TOEFL wordlist 15

1. demobilize [dɪˈməʊbəlaɪz]

(1). phrase. If a country or armed force demobilizes its troops, or if its troops demobilize, its troops are released from service and allowed to go home.

(2). v. If someone has been demobilized, they have completed their service in the armed forces of their country.

The child soldiers in the country have been demobilized recently.

2. contour [ˈkɒntʊə(r)]

(1). n. You can refer to the general shape or outline of an object as its contours.

(2). n. A contour on a map is a line joining points of equal height and indicating hills, valleys, and the steepness of slopes.

Ground plans and contour maps of the Earth can drawn from aerial photographs.

3. labyrinth [ˈlæbərɪnθ]

(1). n. If you describe a place as a labyrinth, you mean that it is made up of a complicated series of paths or passages, through which it is difficult to find your way.

(2). n. If you describe a situation, process, or area of knowledge as a labyrinth, you mean that it is very complicated.

In reality, the old castle itself is a labyrinth with dark corridors.

4. therapy [ˈθerəpi]

(1). n. Therapy is the treatment of someone with mental or physical illness without the use of drugs or operations.

(2). n. A therapy is a particular treatment of someone with a particular illness.

In the third era of nutritional history, vitamin therapy began to fall into disrepute.

5. artesian [ɑːˈtiːzjən]

Some geographers are interested in artesian spring. 

6. conductivity [ˌkɒndʌkˈtɪvəti]

The nerve cells exhibit to a great degree the phenomenon of conductivity.

7. paleolithic [ˌpeɪlɪəʊ'lɪθɪk]

The Paleolithic Age covered an immense time span, and during this period major climatic changes occurred.

8. dupe [djuːp]

(1). v. If a person dupes you, they trick you into doing something or into believing something which is not true.

(2). n. A dupe is someone who is tricked by someone else.

They soon realized they had been duped.

9. polygamous [pəˈlɪɡəməs]

adj. In a polygamous society, people can be legally married to more than one person at the same time. A polygamous person, especially a man, is married to more than one person.

Although polygamy was criminalized by the leader, it is estimated that 3,000 individuals continue to be involved in polygamous relationships in the area.

10. flick [flɪk]

(1). phrase. If something flick in a particular direction, or if someone flicks it, it moves with a short, sudden movement.

(2). v. If you flick something away, or off something else, you remove it with a quick movement of your hand or finger.

(3). v. If you flick something such as a whip or a towel, or flick something with it, you hold one end of it and move your hand quickly up and then forward, so that the other end moves.

(4). v. If you flicks a switch, or flick an electrical appliance on or off, you press the switch sharply so that it moves into a different position and works the equipment.

(5). v. If you flick through a book or magazine, you turn its pages quickly, for example to get a general idea of its contents or to look for a particular item. If you flick through television channels, you continually change channels very quickly, for example using a remote control.

Let me show you how to operate this machine: put your clothes in and flick the switch, and it's done.

11. officious [əˈfɪʃəs]

adj. If you describe someone as officious, you are critical of them because they are eager to tell people what to do when you think they should not.

You need  to speak out and stop being pushed around by the officious guy.

12. afoul [əˈfaʊl]

phrase. If you run afoul of someone or something, you do something which causes problems with them.

Your act ran afoul of the law.

13. bewilder [bɪˈwɪldə(r)]

v. If something bewilders you, it is so confusing or difficult that you cannot understand it.

Mike doesn't like parties, for he is bewildered by the noise and the crowd.

14. pinch [pɪntʃ]

(1). v. If you pinch a part of someone's body, you take a piece of their skin between your thumb and first finger and give it a short squeeze.

(2). n. A pinch of an ingredient such as salt is the amount of it that you can hold between your thumb and your first finger.

(3). v. To pinch something, especially something of little value, means to steal it.

(4). phrase. If you say that something is possible at a pinch, or in American English if you say that something is possible in a pinch, you mean that it would be possible if it was necessary, but it might not be very comfortable or convenient.

(5). phrase. If a person or company is feeling the pinch, they do not have as much money as they used to, and so they cannot buy the things they would like to buy.

(6). phrase. If you are in a pinch, you are in a difficult situation.

I'd like a cup of coffee, with cream and just a pinch of sugar, please.

15. malleable [ˈmæliəbl]

(1). adj. If you say that someone is malleable, you mean that they are esaily influenced or controlled by other people.

(2). adj. A subatance that is malleable is soft and can easily be made into different shapes.

When dropped on the floor, malleable glass would bend rather than shatter into bits.

16. lavish [ˈlævɪʃ]

(1). adj. If you describe something such as lavish, you mean that it is very elaborate and impressive and a lot of money has been spent on it.

(2). adj. If you say that spending, praise, or the use of something is lavish, you mean that someone spends a lot or that something is praised or used a lot.

(3). adj. If you say that someone is lavish in the way they behave, you mean that they give, spend, or use a lot of something.

(4). v. If you lavish money, affection, or praise on someone or something, you spend a lot of money on them or give them a lot of affection or praise.

The grandparents lavish too much care on their only grandson.

17. mesolithic [ˌmɛsə(ʊ)ˈlɪθɪk]

The Mesolithic period dates from the end of the last Ice Age and was a period of rising temperatures and rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers.

18. sterile [ˈsteraɪl]

(1). adj. Something that is sterile is completely clean and free from germs.

(2). adj. A person or animal that is sterile is unable to have or produce babies.

(3). adj. A sterile situation is lacking in energy and new ideas.

He felt creatively and emotionally sterile.

19. ammonia [əˈməʊniə]

n. Ammonia is a colourless liquid or gas with a strong, sharp smell. It is used in making household cleaning substances.

