TOEFL wordlist 26

1. figurative [ˈfɪɡərətɪv]

(1). adj. If you use a word or expression in a figurative sense, you use it with a more abstract or imaginative meaning than its ordinary literal one.

(2). adj. Figurative art is a style of art in which people and things are shown in a realistic way.

Before I go on to the biochemical specifics of how this works, let me provide a figurative example.

2. methanol [ˈmeθənɒl]

The impurities are washed out with methanol, I think, before this gas is sent on to reactors where it's changed into oil.

3. amass [əˈmæs]

v. If you amass something such as money or information, you gradually get a lot of it.

The shellfish amass around the rocks in the shallow water.

4. penmanship [ˈpenmənʃɪp]

n. Penmanship is the art and skill of writing by hand.

Penmanship was often taught as a separate subject from the first grade.

5. wispy [ˈwɪspi]

(1). adj. If someone has wispy hair, their hair does not grow thickly on their head.

(2). adj. A wispy cloud is thin or faint.

Objects in the universe show a variety of shapes: round planets (some with rings), tailed comets, wispy cosmic gas and dust clouds.

6. susceptible [səˈseptəbl]

Wheat was susceptible to many parasites.

7. effluent [ˈefluənt]

n. Effluent is liquid waste material that comes out of factories or sewage works.

Dangerous effluent is poured into the river.

8. thwart [θwɔːt]

v. If you thwart someone or thwart their plans, you prevent them from doing or getting what they want.

The Rosetta Stone thwarted scholars' efforts for several decades until the early nineteenth century.

9. jar [dʒɑː(r)]

(1). n. A jar is a glass container with a lid that is used for storing food.

(2). n. You can use jar to refer to a jar and its contents, or to the contents only.

(3). n. If you have a jar, you have a drink with friends in a pub.

(4). v. If something jars on you, you find it unpleasant, disturbing, or shocking.

(5). phrase. If an object jars, or if something jars it, the object moves with a fairly hard shaking movement.

Satire jars us out of complacence into a pleasantly shocked realization that many of the values we unquestioningly accept are false.

10. accordion [əˈkɔːdiən]

n. An accordion is a musical instrument in the shape of a fairly large box which you hold in your hands. You play the accordion by pressing keys or buttons on either side while moving the two sides together and apart. Accordions are used especially to play traditional popular music.

The size and weight of an accordion vary depending on its type, layout and playing range.

11. posthumous [ˈpɒstjʊməs]

adj. Posthumous is used to describe something that happens after a person's death but relates to something they did before they died.

He received a posthumous award for his life of philanthropy.

12. hamper [ˈhæmpə(r)]

(1). v. If someone or something hampers you, they make it difficult for you to do what you are trying to do.

(2). n. A hamper is a basket containing food of various kinds that is given to people as a present.

(3). n. A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used especially for carrying food in.

The development of a scientific approach to chemistry was hampered by several factors.

13. sodium [ˈsəʊdiəm]

(1). n. Sodium is a silvery-white chemical element which combines with other chemicals. Salt is a sodium compound.

(2). adj. Sodium lighting gives out a strong orange light.

Satire jars us out of complacence into a pleasantly shocked realization that many of the values we unquestioningly accept are false.

14. centennial [senˈteniəl]

n. A centennial is the same as a centenary.

The country was celebrating the centennial of Lincoln's birth.

15. tendon [ˈtendən]

n. A tendon is a strong cord in a person's or animal's body which joins a muscle to a bone.

The tendons in the foot are highly complex and intricate.

16. maturity [məˈtʃʊərəti]

(1). n. Maturity is the state of being fully developed or adult.

(2). n. Someone's maturity is their quality of being fully developed in their personality and emotional behaviour.

(3). n. When an investment such as a savings policy or pension plan reaches maturity, it reaches the stage when you stop paying money and the company pays you back the money you have saved, and the interest your money has earned.

The blue whale may grow to 100 feet and weigh 150 tons at maturity.

17. boulder [ˈbəʊldə(r)]

n. A boulder is a large rounded rock.

A boulder is too large for a person to move.

18. voracious [vəˈreɪʃəs]

adj. If you describe a person, or their appetite for something, as voracious, you mean that they want a lot of something.

The boy has a voracious appetite for facts.

19. molten [ˈməʊltən]

adj. Molten rock, metal, or glass has been heated to a very high temperature and has become a hot thick liquid.

Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock.

20. acute [əˈkjuːt]

(1). adj. You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.

(2). adj. An acute illness is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long.

(3). adj. If a person's or animal's sight, hearing, or sense of smell is acute, it is sensitive and powerful.

(4). adj. If you say that someone is acute or has an acute mind, you mean that they are quick to notice things and are able to understand them clearly.

