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Word Speech Difficulty Definition Example Sentence
the ability to go into (when somebody
or something must allow you to Only students have access to the
enter) university library.
noun to go into something when allowed to There is a large amount of oil under the
access verb easy enter ice, but we can’t access it.
correct (about information, not That test is not an accurate test of
accurate adjective common opinions); on target intelligence.
The best students know that to achieve
good grades, they have to study every
achieve verb easy to accomplish a goal day.
Janice isn't a doctor yet, but from her
to get (especially when you will studies she's slowly acquiring the
acquire verb easy continue to get more) knowledge and skills she'll need
A very light jacket will be adequate for
adequate adjective common good enough for what you need Los Angeles's warm winter.
to change or move a little and make The colors on this TV screen are wrong.
adjust verb common better or more accurate I'll adjust them.
the running of something or an
organization (business, school,
government, etc); the person or The university administration cancelled all
people in charge of running an school events after a bad storm left most
administration noun medium organization buildings without electricity.
to change, make different, have an Which language we speak affects how
affect verb easy effect we think about the world.
Magazines heavily alter the photos of
alter verb hard to change, to adjust celebrities they publish.
The menu includes alternatives for
students who don't eat meat.
noun other possibility or option Many words in these flashcards have
alternative adjective medium different, other than the main option alternative definitions.
The accountant was too busy with
to try to understand something better paperwork to analyze the report that said
analyze verb common by closely looking at its details the company had no money.
Everyone in Manchester was excited
about the annual game between the city's
annual adjective medium yearly; happening every year two soccer teams.
After only a few months, it was apparent
that the French would not win the war.
adjective clearly seen or understood The shark's apparent sleepiness is
apparent adjective hard seeming (but not definitely true) actually because of how cold the water is.
The sign at the park said clearly, "Do not
approach wild animals! They will bite."
to come/go closer to something or The new CEO had a very strange
verb someone approach to management, letting his
approach noun common a way to do something employees sleep whenever they wanted.
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Researchers working in many different
a range of subjects or studies, a field, area, from psychology to physics, will be
area noun hard a discipline able to use the new type of plastic.
The three most important aspects to think
a feature, a characteristic, a about when learning a language are
aspect noun hard particular part of something grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
to look closely at and figure out the Before buying a house, you should
assess verb common value or type of something always assess the building carefully.
The box was too big to carry, so John
assist verb easy to help or aid asked the store manager to assist him.
Ahmed assumed his forgetful professor
wouldn't remember their meeting, but the
professor was already waiting for him in
assume verb common to believe without proof her office.
a set way of thinking or a set feeling Zach always has a positive attitude when
attitude noun medium about something or someone he has to deal with a problem at work.
The museum director attributed the
to give an event or person credit for recently discovered painting to Van
something, like a work of art or a Gogh.
speech All of his movies have a few attributes in
verb a quality or feature that is an common: for example, there is little
attribute noun medium important part of something conversation and a lot of music.
control or responsibility over Only Congress has the authority to make
authority noun medium something (people, area, laws, etc) and pass laws for the country.
The advisor was not available too meet
all day Monday, so the student had to
available adjective easy able to be reached, used, or bought come back on Tuesday.
As Helen drove away form the gas
station, she wasn't aware that her lights
were off until she turned onto a dark
aware adjective medium to have knowledge of street.
The president flew around the country,
something good coming from an talking about the benefits of the new
benefit noun medium action, agreement, idea, plan, etc. health care law.
Before we begin class, let me briefly
brief adjective common short (about time, not length) introduce myself.
Near the age of twelve months, children
capable adjective common able to do are capable of walking.
The hotel is full to maximum capacity;
there are no empty rooms.
Few birds have the capacity to recognize
the amount or volume something can themselves when looking in a mirror;
noun hold most act as though there is a second bird
capacity noun hard ability (especially mental) behind the glass.
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New medicines face many challenges
before they can be put in stores.
In order to get the attention of females,
something difficult males of many animal species will
noun to suggest a fight or argument, to challenge each other in different ways.
verb disagree or try to fight somebody Einstein's writings challenged many ideas
challenge verb easy to say something isn't true of the time.
