TOEFL® Vocabulary Flashcard

Scenery means beautiful natural environment. For example, you can say natural scenery, ‘mountain scenery, ocean scenery, lakeside scenery, volcanic scenery..etc’. Here are example sentences

• The Rocky mountains offer beautiful mountain sceneries.
• India has some of the most beautiful natural scenery on Earth.
• The ocean scenery in Greece is breathtaking.

Situated means in a particular spot or position. “The restaurant is situated between the hotel and the beach.” It is a way to describe the location of the place, or give directions.

Example sentences using situated:

• The building is situated in the bad part of town.
• Situated above the valley, the house offers beautiful views.

The phrase “situated for” is often used. Examples:

• Zakro was well situated for trade with Greece. 
• The power station was well situated for coal deliveries as it was only 200 yards from Lemington Staithes.

Take after can mean to be similar or relative to someone else. This can be in appearance or mannerisms. For example, if a father loves baseball and so does his daughter, some may say “Wow! She takes after her father!”

Example sentences:

• In looks, she takes after her father.
• He takes after his mother's side of the family.​
• I hope the children don't take after their grandfather.

Definition: inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense

Example sentences:

• It sounds absurd, but a well-known chemistry technique could help authorities identify criminals based on their artificial hair color.
• Anti-patenting campaigners argue that the idea of claiming a patent over the shared genetic heritage of the human race is absurd, immoral or both.

Adversity is a noun that is a situation of ill-fortune, or when you face difficult situations. 

Example sentences:

• Refugees face adversity when they immigrate to a new country because they encounter many hardships.
• We had to learn to deal with adversity.
• They overcame many adversities.
• When faced with adversity she was never tempted to give up.
• He showed courage in the face of adversity.

Affluence is the noun form of "affluent" which just means abundant wealth. A synonym would be richness. Used in a sentence, “The flashy car she bought was so she could push her affluence in our faces!”

Example sentences:

• They rose from poverty to affluence. (This means they were poor and became rich)
• The postwar era was one of new affluence for the working class.

Use affluent to describe wealthy people or areas.  Basically, when you think of affluent think of someone very rich or fancy. Many people aspire to live in an affluent neighborhood. You know you're driving through an affluent neighborhood when you see large houses, perfect landscaping, and expensive cars.​

Example sentences:

• His family was more affluent than most.
• Cigarette smoking used to be commoner among affluent people.

The word "alternate" can be a verb.  There are different usages. 

1. When you alternate (between) A and B, you keep using A then B.  (In this case, the verb "alternate " is used as a transitive verb)

Here are example sentences:

• To make the appetizer, you should alternate layers of tomatoes and cheese. 
• Farmers began to alternate the cultivation of grains and pulses, such as lentils and peas, to maintain fertility.  
• He alternates between riding his bike and taking the bus to work.
• Some disease-carrying mosquito species alternate between biting animals and humans.
• Crop rotation can improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants.

2. When A and B alternate or A alternates with B, A regularly occurs after B. (In this case, the verb "alternate " is used as an intransitive verb)

Here are example sentences:

• The light and dark woods alternate to form an elegant pattern around the window. 
• Light woods alternate with dark woods to form an elegant pattern around the window. 

As a noun, an alternate is a replacement.

Here are example sentences:

• If you are brought on in a game to be someone’s alternate, you are there to take their turn.
• The town has elected five councilors and two alternates.

"Alternate" can also be used as an adjective, meaning different or other.  For example:

• An alternate view of history is one that looks at the past from an uncommon perspective.

Definition: the action or process of altering or being altered.

Example senences:

• The natural alternation of day and night play an important role in the lives of many ocean creatures

Definition: State a fact or belief confidently and forcefully;Cause others to recognize (one’s authority or a right) by confident and forceful behavior:

Example senences:

• The company asserts that the cuts will not affect development
• The company assert its control over the banking system

Definition: A fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access

Example sentences:

• However, he told council he would like to protect the fence with barriers, to prevent vehicle operators from accidentally running into the fence.

Definition: unable to see or understand; showing poor judgement or understanding

Example sentences:

• Cameras spread out around an airport eliminate blind spots and give controllers more-detailed views.
• I was blinded by the massive bright light he kept constantly shined onto me.

Definition: completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing

Example sentences:

• She focused on the positive aspects of chaos of being a mother: Things are chaotic because she has two beautiful children and a thriving career.
• Among the employees here are a handful of disabled workers — often forgotten in a country that is too chaotic to attend to them.

