TOEFL wordlist 6

1. obsess [əbˈses]

phrase. If something obsesses you of if you obsess about something, you keep thinking about it and find it difficult to think about anything else.

Evans early was obsessed by the possibilities of mechanized production and steam power.

2. utter [ˈʌtə(r)]

(1). v. If someone utters sounds or words, they say them.

(2). adj. You use utter to emphasize that something is great in extent, degree, or amount.

He didn't utter a word during lunch.

3. abortive [əˈbɔ:tɪv]

adj. An abortive attempt or action is unsuccessful.

Tom tried to unlock the door, but his attempt proved abortive.

4. catholic [ˈkæθlɪk]

(1). adj. The Catholic Church is the branch of the Christian Church that accepts the Pope as its leader and is based in the Vatican in Rome.

(2). n. A Catholic is a member of the Catholic Church.

(3). adj. If you describe a collection things or people as catholic, you emphasizing that they are very varied.

One of the world's largest religions, Christianity, later split into Catholic and Protestant.

5. retrospective [ˌretrəˈspektɪv]

(1). n. A retrospective is an exhibition or showing of work done by an artist over many years, rather than his or her most recent work.

(2). adj. Retrospective feelings or opinions concern things that happened in the past.

(3). adj. Retrospective laws or legal actions take effect from a date before the date when they are officially approved.

I went to an exhibition that is a retrospective review of many famous artists' works.

6. overt [əʊˈvɜ:t]

adj. An overt action or attitude is done or shown in an open and obvious way.

As the text reads, we should learn to fight the enemy in both overt and covert ways.

7. strenuous [ˈstrenjuəs]

adj. A strenuous activity or action involves a lot of energy or effect.

Regular exercises can adapt the body for strenuous activities.

8. puff [pʌf]

(1). v. If someone puffs at a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, they smoke it.

(2). phrase. If you puff smoke or moisture from your mouth or if it puffs from your mouth, you breathe it out.

(3). v. If an engine, chimney, or boiler puffs smoke or steam, clouds of smoke or steam come out of it.

(4). n. A puff of something such as air or smoke is a small amount of it that is blown out from somewhere.

(5). v. If you are puffing, you are breathing loudly and quickly with your mouth open because you are out of breath after a lot of physical effort.

(6). n. A puff for something such as a book, film, product, or organization is something that is done or said in order to attract people's attention and tell them how good it is.

(7). n. A puff is the same as a poof.

I don't like smokers, who puff their cigareete smoke into my eyes.

9. instill  [ɪn'stɪl]

v. If you instil an idea or feeling in someone, especially over a period of time, you make them think it or feel it.

Teachers try to instill some new ideas into students' minds.

10. gush [gʌʃ]

(1). phrase. When liquid gushes out of something, or when something gushes a liquid, the liquid flows out very quickly and in large quantities.

(2). n. A gush of liquid is a sudden, rapid flow of liquid, or a quantity of it that suddenly flows out.

(3). v. If someone gushes, they express their admiration or pleasure in an exaggerated way.

(4). n. You can use gush in expressions such as a gush of enthusiasm to refer to a sudden intense feeling or an expression of a feeling.

Tom likes to gush out ideas to impress others.

11. predispose  [ˌpri:dɪˈspəʊz]

(1). v. If something predisposes you to think or behave in a particular way, it makes it likely that you will think or behave in that way.

(2). v. If something predisposes you to a disease or illness, it makes it likely that you will suffer from that disease or illness.

Too much stress can predispose people to heart attacks.

12. languish [ˈlæŋgwɪʃ]

(1). v. If someone languishes somewhere, they are forced to remain and suffer in an unpleasant situation.

(2). v. If something languishes, it is not successful, often because of a lack of effort or because of a lot of difficulties.

Although we are living in the prosperous city, millions of people still languish in poverty.

13. ravage  [ˈrævɪdʒ]

v. A town, country, or economy that has been ravaged is one that has been damaged so much that it is almost completely destroyed.

The girl was in despair because of her ravaged face from the accident.

14. exodus [ˈeksədəs]

n. If there is an exodus of people from a place, a lot of people leave that place at the same time.

Once the exodus begins, everyone may go through the same exit.

15. exalt  [ɪgˈzɔ:lt] 

v. To exalt someone or something means to praise them very highly.

He was exalted to the position of manager.

16. soluble [ˈsɒljəbl]

(1). adj. A substance that is soluble will dissolve in a liquid.

(2). phrase. If something is water-soluble or fat-soluble, it will dissolve in water or in fat.

Glucose is soluble in water.

17. prodigious [prəˈdɪdʒəs]

adj. Something that is prodigious is very large or impressive.

Desert animals can drink prodigious volumes of water in a short time.

18. typify [ˈtɪpɪfaɪ]

v. If something or someone typifies a situation or type of thing or person, they have all the usual characteristics of it and are a typical example of it.

These houses which were popular in the early 1900s typify what's known as the unique style.

19. stride [straɪd]

(1). v. If you stride somewhere, you walk there with quick, long steps.

(2). n. A stride is a long step which you take when you are walking or running.

(3). n. Someone's stride is their way of walking with long steps.

(4). n. If you make strides in something that you are doing, you make rapid progress in it.

(5). phrase. If you get into your stride or hit your stride, you start to do something easily and confidently, after being slow and uncertain.

(6). phrase. In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is taking something in stride.

They are making great strides in the search for a cure.

20. plank [plæŋk]

(1). n. A plank is a long, flat, rectangular piece of wood.

(2). n. The main plank of a particular group or political party is the main principle on which it bases its policy, or its main aim.

The central plank of the bill was urban development.

21. situated  [ˈsɪtʃueɪtɪd]

adj. If something is situated in a particular place or position, it is in that place or position.

If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its developmentis much more likely to continue.

22. eclecticism [ɪ'klektɪsɪzəm]

n. Eclecticism is the principle or practice of choosing or involving objects, ideas, and beliefs from many different sources.

It is accompanied by a nostalgic impulse for the past and at the same time by an international cultural eclecticism.

23. piracy [ˈpaɪrəsi]

(1). n. piracy is robbery at sea carried out by pirates.

(2). n. You can refer to the illegal copying of things such as video tapes and computer programs as piracy.

During periods of heavy piracy at sea, the amount of interest and the cost of the policy went up considerably.

24. dissenter  [dɪˈsentə(r)]

n. Dissenters are people who say that they do not agree with something that other people agree with or that is official policy.

25. aroma  [əˈrəʊmə]

n. An aroma is a strong, pleasant smell.

The aroma of fresh pastry came to us from the kitchen.

整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。