My professor only gives extra time to
the situation, facts or environment finish essays under special
circumstance noun easy around an event circumstances. Normally it's not allowed.
The professor was angry about the
negative comments made about his
teaching style.
an observation, note, or response A smart politician, the prime minister
noun to say a short response or opinion refused to comment on the criticisms of
comment verb easy about a given topic her newest budget plan.
Michiko committed too many grammar
to do or perform (something very errors in her essay, and that hurt her
negative, like a crime) score.
to promise to, to make a final and Before you commit to a university, be
verb unchangeable decision sure to spend some time on campus.
verb (usually "be committed to") to give all I'm completely committed to our baseball
commit verb hard of your energy to something team's success; I'd do anything to win.
The Spanish-speaking community within
a group of people living or working New York City includes millions of
community noun medium together people.
The pay at Ian's new job was low, but the
to help correct a problem with freedom his boss gave him compensated
compensate verb hard another, positive thing for that.
The science behind the atomic bomb
used in World War II was highly complex
with many different parts and difficult at the time, but it is simple compared to
complex adjective easy to understand, complicated today's nuclear science.
Many electronics are made of thousands
component noun hard a part of a whole of smaller components and wires.
You must learn to concentrate to be
to focus attention on something successful on the test.
verb to come together into a smaller The protests concentrated in the city
concentrate verb medium space parks.
Some concepts within advanced
mathematics are hard to show in the real
concept noun common an abstract idea world.
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My research team is a conducting a study
to organize and manage (for an on how the Internet is changing dating.
event that take careful planning and We are collecting information from five
conduct verb easy control) countries.
an argument, long battle, or The conflict in Syria has forced many
conflict noun medium difference of opinions people to leave the country.
result, effect, what happens because If you hurt the people around you, there
consequence noun easy of an event will be unwanted consequences.
large enough or important enough to A considerable number of popular sports
considerable adjective medium get special notice were invented in only the last 100 years.
consist verb hard to be made of The U.S. consists of fifty states.
not changing and not stopping; The river flows constantly through the
constant adjective common continuous year and never freezes.
constitute verb hard to be the pieces that make a whole Fifty states constitute the U.S.A.
Popular belief says that a pet fish's size is
constrained by the size of the tank it's in,
constrain verb hard to limit the activity of, restrict but this is actually false.
The land flooded every year, so it was
construct verb easy to build unsafe to construct buildings on it.
No country consumes more oil than the
U.S.A.
Yeast, which is used to make beer,
consume verb common to eat, to use consumes sugars to create alcohol.
An electrical wire in contact with a pool of
touching water can be extremely dangerous.
having possible or normal Liam is still in contact with many of his
communication high-school teachers, surprisingly.
noun communicating (as by email or The woman at the help desk told me to
noun phone especially) to give or get contact the student affairs office if I want
contact verb easy specific information to change rooms.
When you have difficulty understanding a
new word, look at the context. The
the information or situation around an sentence around the word might tell the
context noun common idea, event, or something that is said meaning.
The zebra's black and white stripes
contrast clearly with the yellow grass
around it.
to be clearly different from By contrasting the vocabulary of French
verb to look specifically at the differences and Spanish, we can see their different
contrast verb common between two things histories.
Over the past three years, my parents
have not contributed to my university
to give something (often money), to tuition.
help reach a goal I smoked a lot when I was younger, and
verb to add to the cause of something that's contributed to my health problems
contribute verb medium bigger today.
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to work with or communicate with the A chef at a big restaurant will spend his
different people, groups, or pieces time coordinating all the workings of the
coordinate verb hard involved in a large product kitchen, not cooking.
Although we have made improvements in
brain science, many of the core problems
adjective central, of fundamental importance remain.
core noun hard the center of something The earth's core is made of liquid rock.
This new paint for the room does not
correspond to the old paint.
My mother and father corresponded for
verb to be a close match almost two years before meeting in
correspond verb medium to send letters back and forth person.
