TOEFL wordlist 23

1. radioactive [ˌreɪdiəʊˈæktɪv]

adj. Something that is radioactive contains a substance that produces energy in the form of powerful and harmful rays.

Radioactive waste disposal practices have changed substantially over the last twenty years.

2. incapacitate [ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪteɪt]

v. If something incapacitates you, it weakens you in some way, so that you cannot do certain things.

Helen's poor sight incapacitates her for working as a taxi driver.

3. potassium [pəˈtæsiəm]

n. Potassium is a soft silvery-white chemical element, which occurs mainly in compounds. These compounds are used in making such things as glass, soap, and fertilizers.

4. crippling [ˈkrɪplɪŋ]

(1). adj. A crippling illness or disability is one that severely damages your health or your body.

(2). adj. If you say that an action, policy, or situation has a crippling effect on something, you mean it has a very serious, harmful effect.

Despite the advances in the medical sciences, there are still many crippling diseases that affect people.

5. slip [slɪp]

(1). v. If you slip, you accidentally slide and lose your balance.

(2). v. If something slips, it slides out of place or out of your hand.

(3). v. If you slip somewhere, you go there quickly and quietly.

(4). v. If you slip something somewhere, you put it there quickly in a way that does not attract attention.

(5). v. If you slip something to someone, you give it to them secretly.

(6). v. To slip into a particular state or situation means to pass gradually into it, in a way that is hardly noticed.

(7). v. If something slips to a lower level or standard, it falls to that level or standard.

(8). v. If you slip into or out of clothes or shoes, you put them on or take them off quickly and easily.

(9). n. A slip is a small or unimportant mistake.

(10). n. A slip of paper is a small piece of paper.

(11). n. A slip is a thin piece of clothing that a woman wears under her dress or skirt.

(12). n. If you refer to someone as a slip of a girl or a slip of a boy, you mean they are small, thin, and young.

(13). phrase. If you give someone the silp, you escape from them when they are following you or watching you.

(14). phrase. If you let slip information, you accidentally tell it to someone, when you wanted to keep it secret.

(15). phrase. If something slips your mind, you forget about it.

His hat had slipped over one eye.

The little boy recited the whole poem without making a single slip.

6. impending [ɪmˈpendɪŋ]

adj. An impending event is one that is going to happen very soon.

Some members of the flock warn others of impending dangers.

7. gist [dʒɪst]

n. The gist of a speech, conversation, or piece of writing is its general meaning.

I cannot understand the gist of this complicated reading material.

8. perspicuous [pə'spɪkjʊəs]

Such solutions were more manageable, more perspicuous, and can be applied.

9. skim [skɪm]

(1). v. If you skim something from the surface of a liquid, you remove it.

(2). v. If something skims a surface, it moves quickly along just above it.

(3). v. If you skim a piece of writing, you read through it quickly.

You must skim through the play quickly, for you have forgotten the plot.

10. podium [ˈpəʊdiəm]

n. A podium is a small platform on which someone stands in order to give a lecture or conduct an orchestra.

Upon hearing my name, I nervously inched my way to the podium.

11. transcribe [trænˈskraɪb]

(1). v. If you transcribe a speech or text, you write it out in a different form from the one in which it exists, for example by writing it out in full form notes or from a tape recording.

(2). v. If you transcribe a piece of music for an instrument which is not the one for which it was originally written, you rewrite it so that it can be played on that instrument.

Clerks transcribe everything that is said in court.

12. abbey [ˈæbi]

n. An abbey is a church with buildings attached to it in which monks or nuns live or used to live.

The stone abbey was built around 1045-1050 by the King as part of his palace.

13. batter [ˈbætə(r)]

(1). v. If someone is battered, they are regularly hit and badly hurt by a member of their family or by their partner.

(2). v. To batter someone means to hit them many time, using fists or a heavy object.

(3). v. If a place is battered by wind, rain, or storms, it is seriously damaged or affected by very bad weather.

(4). v. If you batter something, you hit it many times, using your fists or a heavy object.

(5). n. Batter is a mixture of flour, eggs, and milk that is used in cooking.

(6). n. In sports such as baseball and softball, a batter is a person who hits the ball with a wooden bat.

Severe winds have been battering the east coast.

14. syllabus [ˈsɪləbəs]

(1). n. You can refer to the subjects that are studied in a particular course as the syllabus.

(2). n. A syllabus is an outline or summary of the subjects to be covered in a course.

The syllabus aims at arousing curiosities and interests in children to share their ideas and experiences.

15. brag [bræɡ]

v. If you brag, you say in a very proud way that you have something or have done something.

The captain said after winning the match:"I don't want to brag about myself, and this victoru belongs to everyone. "

16. curtsy [ˈkɜːtsi]

v. If a woman or a girl curtsies, she lowers her body briefly, bending her knees and sometimes holding her skirt with both hands, as a way of showing respect for an important person.

The ballerina curtsied to the audience before leaving the stage.

17. lope [ləʊp]

v. If a person or animal lopes somewhere, they run in an easy and relaxed way, taking long steps.

