TOEFL® Vocabulary Flashcard

Consumption means using, buying or eating something. Here are example sentences:

• The doctor recommended that she reduce her consumption of sugar. 
• Excessive alcohol consumption can cause major health problems.
• Excessive consumption of soft drinks in childhood has been shown to lead to calcium deficiency and more broken bones.
• The daily consumption of red meat should be no more than 80 grams.

Let’s look at some other meanings of the word “consumption” and how it can be used in sentences:

First meaning - the use of something (such as fuel). Here are some example sentences:

• The world's energy consumption is expected to increase considerably as a result of population growth (electricity consumption = the consumption of electricity)
• The jet's high fuel consumption makes it expensive to operate.
• If we don't reduce our energy consumption, we will run out of fuel. 

Second meaning - use by a particular group of people

Here is an example sentence:

• The governor said that the report was not for public consumption ( This means it was not meant to be seen by the general public; it was intended only for a few people.)

One interesting phrase you can learn is "not fit for human consumption". When something is "not fit for human consumption" it means you risk getting sick, or even dying, if you eat or drink it. Here is an example:

• This food is not fit for human consumption. [=not fit to be eaten by people]

Another term we often heard is "Conspicuous consumption". Conspicuous consumption is buying something to show off. Here is an example sentence:

• A classic example of conspicuous consumption is buying a thousand-dollar smartphone.

To emerge means to come out into view or come forth. Emerge is a verb that might bring to mind the image of a whale rising up from the depths of the sea. It is often used with the preposition "from". Let's look at example sentences

• The moon emerged from behind a cloud. 
• The whale emerged from the water.
• New sea floor originates from the upwelling rock as it emerges from the depths of the mantle.

To emerge can also mean to become known or regarded as something. In this case, it is often used with the preposition "as".  For example,

•  He has emerged as a leading contender in the field.
• The movie has emerged as one of the year's most surprising hits.
• Plate tectonics has emerged as one of the grand unifying theories of geology

When there's an emergency, the stakes are high and you may need to act quickly. There's a tornado! Someone's collapsed! The cat's stuck in a tree! It's an emergency! Call 911! You can see the word emerge in emergency, and an emergency suddenly emerges — it happens all of a sudden and can take you by surprise. Governments declare a "state of emergency" if there is a disaster that they can't handle, and they need support.

The verb "exist" means to live, to have reality. It's not only "live" things that exist. The government exists, as does your fear of heights. Anything that can be acknowledged in the present exists. Another meaning for the verb exists is to support oneself or survive. If someone doesn't have a job, they may have to exist on unemployment benefits until they find one.

Let’s take a look at some sentences where the verb "exist" means to live, to have reality:

• She believes that ghosts really do exist.
• It's the largest galaxy known to exist.
• Does life exist on Mars?
• The Internet didn't exist then 200 years ago.
• Dinosaurs existed for about 150 million years during three geologic periods
• Those ideas only exist in your mind.

In the last sentence: Those ideas only exist in your mind; means that the ideas are only in your mind.

Now, here are some example sentences where the verb "exist" means to support oneself or survive. It is used with the preposition "on":

•  I can barely exist on this wage.

This sentence means that the individual’s wage is not enough to survive on or support oneself. He/she may have to find a better job which pays higher wages to survive on or support himself/herself.

• Villagers existed on rainwater in the jungle = Villagers subsisted on rainwater in the jungle.

This sentence means that villVillagers survived on rainwater in the jungle. You can also use "subsist on".

Existence is the state of being alive or being real. Here are examples:

• She began to doubt the existence of God.
• It was not until 1822 that scientists learned about the existence of dinosaurs.
• The greatest chance for the existence of extraterrestrial life is on a planet beyond our solar system.
• The tiger may not be in existence in a few decades.

The phrase "in existence" is often used. It means "currently existing". Here are example sentences:

• The tiger may not be in existence in a few decades.
• All the oil in existence will not last the world for another century.

Another phrase "come into existence" is also often used. It means "begin to exist". Here is an example sentence:

• Dinosaurs came into existence during the Mesozoic era.

Existence can also mean a particular way of living whereby, in this definition, the word existence is usually used in singular form.

Example sentences include:

• They enjoyed a comfortable existence.
• They pursued their meager existence in a poor rural area.
• Until recently, the Inuit people led a nomadic existence, sheltering in igloos, the ice-block domes that are peculiar to north-central Canada.

