TOEFL® Vocabulary ebook

Definition: The quality of being worthy of attention; importance:

Example senences:

• Adolescent education was felt to be a social issue of some significance. The significance of the imports is that those books are priced much lower.

Something substantial is large in size, number, or amount: If you want to say someone spent a lot of money without being too specific, you could say they spent a substantial amount of money. It is used as a way to be vague about just how large something is.

Example sentences:

• A substantial number of people commute to work each day.
• This will save us a substantial (meaning considerable) amount of money/time.
• Activities like that pose a substantial risk of injury.
• She purchased her tickets at a substantial discount.
• Radio astronomy has led to substantial increases in astronomical knowledge.
• There is substantial evidence that certain forms of solar energy either now or within a few years will be economically competitive with conventional sources of heat and power.

Abundance is a noun that refers to a large quantity, more than what is needed. It's often used to describe positive qualities, such as "an abundance of love."

Let's paraphrase this sentence using the noun "abundance".

• Fine restaurants are abundant in this city.

Here are paraphrased sentences:

• This city has an abundance of fine restaurants.
• The city has fine restaurants in abundance.​

In the last sentence, we used the phrase "in abundance'.

Here are more example sentences:

• The city has fine restaurants in abundance.
• The flowers grew in great abundance.
• The area has an abundance of wildlife.

Definition: Enough or more than enough; plentiful

Example sentences:

• A landing between the ground and first floors is ample enough to be used as a study.

Definition: Attractive or interesting:

Example sentences:

• Hopefully more people will use the route for exercise and it can also be marketed as an appealing attraction from a tourist point of view.
• Working abroad is appealing to many young people

Definition: make clear and (more) comprehensible

Example sentences:

• If you have doubts while reading the catalog, make sure to email your major adviser to clarify your confusion.

The word conform means following or complying with the rules or law. Someone who usually agrees without giving trouble is a conformist. The word can mean to agree or obey. It is sometimes used with the prepositions to or with minus an object.

Example sentences:

• The animals' behavior conforms to a common pattern.
• Our budget numbers conform with official estimates.
• The building doesn't conform to local regulations.
• She refuses to conform to society's traditional image of a mother.
• Employees have to conform with company rules.
• Citizens should conform to the laws of the land.

Conform is also used to describe the act to do what other people do or to behave in a way that is accepted by most people. Look at the example below:

• Most teenagers feel pressure to conform.

Definition: to communicate; to make something known to others

Example sentences:

• It is extremely rare for a government to refuse publicly to accept an ambassador, meaning that most rejections are conveyed privately.
• A logo should immediately convey a company’s identity.

Definition: Pay no attention to; ignore:

Example sentences:

• They disregarded the no parking signs and were ticketed by the police

Definition: to make something more than what it is

Example sentences:

• Narcissists typically enjoy conflict and will readily lie or exaggerate to gain the upper hand.
• Like other controversial topics, it is a subject where media coverage is likely to play a role in exaggerating misconceptions.

Excess is too much of something, like big-time overindulgence. It is often used in phrases like 'to excess' and "in excess of". 

The phrase “to excess" refers to exceeding the proper amount or degree. For example:

• Eating to excess makes your stomach hurt.
• Spending to excess means you can't pay your credit card bills.

The phrase “in excess of” refers to more than. For example:

• Avoid deposits in excess of $20,000, you will be taxed too much = This means, don’t deposit more than $20,000 at one time, as you will incur high taxes.
• Last year's profits were in excess of one billion dollars.

Excess can also be an adjective to describe "more than is required or needed". For example:

• Excess water spills over the top of the bathtub.
• The oceans and ecosystems can only absorb 3.1 billion tons of carbons leaving an excess of 4.1 billion tons unable to be absorbed. The excess carbon remained in the atmosphere and increased the advancement of climate change.​

Gigantic is an adjective used to describe something that's really big, as though it were made for a giant. You might call a skyscraper a gigantic building, especially if it towers over other buildings nearby.

Example sentences:

• Gigantic (meaning huge, monstrous) waves were crashing on the beach.
• He made a gigantic (meaning huge) mistake when he quit his job.
• She owns a gigantic house.
• She has a gigantic appetite.

Definition: of great size or importance

Example sentences:

• The magnitude of shock waves determines the damage that occurs during an earthquake.
• Industrial transformations of this magnitude didn’t just pop up every day, and the potential for growth was mind-boggling.

Definition: A relatively small group of people, especially one commonly discriminated against in a community, society, or nation, differing from others in race, religion, language, or political persuasion

Example sentences:

• It seems extraordinary that as liberals we now feel secure enough to impose our own orthodoxies on the dissenting minorities within our community.

Something that is noticeable is apparent or easy to be noticed. 

Example sentences using the word noticeable:

• The spot on your shirt is very noticeable.
• There has been a noticeable improvement in her behavior.
• It was noticeable that they were not prepared to give the presentation.

Definition: in a way clearly seen; not done secretly

Example sentences:

• It is important as a scientist, irrespective of belief, to be as objective as possible and steer clear of overtly political, advocacy, or activist stances.

Definition: Continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition:

Example sentences:

• The attorney's persistent questioning weakened the witness.

Definition: to a great depth psychologically

Example sentences:

• Trade, technology and socio-economic change can affect agriculture just as profoundly as changes in rainfall and temperature.
• There are many economists who are profoundly skeptical about China's official data, who think the true figure is a good deal lower.

Definition: Continue to have (something); keep possession of

Example sentences:

• Built in 1830, the house retains many of its original features

Definition: almost not

Example sentences:

• The tender young trees lining the pedestrian walkways would scarcely offer much shade for your picnic.

Definition: Confirm or support (something that has been questioned):

Example sentences:

• The release of the film could be halted if a plagiarism claim is upheld by a High Court judge next week.

We often use "vast" to describe something that is large by distance. Things that are described as vast include oceans, seas, deserts, and the surface of the moon. For example

• A vast desert lay before us. 
• I would be very scared to be lost in the vast sea

The following collocations are often used

• the vast majority of something
• vast amounts of something = enormous amount of something = immense amount of something​​
• a vast difference between

Example sentences:

• She has a vast amount of knowledge on this subject.
• Medical students are required to learn and retain vast amounts of knowledge on the path to becoming physicians;
• A large shopping center would require a vast amount of space
• The policy is supported by the vast majority of citizens.
• The vast majority of people in Australia live in big cities.
• In the vast majority of cases, lung cancer is caused by smoking.
• There is a vast difference between them.