A good TOEFL essay includes a few
the measures by which you judge or criteria, including good structure, clear
criteria noun hard decide something ideas, and natural vocabulary.
the way a group of people living in
one area normally acts, including When living in another country, it can be
noun arts, style, food, and how people talk very difficult to become comfortable in the
culture noun easy to and act with each other new culture.
We collect data on the oceans'
data noun common information, facts temperatures every year.
to argue, usually in a formal, polite Watching the presidential debates on TV
debate verb medium way did not help me decide who to vote for.
to politely say no to an invitation or I declined dinner because I had plans to
offer eat with my family instead.
to become less, fewer, or smaller For ten years, the number of fish in the
verb (usually of something good) river has declined.
verb a slow continuous loss of value, Many people say that America is in
decline noun medium power, or strength decline.
By analyzing the bones, we can deduce
to come to a conclusion through logic when the animal lived and, maybe, how it
deduce verb hard and evidence, to figure out died.
to show an example of, to prove with At eight years old, Mozart demonstrated
demonstrate verb common evidence his musical ability in London.
to get or create from All plastics are derived from oil.
(usually "be derived from") to come Many European languages are derived at
derive verb hard from, originate from least partly from Latin.
even with (when an event is
despite preposition common surprising because of some difficulty) We enjoyed our vacation despite the rain.
separate, not the same thing and Your left arm and right arm are controlled
discrete adjective hard with no parts in common by two discrete areas of the brain.
There are at least five distinct types of
distinct adjective medium clearly different from turtle living on the island.
The teacher distributed tests to the class,
and the students were happy to see they
distribute verb medium to give out something did well.
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The student population is incredibly
diverse at South State University, with
diverse adjective hard having many different types students from 30 different countries.
The element of his speech that I didn't
a part of something, usually part of like was at the end, when he talked about
element noun medium an idea religion.
After a winter spent sleeping, the bear
emerge verb hard to come out of emerges from its cave.
Most modern art emphasizes creativity
emphasize verb common to place extra importance on one part and emotion, not skill.
The classes in college will enable you to
enable verb medium to make something possible find a good job.
Although smoking is not allowed on
school campus, the ban isn't enforced,
enforce verb hard to make people follow (a rule or law) and many students smoke freely.
The male angler fish will attach
permanently to the female, and in time,
entity noun hard a thing that exists or acts as one unit the two fish will become a single entity.
Rashim used a chart to find that his 6.7
GPA in his home country was equivalent
equivalent adjective medium equal to a 3.2 GPA in the United States.
to build, to create (of a system,
organization, or idea--not a real, The U.S. government was established in
establish verb common physical thing) the late 1700s.
to determine roughly the value or
number of something, to guess a Be careful to not forget any costs for the
estimate verb medium number using some information year when you estimate your budget.
Students are evaluated by their grades
to form an idea of the the amount, on tests, homework, essays, and in-class
evaluate verb easy number or value of something interaction.
Dogs' feeling are usually evident in their
evident adjective easy clearly seen or understood, obvious actions.
to not include, to not put in a list or I eat almost anything, excluding spicy
exclude verb hard group foods. I hate hot pepper.
Blowing air into a balloon will cause it to
to make larger; to give more detail on expand, but if you blow too much air, it
expand verb easy a subject will explode!
to show or reveal something that was The politician's crimes were exposed and
expose verb medium hidden he was forced to leave his position.
Uncontrollable, external events can
outside (especially of a body or cause even a very careful company to
external adjective hard system) fail.

Classical music, unlike many types of

music, will generally facilitate learning
facilitate verb hard to make easy or easier and improve memory.
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Two of the largest factors affecting
a fact that influences or changes a children's healthy growth are food and
factor noun hard result relationships with parents.
The sound made by "r" is one of the most
difficult features of spoken English.
an important characteristic, a The university's new student housing
noun property features larger rooms than the old
feature verb common to include as an important piece building did.
I could not focus on my homework in the
library because someone was playing
to look at, think about, or give music very loudly.
attention to The focus of Justin's essay was not clear
verb the center of attention; the most to the professor, so he received a low
focus noun easy important part grade.