If something is existing it’s real. When you make a list of existing mammals, you can't include unicorns, because they don't really exist. Something that's real can be said to exist or to be existing. The existing laws in your state are the ones that are actually on the books, and your existing friends are the ones you really have, and who are all alive and well. 

Example sentences using existing

• The company plans to ignore existing problems and move forward with their plans
• Changing the existing formation can improve the team’s performance
• Please don't ignore existing problems
• making changes to the existing structure (This means the structure that is there now)

Something that is expanded has been increased in size. It can also be an increase in content.  For example,

• If you want the expanded edition of the DVD, it would probably have behind the scene features.

Use the verb overcome when you talk about someone who has triumphed over adversity. You can also be overcome with emotions, or overwhelmed by your feelings. Many people feel so overcome with sadness at a movie — or happiness at a wedding. The verb overcome also means to win or surpass. If you are going to win the marathon, you are going to have to overcome the five runners still ahead of you.

Example sentences of the word overcome:

• After a tough battle, they overcame the enemy.
• She overcame a leg injury and is back running again.
• He overcame his fear of heights and climbed the ladder.
• To succeed, one must overcome obstacles.

The phrases “to be overcome by” and “to be overcome with” are often used.

The phrasal verb “be overcome with” means to be strongly affected by an emotion or a feeling. For example:

• After his dog died, Danny was overcome with grief.
• The whole team was overcome with the joy of winning and being champions.
• He was suddenly overcome with remorse for the harm he had done.

For the phrasal verb “be overcome by”,  if you are overcome by a feeling or event, it is so strong or has such a strong effect that you cannot think clearly. For example:

• The night before the test I was overcome by nervousness.
• The family was overcome by grief.

If you are overcome by smoke or a poisonous gas, you become very ill or die from breathing it in.  For example:

• The residents were trying to escape from the fire but were overcome by smoke. 
• Several firefighters had been overcome by smoke and fumes.
• Five employees were overcome by smoke.

Difficulties/obstacles can be overcome by efforts. For example:

• These difficulties were overcome by the efforts of devoted officers.

Definition: The practice of regularly staying away from work or school without good reason.

Example senences:

• You should keep records of absences and introduce a trigger mechanism that alerts you to look into regular absenteeism and the reasons for it. Employees in buildings with healthy interiors have less absenteeism and tend to stay in their jobs longe

The advent of an important event, invention, or situation is the fact of it starting or coming into existence. Generally, the noun advent is used for the introduction of something important.

Here are example sentences:

• The twentieth century saw the advent of many important inventions — including television, computers, and microwave dinners.
• The advent of color television in the 1960s proved to be an innovation which gained virtually universal acceptance during the 1970s.
• The leap forward in communication was made possible by the advent of the mobile phone.
• before the advent of the Internet, information was not yet so readily available to the general public.
• The Information explosion has made a profound impact in the 21st century due to the advent of the Internet.
• With the advent of the Internet, information is readily available through computers and other smart devices.

Commonplace has the same meaning of ‘common’, but it carries a negative meaning of being dull and unchallenging or tired and clichéd.  For example:

• Coffee shops in cities are commonplace.
• Nowadays, distance-learning programs are commonplace, but some people argue that they are not as good as those attending college in person.
• Drug use has become commonplace at rock concerts.
• A commonplace job is a boring, mind-numbing task. 
• In contrast to the United States, where surrogacy is increasingly commonplace and accepted, the practice is generally illegal in Australia.
• In 2017, it is commonplace to see people constantly checking their phones.

Commonplace can be a noun. Things that are common can be found all over the place — they're commonplace! For example:

• We now accept cell phones and laptop computers as commonplaces of everyday life.

We often use the phrase 'It is a commonplace that' to say an idea, expression, remark, etc. that is not new or interesting. In other words, "It is a commonplace that = Everyone knows that" Look at the following example sentences:

• It is a commonplace that we only use a small part of our brain's capacity.
• It is a commonplace that the history of civilization is largely the history of weapons.
• It is a commonplace that American consumers have kept the world economy spinning. 

Definition: Be composed or made up of

Example sentences:

Definition: Be (a part) of a whole

Example sentences:

• Europe was increasingly concentrating power into the hands of elite groups, who constituted a very small proportion of the total population.

Definition: Similar in character, form, or function:

Example sentences:

• We discussed our corresponding viewpoints

Things that are emerging are just being born — or they're reaching an adult state. The important thing is they're growing and developing.

You could say an improved baseball team is an emerging force in the National League, or a new disease is an emerging threat.

