
  6. Space exploration has had its share of problems throughout the years. A flaw in the Challenger’s design led to a fatal accident in 1986, the Mir station was often in trouble, and the Columbia shuttle crashed on reentry in 2003. Despite these tragedies, the program has profited from its mistakes, and from new engineering and new materials. Today, NASA is confident that spacecraft are fundamentally sound and perfectly safe.

    In saying that spacecraft are fundamentally sound, the author means that they are
    • a. basically well designed and built.
    • b. equipped with electronic music.
    • c. dangerously old and worn.
    • d. entirely new and experimental.
  7. Food serves three functions in most living organisms. First, it provides material that is used to sustain the activities of the organism. Second, food supplies the electron donors required for the formative processes that occur within the cell. Third, food provides the materials from which all of the structural components of the living cell can be assembled.

    The word functions in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. cores
    • b. facets
    • c. resolutions
    • d. roles
  8. Harvested wood is dried and preserved as a treatment against insect infestation and rot. These processes ensure that it will last. Some wood products, such as posts and poles, are freshly cut. Most other wood products are made up of intermediate materials, which require further processing before they are manufactured into final products.

    The word freshly in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. hardly
    • b. recently
    • c. routinely
    • d. scarcely
  9. Loess is topsoil left by glaciers. Vast deposits of loess make the Midwestern plain of the United States extremely fertile and one of the most important farming areas in the world. In addition, the soils in the land along the many rivers and streams of the region also add to its farming potential.

    The word fertile in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. rich
    • b. hardy
    • c. vital
    • d. adaptable
  10. Since opossums are largely arboreal, their homes are often found in hollow trees or under stumps and roots. Feigning death is one of the opossum’s principal defense mechanisms. This confuses its predators, protecting the opossum from danger.

    The word feigning in the passage is closest in meaning to
    • a. imagining
    • b. enacting
    • c. pretending
    • d. displaying
Answer Key
Favorite Books
Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know

The study of the English language has spread all over the world, and high school and college students everywhere have come to realize that language mastery depends on the possession of a comprehensive vocabulary. This is just what 1100 Words You Need to Know has been offering through the five earlier editions and continuing on this sixth one.

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