Ellen's business plan may have failed,
a structure for a building, system, or but it formed the framework for her next,
framework noun hard idea successful plan.
I dropped my phone into a swimming
to work; to do what something should pool, but, amazingly, it still functions.
verb do The hair on the human head has no clear
function noun common what something does, its purpose function.
Alive believes that women are
fundamentally different from men.
The fundamental beliefs of most religions
fundamental adjective common basic, central; extremely important are peaceful.
Kenya has beautiful weather and,
furthermore, does not have long nights in
furthermore adverb common also, in addition, what's more the winter.
to create, to produce (especially
generate verb hard energy) Movement generates heat.

The government has recently granted us

access to information that was secret
before.
to agree to give (something that was I disagree that snakes make good pets,
verb asked for) but I'll grant that they're easy to take care
grant verb hard to admit, to say something is true of.
The evidence is false; hence, the
hence adverb common therefore, so, as a result conclusion is also false.
an idea which explains something The hypothesis that the Earth is growing
hypothesis noun common but is unproven was shown to be false.
to name, to show or figure out what Scientists have not been able to identify
identify verb common something is the language written on the rocks.
Peter illustrated his point by telling a short
illustrate verb common to explain with an example story.
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The end of the war had a large impact on
economic growth.
My father's advice hugely impacted my
university decision.
noun an effect that changes a situation The impact of a car crash can send a
verb to affect strongly driver who doesn't wear a seat belt
impact noun hard the force of being hit hard through the window.
to communicate without saying The president implied that he would not
specifically, to hint at an idea; to lead support the new law against selling
imply verb easy to a clear conclusion tobacco, but he didn't say it clearly.
The way you speak and act indicates
indicate verb common to be a sign of, to show your emotions.
Joan was surprised that the ten books
she ordered from the Internet came
individual adjective easy single or separated; only one of together, but in individual boxes.
My initial plan was to study until midnight
and wake up late, but then I fell asleep
initial adjective medium at the beginning early.
Two animals in Australia (platypuses and
echidnas) are the only instances of
instance noun common an example, a case animals with hair that lay eggs.
In January, we will institute a plan to
make car accidents less frequent.
to start (a rule or system) The National Cancer Institute was
verb a group or organization that studies created to learn more about, and
institute noun hard or works for something specific hopefully cure, the many types of cancer.
It is difficult or even impossible to
smoothly integrate a small, foreign culture
integrate verb hard to become a part of into the main culture of a country.
The US government has had lots of
found or happening inside (a body, problems ever since internal messages
internal adjective medium organization, etc) were published on news websites.
The students could not interpret the
to figure out or explain the meaning extremely old book because the pages
interpret verb medium of something were hard to read.
to spend money, energy, or time on
something hoping for good results If you want to learn another language,
later you will have to invest a lot of your free
to spend money in the hopes of time.
making more money, usually in Jamie invested in an education company
property, financial shares, or some that he thought would succeed and make
invest verb medium other activity him rich.
Doctors are investigating a newly
to try to find answers to questions discovered plant that might help to fight
investigate verb common about something, to research cancer.
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The study of architecture involves both
involve verb common to include, to have as a part art and science.
In order to define what jazz music is, we
need to look at a few different issues.
Monarchies (governments with kings or
noun a topic or situation to talk about queens) often have several common
issue noun common a problem issues.
to give a good reason for an action or Although Milos explained for a long time,
situation (especially one that seems he could not justify borrowing his
justify verb hard bad) brother's car without asking.
a name or phrase given to a group of The meaning of the label "punk" has
things to identify them (often changed greatly in the last 30 years.
noun negative) Children are often unkind and label
label verb easy to give a label to something others who look different as outsiders.
Juan was surprised at how much labor
labor noun medium work; effort was needed to finish his project on time.
something that covers something Layers of paint on the steel bridge will
else protect it from rust.
noun to put something on top of something Sebastian layered the sandwich with all
layer verb medium else my favorite meats and cheeses.
a long speech about one topic
noun (especially in a classroom) Professor Jackson's lectures are too
lecture verb common to give a long speech about a topic long; I always fall asleep.