Emerging things can be brand new but aren't necessarily: they could just be beginning to develop. Emerging means something close to sprouting — when you think of this word, think "growing." Used in a sentence, “It is a weird thing when you realize your children are emerging into adulthood right in front of you.”

Let's look at more example sentences:

• Social media marketing is an emerging trend in marketing.
• Artificial intelligence is one of the emerging technologies in 2017.

Definition: Surround and have or hold within: Include comprehensively:

Example sentences:

• This policy must encompass all aspects of waste management, including waste minimisation, recycling, re-usage and waste disposal.
• The course encompasses all the literature of the eighteenth century.

Definition: making a strong or vivid impression

Example sentences:

• Eric showed impressive speed in the open field, rushing for 184 yards on just eight carries in his college debut.
• This very early and inventive way for flowering plants to manage their reproduction so early in their evolution is impressive.

The word "indispensable" is a strong adjective for something that you couldn't do without. For example, if you have asthma and you're packing for summer vacation, your inhaler is indispensable. The word dispensable means something you can go without, so indispensable is something you absolutely cannot go without. Used simply, “Food is indispensable to humans.” The phrase "be indispensable to" is often used.

Example sentences with the word indispensable:

• She is an indispensable (meaning essential) part of the team.
• Water is indispensable to life.
• To most teenagers, their mobile phones are indispensable to their happiness

Definition: a component of a mixture or compound

Example sentences:

• Restaurant owners say healthy-eating initiatives should focus on diet as a whole, not on particular ingredients or foods.
• Firing up the grill can be one of the simplest strategies for delicious, healthy summer eating – if you use the right ingredients and techniques.

Something that is integral is very important or necessary. If you are an integral part of the team, it means that the team cannot function without you. A synonym for integral would be essential.

You will see the collocation "an integral part" a lot.

Example sentences of the word integral:

• She had become an integral part of the team.
• Some would argue that sport is an integral part of the school curriculum.
• Computers are an integral part of life and so is computer education!

The phrase “be integral to” is often used.  Look at the following examples below:

• His character is integral to the story.
• Luck was integral to our success.

The adjective "paramount" means more important than anything else.  Something that is of paramount importance has a great urgency to it - it's at the very top of his to-do list. Let's look at example sentences:

• Safety is of paramount importance. This means safety is paramount.
• Unemployment was the paramount (meaning chief, main) issue in the election.
• The child's welfare must be seen as paramount.
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.
• The ability to teach students to think is paramount to a teacher’s success.

Definition: A certain, usually specified, amount or number of something; A considerable number or amount of something:

Example sentences:

• If taken in large quantities, the drug can result in liver failure
• This operation is not about finding a large quantity of drugs but to reassure the public and take out middle level dealers
• Many people like to buy in quantity

Definition: get or find back; recover the use of

Example sentences:

• A new study finds that DNA evidence retrieved from elephant dung, tissue and hair can help identify the origins of illegal ivory.

Definition: make visible; to uncover

Example sentences:

• The data reveals how much money students are borrowing in exchange for earnings after graduation.

Definition: A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound:

Example sentences:

• Whether it's in the form of romantic melody, upbeat Swing Jazz or exotic world rhythms, the live musical experience adds a unique presence and excitement to any event.

Definition: A postulated sequence or development of events:

Example sentences:

• Worst case scenarios predict that hundreds of thousands of Balinese who depend on the tourism sector could lose their livelihood.

Definition: Of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular season of the year;Fluctuating or restricted according to the season or time of year:

Example sentences:

• The formation of low and high vessel density wood coincided with the seasonal rainfall distribution They help reduce labour costs and provide needed flexibility when there are seasonal fluctuations.

Definition: not far form top to bottom; lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious

Example sentences:

• Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage at the surface.
• They argues that Facebook is a lot like most reality shows: shallow, narcissistic, digitally or surgically enhanced, but mostly harmless.

Definition: believed or reputed to be the case

Example sentences:

• Streaming services have recently been reviving supposedly dead series frequently enough to be a legitimate trend, but not just any show can get resuscitated.

Definition: A sudden marked increase in voltage or current in an electric circuit

Example sentences:

• The hardware has been redesigned to prevent damage caused by short circuits or power surges.

Definition: Produce or provide (a natural, agricultural, or industrial product); Produce or generate (a result, gain, or financial return)

Example sentences:

• This method yielded excellent results because there was improvement of 15 to 20 per cent each time a teacher repeated the exercise.