Ammonia is a colorless gas with a strong smell. (colorless = colourless)

20. photosynthesis [ˌfəʊtəʊˈsɪnθəsɪs]

n. Photosynthesis is the way that green plants make their food using sunlight.

Photosynthesis in plants and a few bacteria is responsible for feeding nearly all life on Earth.

21. mar [mɑː(r)]

v. To mar something means to spoil or damage it.

You have to play extra attention to the mistake, because it would mar your career.

22. flair [fleə(r)]

(1). n. If you have a flair for a particular thing, you have a natural ability to do it well.

(2). n. If you have flair, you do things in an original, interesting, and stylish way.

She has a flair for languages.

23. painstaking [ˈpeɪnzteɪkɪŋ]

adj. A painstaking search, examination, or investigation is done extremely carefully and thoroughly.

Panel painting involved a painstaking, laborious process.

24. proprietor [prəˈpraɪətə(r)]

n. The proprietor of a hotel, shop, newspaper, or other business is the person who owns it.

My uncle is the proprietor of a chain of supermarkets.

25. terrestrial [təˈrestriəl]

(1). adj. A terrestrial animal or plant lives on land or on the ground rather than in the sea, in trees, or in the air.

(2). adj. Terrestrial means relating to the planet Earth rather than to some other part of the universe.

(3). adj. Terrestrial television channels are transmitted using equipment situated at ground level, and not by satellite.

The highest terrestrial mountain is Mount Everest.

Ichthyosaurs had a higher chance of being preserved than terrestrial creatures did.

26. flask [flɑːsk]

(1). n. A flask is a bottle which you use for carrying drinks around with you.

(2). n. A flask is a bottle or other container which is used in science laboratories and industry for holding liquids.

The shop sells all sorts of vacuum tasks.

27. locomotive [ˌləʊkəˈməʊtɪv]

n. A locomotive is a large vehicle that pulls a railway train.

In the 19th century, North American locomotives ran on hardwood fuel.

The "railroad novel" offers the ambience of station yards and locomotive cabs.

28. pound [paʊnd]

(1). n. The pound is the unit of money which is used in Britain. It is represented by the symbol £. One British pound is divided into a hundred pence. Some other countries, for example Egypt, also have a unit of money called a pound.

(2). n. The pound is used to refer to the British currency system, and sometimes to the currency systems of other countries which use pounds.

(3). n. A pound is a unit of weight used mainly in Britian, American, and other countries where English is spoken. One pound is equal to 0.454 kilograms. A pound of something is a quantity of it that weights one pound.

(4). n. A pound is a place where dogs and cats found wandering in the street are taken and kept until they are claimed by their owners.

(5). n. A pound is a place where cars that have been parked illegally are taken by the police and kept until they have been claimed by their owners.

(6). v. If you pound something or pound on it, you hit it with great force, usually loudly and repeatedly.

(7). v. If you pound something, you crush it into a paste of a powder or into very small pieces.

(8). v. If your heart is pounding, it is beating with an unusually strong and fast rhythm, usually because you are afraid.

(9). phrase. If you say that someone demands their pound of flesh, you mean that they insist on getting something they are entitled to, even though it may cause distress to the person it is demanded from.

After drying the fish, the women pounded some of them into fish meal.

29. precipitate [prɪˈsɪpɪteɪt , prɪˈsɪpɪtət]

(1). v. If something precipitates an event or situation, usually a bad one, it causes it to happen suddenly or sooner than normal.

(2). adj. A precipitate action or decision happens or is made more quickly or suddenly than most people think is sensible.

Water dissolves, transports, and precipitates many chemical compounds.

30. seismograph  [ˈsaɪzməɡrɑːf]

n. A seismograph is an instrument for recording and measuring the strength of earthquakes.

The modern seismograph was invented in the late 1800s.

31. prey [preɪ]

(1). n. A creature's prey are the creatures that it hunts and eats in order to live.

(2). v. A creature that preys on other creatures lives by catching and eating them.

(3). n. You can refer to the people who someone tries to harm or trick as their prey.

(4). v. If someone preys on other people, especially people who are unable to protect themselves, they take advantage of them or harm them in some way.

(5). v. If something preys on your mind, you cannot stop thinking and worrying about it.

(6). n. If someone is prey to something bad, they have a tendency to let themselves be affected by it.

(7). phrase. To fall prey to something bad means to be taken over or affected by it.

Some human hunters prey on animals of all ages, but gray wolves concentrate their efforts on young animals.

32. fluctuate [ˈflʌktʃueɪt]

v. If something fluctuates, it changes a lot in an irregular way.

The temperature often fluctuates dramatically.

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere fluctuated between 190 and 280 parts per million.

33. solder [ˈsəʊldə(r)]

(1). v. If you solder two pieces of metal together, you join them by melting a small piece of soft metal and putting it between them so that it holds them together after it has cooled.

(2). n. Solder is the soft metal used for soldering.

The guide explains how you can solder a variety of components using a few different techniques.

34. cargo [ˈkɑːɡəʊ]

n. The cargo of a ship or plane is the goods that it is carrying.

The tanker began to spill its cargo of oil.

35. quiescent [kwiˈesnt]

adj. Someone or something that is quiescent is quiet and inactive.

It is unlikely that such an extremist organization will remain quiescent.

36. tenement [ˈtenəmənt]

(1). n. A Tenement is a large, old building which is divided into a number of individual flats.

(2). n. A tenement is one of the flats in a tenement.

The tenements lacked both running water and central heating.

37. impermeable [ɪmˈpɜːmiəbl]

adj. Something that is impermeable will not allow fluid to pass through it.

The objects are covered with impermeable decorative coatings.

整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。