McGraw-Hill's 400 Must-Have Words for the TOEFL Review

A collection of vocabulary flashcards for the TOEFL, including word definitions and success strategies from the course text.

corpus

A body of words used in creating the actual TOEFL test.

abandon

To leave; to give up.

adversely

In a harmful way; negatively.

aggregate

Gathered into or amounting to a whole.

cultivation

Preparing the land to grow crops; improvement for agricultural purposes.

fertilize

To supply with nourishment for plants by adding helpful substances to the soil.

intensify

To increase in power; to act with increased strength.

irrigation

The supplying of water to dry land.

obtain

To gain possession of; to get.

photosynthesis

The process by which green plants make their own food by combining water, salts, and carbon dioxide in the presence of light.

precipitation

Water that falls to the Earth’s surface.

as a result

Therefore; for this reason.

anticipate

To expect; to sense something before it happens.

catastrophic

Extremely harmful; causing financial or physical ruin.

collide

To come together with great or violent force.

eruption

A sudden, often violent, outburst.

famine

Severe hunger; a drastic food shortage.

flood

An overflowing of water; an excessive amount.

impact

A strong influence.

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.

unleash

To release a thing or an emotion.

despite this

Even so; regardless.

adapt

To adjust to the circumstances; to make suitable.

diverse

Various; showing a lot of differences within a group.

evolve

To develop; to come forth.

feature

Part, characteristic.

generation

A group of people born at about the same time.

inherent

Naturally characteristic; always found within something, because it’s a basic part of that thing.

migration

Movement from one place to another by a group of people or animals.

physical

Related to the body; related to materials that can be seen or felt.

process

A series of steps leading to a result.

survive

To continue living (despite some danger or illness).

further thought

Looking deeper; thinking more.

constraint

Something that restricts thought or action.

contamination

Being made less clean by a germ or hazardous substance.

deplete

To greatly decrease the supply of a resource or material.

dispose of

To throw away; to get rid of; to kill.

elementally

In terms of elements; basically.

emission

Sending out from a small space into the general environment; a substance discharged into the air.

extinction

Complete disappearance; the end of existence.

reservoir

A place where a liquid is collected and stored.

shrink

To become reduced in size, amount, or value.

stable

Firm and dependable; showing little change.

adjust

To change; to get accustomed to something.

arbitrary

Chosen simply by whim or chance, not for any specific reason.

denominator

The number written below the line in a fraction.

exponentially

At a very fast rate.

infinitesimal

Immeasurably small.

maximize

To increase or make as great as possible.

parallel

Being an equal distance apart everywhere.

proportion

A part in relation to the whole.

rate

The cost per unit of a good or service; the motion or change that happens in a certain time.

sequence

To organize or arrange in succession.

accuracy

Precision; exactness.

adjacent

Next to.

compress

To press together.

feasibly

Practically; in a way that can work.

gut

To empty or hollow out.

integrally

In a whole or complete manner.

overlap

To lie over part of something; to have elements in common.

retain

To keep or hold.

seep

To pass slowly for a long time, as a liquid or gas might.

structure

Something constructed, such as a building.

circulate

To move throughout an area or group; to move along a somewhat circular route.

corrode

To be slowly weakened by chemical reactions.

derive

To come from, usually through a long, slow process.

detection

Discovering something that cannot easily be found.

expeditiously

Quickly and efficiently.

implement

To make use of; to carry out.

innovative

Ahead of the times; novel.

installation

Setting something into position for use.

maintenance

The act of keeping something in good condition.

simulation

An imitation or representation.