Definition: Filled with excitement, tension, or emotion:

Example sentences:

• Even though I've read the book three times so far, never once have the words conveyed the sense of excitement and the charged atmosphere that came across on film.

Definition: of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles

Example sentences:

• Process the nuts until they're ground to coarse meal, then continue until you finally get a smooth paste.
• The movie contains some disturbing violence, coarse language, drug use and sexual content.

Definition: well reasoned; ideas that are clearly presented.

Example sentences:

• The party’s policies were based on prejudice rather than on any coherent ideology.
• When we first hear a song, it stimulates our auditory cortex and we convert the rhythms, melodies, and harmonies into a coherent whole.

Definition: be in accord; be in agreement; happen simultaneously

Example senences:

• The official said the prime minister concurred with White House assertions “that this has nothing to do with the Iran deal.”
• Let’s hope your friend is able to see this chat, and that she will concur that $50 a year is a small price to pay.

Definition: obvious to the eye or mind

Example sentences:

• In the deep sea, where light is dim and blue, animals with bigger eyes see better—but bigger eyes are more conspicuous to predators

Definition: attracting attention

Example sentences:

• The movie will probably be more popular with audiences than with critics, perhaps because it’s so deliberately and conspicuously old-fashioned.
• Her name was conspicuously absent form the list of winners.

Definition: move slowly; to begin to happen

Example sentences:

• Some mistakes are beginning to creep into his work.
• They were caught by surprise when the three men crept up from behind and yelled, “Nobody move.”

Dense can have many different meanings.  When woods are dense, the trees grow close together. When fog is dense, you can't see through it.  “The forest was so dense; we decided not to go on the hike.”

Example sentences using the word dense:

• They cut a path through the dense jungle.
• The book's pages were dense (meaning packed, filled) with helpful ideas.
• I'm sorry to be so dense (meaning to be slow-witted, stupid, dumb) this morning.
• In the movie, she plays his kind but somewhat dense aunt.
• That part of the city has a dense population of immigrants.

A dilemma is a tough choice. When you are in a situation with two options, and neither of them is very good, you are in a dilemma. 

An example of a dilemma is when you have plans to go to a concert, but you get really sick. Your options are to skip the concert you were really looking forward to, or go to the concert but feel miserable. You are in a dilemma because either option isn’t going to bring you much happiness.

You can use this word in your speaking responses for the TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 5. For example:

• The male student in the conversation is in a dilemma. He doesn't know what to do with his due assignments.

The phrases 'face a dilemma' and 'in a dilemma' are often used. Here are example sentences:

• Women may still be faced with the dilemma of choosing between jobs and families.
• I don't know what to do; it's a real dilemma.
• She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
• After years of recession, the company was in a dilemma over its future.

The collocations 'a solution to a dilemma ' and 'a way out of a dilemma ' are often used. Here are example sentences:

• One possible solution to the dilemma may be to divide the money equally between the brothers.
• I couldn't see any way out of the dilemma.

The usage of "the dilemma over a debatable subject" is often used. For example:

• The dilemma over human cloning lies at the heart of the ethical choices facing society.

Definition: not bright or clear

Example sentences:

• The sun looks dim through the haze, like a 30-watt bulb.
• In recent weeks, market expectations of a July rate hike have dimmed because of signs of weakness in the global economy.

Definition: call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); to get the facts or draw out the truth

Example sentences:

• The fund-raising goal, $25,000, was reached shortly before the beginning of the memorial ceremony, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
• A lawyer will elicit all the facts necessary to prove her case.

Definition: very lively and profitable

Example sentences:

• Scientists in the program announced today that the quick-diving birds are flourishing in Illinois and are no longer in immediate danger.
• Small flourishing companies would be harmed by an increase in the minimum wage.

Definition: A general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases:

Example sentences:

• It just amazed him how people form such absurd generalizations out of specific instances.

Definition: Catch fire or cause to catch fire

Example sentences:

• The wet weather put the dampeners on most of the grass fires that ignite during the usually drier summer month.

Definition: Light up

Example sentences:

• A great flash of lightning illuminated the world outside, showing the trees dark against the night sky.

Definition: Lighting

Example sentences:

• General or background lighting provides an overall level of illumination when natural light levels are low. The basement was dank and dark with no windows and only a few strategically placed fluorescent lights for illumination.

Definition: (Of an amount or supply of something) unable to be used up because existing in abundance

Example sentences:

• Their say-no-to-drugs mantra affirmed that New York at least has an inexhaustible supply of high energy.