The news story linked the president's
to create a connection between two success with the improved economy.
verb or more things What is the link between success in life
link noun medium a connection between two things and in education?
China has maintained a friendship with
the U.S., although the two countries often
have different needs and ideas.
to continue These roads are so badly maintained that
to keep alive, to keep in good state they're difficult to drive on.
verb or condition Until his death, Christopher Columbus
verb to continue to say although people maintained that he had sailed to Asia, not
maintain verb easy disagree America.
The exam score is a major part of the
major adjective easy very important, or large in size final class grade.
In order to maximize the number of
to make as big as possible; to use or people that can fit on the plane, the
maximize verb easy do as completely as possible airline took out the restrooms.
Many mental problems are still not well
understood. We often don't know what
causes them nor how to stop them from
mental adjective easy of the mind happening.
The Spanish method of making chocolate
method noun common how to do something, a process created a completely new drink.
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The old actress was sad she had only a
minor adjective easy not very important; small in size minor role in the new movie.
to make small changes or add to in The first bicycles were slow and difficult
modify verb common order to make better to use, but they were modified over time.
We have been carefully monitoring the
to watch the quality or progress of amount of salt in our oceans for the last
something over time 50 years.
verb something or somebody which Heart rate monitors can be used for both
monitor noun hard monitors medicine and exercise.
Studying late into the night might help
you learn more, but sleeping less negates
negate verb hard to make not true or not effective the positive effects.
a system of connected pieces The typhoon destroyed the network of
(especially for transportation or roads, which has made it hard to bring
network noun medium communication) supplies and first aid to the town.
The decision was dangerous.
nevertheless adverb common however, regardless Nevertheless, Hitler attacked Russia.
I think the professor's notion of fun was
notion noun medium a belief; an idea different from the students' notion of fun.
The objective of the TOEFL is to measure
your total English ability.
a goal We can objectively measure how spicy a
noun based in fact, not an opinion, not pepper is, but how we feel about that
objective adjective hard from personal beliefs or ideas spiciness is not objective.
After lots of looking, Jorge obtained a job
obtain verb medium to get or secure something and apartment in New York City.
The results of the election were so clear
that the loser admitted defeat before
obvious adjective easy easily understood or seen voting was finished.
The dentist's office occupied the entire
occupy verb easy to be in or on a space, to fill a space fourth floor of the building.
The sinking of the Titanic occurred on
occur verb easy to happen April 14, 1912.
(usually "to be oriented") to move
into a position in line with some
specific point The statues appear to be oriented toward
(usually "to orient yourself") to the sunrise.
verb explore and become comfortable It took a few weeks to orient myself in the
orient verb hard with new job, but I feel comfortable now.
Some words might be new and difficult,
but the overall meaning of the sentence is
clear.
looking at or including all pieces or Overall, Americans eat a lot of beef,
adjective factors especially compared to people in other
overall adverb common in general, for the most part countries.
to join or take part in (a conversation, The teacher was surprised when every
participate verb easy a game, etc.) student participated in the math game.
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If hunters are skilled, the animals will not
perceive verb hard to be aware of, to sense or feel perceive their presence.
Computer technology changed a lot in the
period between the 1980s and the year
period noun easy a range or amount of time 2000.
Young children's drawings do not have
clearly defined perspective; you may see
three walls of an outside of a building, for
example.
how you see something from a Many Hollywood movies, when watched
specific place from a woman's perspective, have clearly
perspective noun hard a point of view or opinion sexist characters.
a period of time in a longer process There are at least three different phases
phase noun hard of change in a frog's development from egg to adult.
Philosophy has always tried to answer
the question "What is the meaning of
the study of knowledge or a set of life?"
theories knowledge and thought My philosophy is that if you can do
noun a basic idea of a person or something today, you shouldn't wait until
philosophy noun medium organization that affects their actions tomorrow.
Cleaning up the campus garden was
tiring, physical work.
adjective of the body (not mental); Katerina doesn't like paying for music
physical adjective easy concrete (not abstract) without a physical copy, such as a CD.
a rule made by an organization, School policy does not allow alcohol on
policy noun hard government, or company campus.
possible ability that might be used in
the future Wind and solar energy have the potential
noun having the ability to do something in to replace oil.
potential adjective medium the future China is potentially the next world leader.