The dog loped along beside the old man.

18. palate [ˈpælət]

(1). n. Your palate is the top part of the inside of your mouth.

(2). n. You can refer to someone's palate as a way of talking about their ability to judge good food or drink.

He has no palate for red wine.

19. squabble [ˈskwɒbl]

v. When people squabble, they quarrel about something that is not really important.

The girls were squabbling over what to watch on TV.

A: It's not fun being around Dabble and Mike these days. All they do is quarrel.

B: I've noticed it too. I wish they would keep their squabbles to themselves.

20. hive [haɪv]

(1). n. A hive is a structure in which bees are kept, which is designed so that the beekeeper can collect the honey that they produce.

(2). n. If you describe a place as a hive of activity, you approve of the fact that there is a lot of activity there or that people are busy working there.

(3). n. Hives is a condition in which patches of your skin become red and very uncomfortable and itchy.

The IT Department is being hived off into a new company.

21. tempt [tempt]

(1). v. Something that tempts you attracts you and makes you want it, even though it may be wrong or harmful.

(2). v. If you tempt someone, you offer them something they want in order to encourage them to do what you want them to do.

(3). phrase. If someone says that something they say or do is tempting fate or is tempting providence, they mean they are worried that it may cause the good luck they have had so far to end.

The government designs a new program to tempt young people into traching in poor areas.

22. resort [rɪˈzɔːt]

(1). v. If you resort to a course of action that you do not really approve of, you adopt it because you cannot see any other way of achieving what you want.

(2). n. If you achieve something without resort to a particular course of action, you succeed without carrying out that action. To have resort to a particular course of action means to have to do that action in order to achieve something.

(3). n. A resort is a place where a lot of people spend their holidays.

(4). phrase. If you do something as a last resort, you do it because you can find no other way of getting out of a difficult situation or of solving a problem.

(5). phrase. You use in the last resort when stating the most basic or important fact that will still be true in a situation whatever else happens.

A woodworker can join a chest together without resorting to nails or glue.

23. ravine [rəˈviːn]

n. A ravine is a very deep narrow valley with steep sides.

A ravine is narrower than a canyon.

24. meteorologist [ˌmiːtiəˈrɒlədʒɪst]

Many radio and television weather forecasters and professional meteorologists, while others are merely reporters with no formal meteorological training.

25. crevice [ˈkrevɪs]

n. A crevice is a narrow crack or gap, especially in a rock.

Crevice corrosion usually occurs at narrow openings or spaces between two metal surfaces.

26. counteract [ˌkaʊntərˈækt]

v. To counteract something means to reduce its effect by doing something that produces an opposite effect.

Antacid will counteract the excess acid in your stomach.

27. crater [ˈkreɪtə(r)]

n. A crater is a very large hole in the ground, which has been caused by something hitting it or by an explosion.

After the volcano erupted, lava domes formed inside the new crater.

28. sac [sæk]

n. A sac is a small part of an animal's body, shaped like a little bag. It contains air, liquid, or some other substance.

29. aesthetic [iːsˈθetɪk]

adj. Aesthetic is used to talk about beauty or art, and people's appreciation of beautiful things.

One of the oldest types of aesthetic theory is that of formalism.

The new furniture was more aesthetic than functional.

30. provincialism [prəˈvɪnʃəlɪzəm]

n. Provincialism is the holding of old-fashioned attitudes and opinions, which some people think is typical of people in areas away from the capital city of a country.

While reflecting on provincialism, it is also important to re-think about the citizenship in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural context.

31. extrinsic [eksˈtrɪnzɪk]

adj. Extrinsic reasons, forces, or factors exist outside the person or situation they affect.

Today the professor will introduce a couple of technical terms: extrinsic value and intrinsic value.

32. Saturn [ˈsætɜːn]

Though there is no direct information about Saturn's internal structure, it is thought that its interior is similar to that of Jupiter.

33. acoustic [əˈkuːstɪk]

(1). adj. An acoustic guitar or other instrument is one whose sound is produced without any electrical equipment.

(2). n. If you refer to the acoustics or the acoustic of a space, you are referring to the structural features which determine how well you can hear music or sppech in it.

(3). n. Acoustics is the scientific study of sound.

(4). adj. Acoustic means relating to sound or hearing.

I don't think the most ardent supporters of electronic instruments expect them to completely replace acoustic instruments.

34. mosaic [məʊˈzeɪɪk]

n. A mosaic is a design which consists of small pieces of coloured glass, pottery, or stone set in concrete or plaster.

Mosaic is the art of closely setting small, colored pieces, such as stone or glass, into a surface to crete a decorative design.

35. aloof [əˈluːf]

(1). adj. Someone who is aloof is not very friendly and does not like to spend time with other people.

(2). adj. If someone stays aloof from something, they do not become involved with it.

You should not keep yourself aloof from the poor.

36. influenza [ˌɪnfluˈenzə]

n. Influenza is the same as flu.

Three influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century and killed tens of millions of people.

整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。