Definition: Unable to be endured

Example sentences:

• As the true horror of the situation emerges, that sense of duty becomes an intolerable pressure.

Definition: fill or cover completely, usually with water

Example sentences:

• The radio stations were inundated with reports of a severe traffic accident.
• Practically every Internet user is inundated with spam or virus-riddled messages daily.

Definition: Make or become less extreme, intense, rigorous, or violent

Example sentences:

• Since Anchorage is located at the end of a long inlet, the yearly temperatures, moderated by the influence of ocean currents, are considerably milder than in the interior of Alaska.

Paradox is a tricky word to learn and use correctly. By definition, paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. For example, the statement “I always lie” is a paradox because if the statement is true, it must be false. 

Example sentences using the word paradox:

• It is a paradox that computers need maintenance so often since they are meant to save people time.
• As an actor, he's a paradox. he loves being in the public eye but also deeply values and protects his privacy.
• The facts pose something of a paradox.
• The paradox about time is that it seems to go faster as we become older and less active.

Paradoxical is an adjective that describes a paradox, something with two meanings that don’t make sense together.

Example sentences:

• He found himself in a paradoxical situation.

• “I always lie” is a paradoxical statement because if the statement is true, it must be false. 

Definition: (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves; not easily irritated

Example sentences:

• In such a large field, his placid demeanor also made it difficult for him to stand out among all the competitors.
• The flat, glistening, white expanse of the Greenland Ice Sheet, stretching out across hundreds of thousands of square miles, appears placid, unchanging and boring even.

A predicament is a difficult, confusing, and unpleasant situation. A predicament could be something simple like if you accidentally made plans with two people at the same time, or more serious if you are married but feel like you are in love with someone else. Used in a sentence, “I was in a predicament last year when I couldn’t decide where to live.

The following phrases are often used

• get oneself into a predicament
• get out of the predicament
• in a predicament 

Example sentences using the word predicament:

• The governor has gotten himself into quite a predicament.
• I don't know how to get out of the predicament I'm in.
• Other companies are in an even worse predicament than us.
• Many young people find themselves in this predicament.

Pronounced means strongly marked, or easily noticeable. 

Example sentences using the word pronounced:

• He walked with a pronounced limp.
• There has been a pronounced improvement in her condition.
• The symptoms of the disease have become steadily more pronounced.
• These blooms have a very pronounced tendency to hang their heads.

Use prosperity to refer to the state of being successful. Prosperity usually means the type of success that comes from having a lot of money. 

Example sentences:

• The island's prosperity depends on its fishing industry.
• The war was followed by a long period of peace and prosperity.

The adjective prosperous often describes something having success usually by making a lot of money

If you have a new car, a new high-paying job, and some flashy new shoes, then you could be described as prosperous, meaning you have material success that seems like it will continue to grow.

Example sentences:

• The company had a prosperous year.
• After she got a high entrance test score, her parents knew she had a prosperous future
• Attending colleges might lead you to more prosperous career opportunities.

Definition: unwillingly

Example sentences:

• She was cognizant of the art market, selling Her work reluctantly, because she thought it was priced too low.
• She reluctantly agreed to the doctor's recommendation to taper off her antidepressant.

A resemblance is a similarity in appearance.

A has/bears a resemblance to B = A resembles B in appearance. 

Example sentences:

• Children usually have a strong resemblance to their biological parents. 
• He bears/has a close/striking/strong/uncanny resemblance to his father. This means he looks a lot like his father)
• When she showed me her niece's picture, I immediately saw the family resemblance.
• He doesn't look exactly like his father, but there is some resemblance.
• There is no resemblance between her and her sister.
• I noticed some resemblances between them.

You might see the following phrases with the word "resemblance":

• A point of resemblance
• there the resemblance ends (=they are not similar in any other way)

Example sentences:

• The story has points of resemblance to a Hebrew myth.
• They are both strong-minded women, but there the resemblance ends.

To resemble is to appear like someone or something. 

Example Sentences:

• He strongly resembles his father in appearance and in temperament.
• People may get stopped in the streets if they resemble a celebrity.
• We couldn't find anything resembling (meaning like) a good restaurant. This means they couldn't find a good restaurant)
• He very much resembles a friend of mine.
• He does not resemble his brother in any way.