Because the pirates weren't certain of the
precise location of the gold, they dug
precise adjective medium exact; carefully defined holes all over the island.
Charlie Chaplin predicted that movies
to say something will happen in the would never become popular. He was
predict verb common future wrong, clearly.
Soojin thought her science class was
happening before the one happening really hard after studying only literature in
previous adjective easy now (of a thing, event, or date) the previous year.
The primary cause of unhappiness is not
primary noun easy first in importance about money--it is bad health.
The principles at the heart of the new
a rule or idea that makes the base for religion are the same as many central
principle noun hard a system (often moral) beliefs of Christianity.
The new CEO of Yahoo called the prior
CEO of the company to get a better
prior adjective medium happening or being before understanding of the company.
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We will not proceed with the construction
until someone tells us it is safe to build
proceed verb medium to begin or continue with some action here.
Cleaning out the storage room was a big
a plan or task to reach a specific goal project, but it's nice to see it empty, now.
to predict the measurement of Based on this year's success, Apple is
something in the future from present projecting similar growth next year, too.
noun measurements Hoping to communicate with aliens,
verb to send out, to throw (of light, energy, scientists have been projecting radio
project verb common etc) messages into space for many years.
Cartoons of people often have
the size or amount of something exaggerated proportions, such as very
proportion noun hard compared to the whole or other parts large eyes or hands.
The baby elephant ran, but the pack of
lions pursued it.
Man pursued the dream of flight for
verb to follow, to chase hundreds of years before the modern
pursue verb hard to try to achieve (a dream or goal) airplane was invented.
the distance between two things (like
area, time, or intelligence) The range of scores on the test was big.
noun to be between a set minimum and In the company, the age of people ranges
range verb medium maximum from 25 to 75.
Mothers react quickly to their babies'
react verb easy to respond, act in answer to cries, even in the middle of the night.
Although most of the Japanese exchange
students come from Osaka, in the south,
Akiko comes from the northern region of
region noun easy an area of land Japan.
to put your name or other information If you'd like to buy a meal plan, you can
in a list for something register at the student affairs office.
verb to identify and show on a tool for The bomb was so strong that far away
register verb common measuring weather balloons registered the heat.
to have control over a process so Parents regulate the amount of time kids
regulate verb medium that it functions properly spend playing games on their phones.
to say no to something offered, to After applying to ten schools, Lucas was
reject verb easy refuse or decline rejected by nine of them.
I think Professor McGarry can give you
closely connected to the topic and some relevant books to help you write
relevant adjective easy therefore important that essay.
In many countries, children rely on their
to depend on, to need in order to parents for food, money, and housing
rely verb easy continue well until they are over 20 years old.
The grocery store removed all of the milk
after the government said it was unsafe
remove verb easy to take away or take out to drink.
verb to need for a specific purpose; to set All life, plants and animals included,
require verb common as the minimum requires water.
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After growing up on an island, Malika
hoped to research ocean temperatures in
to find or search for more information graduate school.
about something Dr. Stanislaus was famous for his
verb information collected about research on changes in health education
research noun easy something (usually academic) over the past 100 years.
reside verb medium to live in a place I reside in California.
Even after meeting for hours, the
to agree; to decide; to solve a government leaders still could not resolve
resolve verb easy problem or argument their argument over new taxes.
Many of the richest countries have
some saved material that can be surprisingly few natural resources and
used for a purpose (especially must buy oil or gas from other countries.
money, anything used to make Never forget to make use of the library
energy such as oil, or information during your studies; it's full of great
resource noun easy sources such as books) resources.
Waiters who respond to customers'
questions with a smile generally get more
money.
If you scare a turtle, it will respond by
respond verb easy answer; react hiding in its shell.
to limit, to make some actions Access to this parking area is restricted:
restrict verb common impossible only university students may use it.
Originally from France, Jean retains a
retain verb hard to keep, continue to have or contain hint of her French accent even today.