(5). adj. An acute angle is less than 90.

(6). adj. An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicate how that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it is stressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter 'e' in the French word 'cafe'.

It is urgent that the acute problem of air pollution in the city be solved.

21. lethargy [ˈleθədʒi]

n. Lethargy is the condition or state of being lethargic.

A surprise military attack roused the nation from its lethargy.

22. meteorite [ˈleθədʒi]

n. A meteorite is a large piece of rock or metal from space that has landed on Earth.

As their name suggests, the iron meteorites consist almost entirely of metal.

23. shrub [ʃrʌb]

n. Shrubs are plants that have several woody stems.

Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen.

24. pinnacle [ˈpɪnəkl]

(1). n. A pinnacle is a pointed piece of stone or rock that is high above the ground.

(2). n. If someone reaches the pinnacle of their career or the pinnacle of a particular area of life, they are at the highest point of it.

The professor spent more than thirty years to reach the pinnacle of his teaching career.

25. frigid [ˈfrɪdʒɪd]

(1). adj. Frigid means extremely cold.

(2). adj. If a woman is frigid, she finds it difficult to become sexually aroused. You can often use frigid to show disapproval.

(3). adj. If you describe the atmosphere in a place or someone's behaviour as frigid, you mean that it is very formal and unfriendly.

The frigid ground in the far north acts as a remarkable preservative for animal fossils.

26. tectonic [tekˈtɒnɪk]

adj. Tectonic means relating to the structure of the earth's surface or crust.

Tectonic studies, are also important to understanding erosioni patterns in geomorphology.

27. boon [buːn]

n. You can describe somethings as a boon when it makes life better or easier for someone.

The invention will prove a boon to the public.

28. soprano [səˈprɑːnəʊ]

(1). n. A soprano is a woman, girl or boy with a high singing voice.

(2). adj. A soprano saxophone or other musical instrument has a range of notes of high pitch.

28. observatory [əbˈzɜːvətri]

n. An observatory is a building with a large telescope from which scientists study things such as the planets by watching them.

A group of students will pay a visit to the ancient observatory this week.

29. swampy [ˈswɒmpi]

adj. A swampy area of land is always very wet.

You can find this kind of fierce animal on the swampy land all over the world.

30. troposphere ['trɒpəsfɪə(r)]

Rain and snow will fall in the troposphere, so planes can't fly on it.

31. wintry [ˈwɪntri]

(1). adj. Wintry weather is cold and has features that are typical of winter.

(2). adj. If you describe someone's attitude or behaviour as wintry, you mean that they seem very unfriendly.

The famous painter is good at drawing a picture of wintry scenes.

32. buoyant [ˈbɔɪənt]

(1). adj. If you are in a buoyant mood, you feel cheerful and behave in a lively way.

(2). adj. A buoyant economy is a successful one in which there is a lot of trade and economic activity.

(3). adj. A buoyant object floats on a liquid.

Ships should be made of buoyant material, or it can't float on the water.

33. cement [sɪˈment]

(1). n. Cement is a grey powder which is mixed with sand and water in order to make concrete.

(2). n. Cement is the same as concrete.

(3). n. Glue that is made for sticking particular substances together is sometimes called cement.

(4). v. Something that cements a relationship or agreement makes it stronger.

(5). n. The cement of a relationship or agreement is something that makes it stronger and more long-lasting.

(6). v. If things are cemented together, they are stuck or fastened together.

The modern building is made of cement and steel rather than wood.

34. hydraulic [haɪˈdrɒlɪk] 

adj. Hydraulic equipment or machinery involves or is operated by a fluid that is under pressure, such as water or oil.

The government are going to build a new hydraulic power station to supply the western region with electricity.

35. condense [kənˈdens]

(1). v. If you condense something, especially a piece of writing or speech, you make it shorter, usually by including only the most important parts.

(2). v. When a gas or vapour condenses, or is condensed, it changes into a liquid.

Eventually, the water stored as vapor in the atmosphere will condense to liquid again.

36. allergy [ˈælədʒi]

(1). n. If you have a particular allergy, you become ill or get a rash when you eat, smell, or touch something that does not normally make people ill.

(2). n. If you say that you have an allergy to something or someone, you mean that you dislike them very strongly and try to avoid them.

I have an allergy to animal hair.

37. gorgeous [ˈɡɔːdʒəs]

(1). adj. If you say that something is gorgeous, you mean that it gives you a lot of pleasure or is very attractive.

(2). adj. If you describe someone as gorgeous, you mean that you find them very sexually attractive.

(3). adj. If you describe things such as clothes and colours as gorgeous, you mean they are bright, rich, and impressive.

What a gorgeous jacket! It must have cost a fortune.

I just love walking through this park. The trees are gorgeous.

整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。