The phrase “A resemble B in something” is often used. Take a look at some examples below:

• The meat resembles chicken in flavor.
• He strongly resembles his father in appearance

COLLOCATIONS

Closely

• This poem closely resembles an earlier one.

strongly/greatly

• The ancient tools discovered in Ethiopia strongly resemble those found in Tanzania.

vaguely (=slightly)

• I heard a weird sound vaguely resembling the bark of a dog.

superficially (=in its appearance)

• Termites resemble ants superficially.

When things are scattered, they're spread out all over the place. If the forecast calls for scattered showers, it'll rain here and there. If the tourist sites are scattered throughout a city, you will need a car to get around.

Scattered is sometimes used with the prepositions “over”, “with” and “across”. Take a look at the examples below:

Be scattered over, means to spread over a wide area or over a long period of time.

Example sentences with the preposition “over”:

• Broken glass is scattered over the floor.
• Tribes speaking related languages are scattered over a large part of the continent
• Villages are scattered over a very wide area.

If something is scattered with a lot of small things, they are spread all over it.

Example sentences with the preposition “with”:

• The whole area was scattered with debris. = debris is scattered over the whole area.
• The ground is scattered with pine needles and hay.

When things are "scattered" in several different locations, you can use the phrase "be scattered across”.

Example sentences with the preposition “across”:

• It has 50 or more offices scattered across the country.
• Small white pills are scattered across the pavement.
• Piles of waste are scattered across the dusty landscape.

We use the adjective ‘scenic’ to describe a natural place that is beautiful to look at. For example:

• Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon are two of the most scenic landmarks in the world.​
• The ocean view here is very scenic．
• Our hotel had a scenic view of the lake.
• I went some miles out of my way to take the scenic road into Macon.​

Definition: protected from danger; isolated from reality

Example sentences:

• She had a depth of character, and that doesn’t usually come from living a sheltered life.
• He had been a very sheltered person up until then, and hadn’t seen or experienced what’s behind so many closed doors in our society.

Definition: very large in expanse or scope

Example sentences:

• The new version of the vehicle will have better fuel-economy than previous versions, be lighter, more spacious, and more aerodynamic.
• The spacious plains of the Midwest make up the nation's breadbasket.

Definition: (Of a bridge, arch, etc.) extend from side to side of

Example sentences:

• The path turned to cross a small stone bridge spanning a stream.
• Students who have worse performance in studies tend to have short attention spans and bounce rapidly among smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.

Definition: Spread out over a large area in an untidy or irregular way

Example sentences:

• Despite its imposing skyline, Frankfurt itself has not suffered from vast urban sprawl like other European cities.

The adjective sprawling is good for describing things that extend across a large area. You could describe your school as sprawling if it consists of many buildings spread over several acres. “

Example sentences using the word sprawling:

• London is a sprawling city; it is like it never ends!
• The sprawling city contained some 4m people.

Definition:

Example sentences:

• The main staple of Asian diets is rice.

Definition: having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

Example sentences:

• Since mass-market carmakers’ margins are so slim, it could have a striking effect on their profitability.
• Large studies should give us a clearer picture, but so far they don’t show the striking lifesaving quality we’ve come to expect from cancer screening.

Tranquil is when a place is peaceful, quiet and serene. Tranquil can also be a state of mind. Tranquil means calm and placid. A pleasant state of mind, with nothing to agitate or cause anxiety, can also be considered tranquil.  “I want to go to the beach because I find it very tranquil.”

Example sentences using the word tranquil:

• The village lay tranquil in the evening sunlight.
• The tranquil atmosphere of The Connaught allows guests to feel totally at home.​
• The place was tranquil and appealing.

Tranquility is the noun version of tranquil. The noun tranquility means "a state of peace and quiet," like the tranquility you feel at the shore of a quiet lake or inside a beautiful cathedral.

Example sentences using tranquility:

• Cottages nestle on the beach and tranquility is a way of life.
• People go camping for peace and tranquility and hearing loud music blaring out at night has a way of spoiling this experience.

If something is in your vicinity, it's in the surrounding area or nearby region — it's in the neighborhood, so to speak. If there's a garbage dump in your vicinity, you'll certainly smell it. When you go on vacation, you may ask the hotel attendant “Is there a bakery in the vicinity?”

Example sentences using the noun vicinity:

• She lives in Los Angeles, or somewhere in that/the vicinity. (meaning somewhere near there)
• There were a hundred or so hotels in the vicinity of the railway station.

“in the vicinity of” is often used to describe in the area that is close to (a place) or close to or around (an amount). Examples:

• He lives in the general/immediate vicinity of the school.
• There is no hospital in the immediate vicinity.