Student class president is an important
role noun medium a job or function; a position role.
Microsoft's marketing scheme for their
new tablet computer was less than
successful.
a large plan The modern scheme for naming different
the system by which something is types of plants and animals started
scheme noun hard arranged around 1800.
Every ant's body has three sections: a
one of a number of pieces which head, a thorax (where the legs are), and
section noun easy come together to create a whole an abdomen (the back).
to attach something so that is won't Please tightly secure the surfboards on
secure verb medium come off top of the car.
Across many different cultures' stories,
seek verb hard to look for, to try to find heroes seek more than just gold or fame.
There are four different math courses you
may select from in your first year.
Harvard students are a select group of
verb to choose very intelligent, successful students who
select adjective common chosen as the best from a group are often from rich families.
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Part of
Word Speech Difficulty Definition Example Sentence

Please help me shift the table so it is

to move something a short distance easier for people to sit down.
verb a small change in position or The recent shift that the coach made is
shift noun medium direction helping the team win more games.
important or big enough that you Most animals spend a significant amount
significant adjective common should notice or pay attention of their time looking for food.
The people of the city voted for a site
downtown as the location of the new
site noun medium the location of something sports stadium.
Do not trust books that give information
without listed sources. The facts could be
source noun easy where something comes from false.
The king told the hero that he could marry
to say which one or clearly point to one of the princesses but did not specify
specify verb easy which one which daughter.
not likely to change, fall, or move
secure (as in employment, finances, Make sure the ladder is stable before you
stable adjective medium housing, etc) climb up it!
The status of women has slowly
the rank or social class of someone improved over the past 100 years, and it
or something continues to improve.
the current situation that something What's the status of the new library? Are
status noun medium is in they finished building it yet?
The debate team spent the evening
a plan of action to reach a desired discussing their strategy for defeating the
strategy noun easy goal other team
If you stress the wrong words or sounds
when speaking English, you may not be
verb to place extra importance on one part understood.
noun extra importance placed on one part Final exams are soon, and so stress
stress noun common pressure, strain, tension; worry levels are high among students.
Both the winter and the subsequent
spring were surprisingly dry, with neither
subsequent adjective hard immediately after snow nor rain.
to take out and put something else in
the same place (usually something Because we didn't have any, we
worse) substituted the sugar with juice.
verb something that goes in the place of Many cigarette smokers who try to quit
substitute noun common the normal thing use chewing gum as a substitute.
Because of weather changes, last year
farms couldn't grow sufficient rice to feed
sufficient adjective common enough in amount for what you need the country.
to help something continue, to keep No animals or plants can sustain life
sustain verb medium going without water.
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Part of
Word Speech Difficulty Definition Example Sentence
an idea or belief about how/why There are many theories about why we
theory noun common something works dream.
a set of beliefs or a culture that is
passed from family to family over a Chris's favorite tradition is eating ham on
tradition noun medium long period of time Christmas.
Sally transferred all of her money from
to pass from one person or thing to American National Bank when she heard
transfer verb easy another they were closing.
noun the direction or way in which Today's computer culture is trending
trend verb common something is changing toward more touch-screen technology.
There is no single way to put an end to
drug addiction since there are many
underlying adjective hard forming the basis for something underlying causes.
Many people have said the artist Jackson
Pollack's work didn't require much skill,
valid adjective hard from a reasonable or correct basis and that idea is somewhat valid.
to be a different size, amount, or
character when compared to The restaurants in this area vary greatly
vary verb medium something else in a similar group in quantity and price.
A perfect government would care more
how healthy and happy a person or about the welfare of its people than
welfare noun hard group is anything else.
conjunctio although (used to contrast two Lemons are very sour whereas most
whereas n common different things) fruits are sweet.

Additional Resources:
● Magoosh TOEFL Online Flashcards​: Includes all the words listed above. Also available as apps for
Android and iPhone!
● Magoosh TOEFL Blog
● Magoosh TOEFL Online Prep​: Lesson videos and practice questions with video explanations
● Magoosh TOEFL YouTube Channel

Happy studying! :)