Vocabulary

Doing as homework a bit everyday.
Good online practice games:
http://quizlet.com/6098362/barrons-toefl-vocab-lesson-2-flash-cards/


Otherwise memorize:
abandon: lacking restraint or control; feeling of extreme emotional intensity; unbounded enthusiasm
E.g.With her parents out of town, Kelly danced all night with abandon.

abdicate: give up, renounce, abandon, lay down, or withdraw from, as a right or claim
E.g.When Edward VIII did abdicate the British throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world.

abet: aid, usually in doing something wrong; encourage
E.g.She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.

abridge: condense; shorten; reduce length of written text
E.g.Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.

abrogate: abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority
E.g.He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor.

academic: related to school; not practical or directly useful; relating to scholarly organization; based on formal education
E.g.The dean's talk about reforming the college admissions system was only an academic discussion.

accelerate: move faster; cause to develop or progress more quickly; occur sooner than expected
E.g.Demand for Taiwanese goods likely will accelerate from the second quarter, as strong Asian demand offsets the effects of a U.S. slowdown.

accolade: award of merit; expression of approval; praise
E.g.In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.

accord: settlement or compromise of conflicting opinions; written agreement between two states
E.g.Although the accord is a small step forward, politicians around the world have their work cut out for them.

acrimonious: bitter and sharp in language, tone, or manner
E.g.The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms.

acumen: mental keenness; quickness of perception
E.g.However, her team's political acumen is clearly beyond mine, an Ivy League Medical Science Professor and NOT a Political "Science" Professor.

admonish: warn; counsel someone against something to be avoided
E.g.I would again admonish the reader carefully to consider the nature of our doctrine.

adversary: opponent in contest; someone who offers opposition
E.g.The young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary.

adversity: state of misfortune, hardship, or affliction; misfortune
E.g.A young boy who's strength in adversity is an inspiration to all who know him.

aesthetic: elegant or tasteful; of or concerning appreciation of beauty or good taste
E.g.Kenneth Cole, the American designer known for his modern, urban aesthetic, is hawking $35 T-shirts.

affable: easily approachable; warmly friendly
E.g.Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nicholas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.

affluent: having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
E.g.They want the same opportunity to pursue their dreams as everyone else who lives in affluent school districts.

aggressive: making assaults; unjustly attacking; combative; hostile; tending to spread quickly
E.g.During his tenure in Beijing, Huntsman was known as an aggressive advocate for human rights and pushed to expand U.S. economic ties with China.

alienate: cause to become unfriendly or hostile; transfer property or ownership; isolate or dissociate emotionally
E.g.We could not see what should again alienate us from one another, or how one brother could again oppress another.

allude: refer casually or indirectly, or by suggestion
E.g.Try not to mention divorce in Jack's presence because he will think you allude to his marital problems with Jill.

allure: attract with something desirable; be highly, often subtly attractive
E.g.Promises of quick profits allure the unwary investor.

ambiguous: unclear or doubtful in meaning
E.g.His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.

amenable: responsive to advice or suggestion; responsible to higher authority; willing to comply with; agreeable
E.g.He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to.

amiable: good-natured and likable; lovable; warmly friendly
E.g.In Little Women, Beth is the amiable daughter whose loving disposition endears her to all who know her.

analogy: similarity in some respects; comparison based on similarity
E.g.This analogy is almost always noted without further comment, although in fact it may be taken further.

anarchy: absence of governing body; state of disorder; political disorder and confusion
E.g.One might say that eastern Congo is already in anarchy, but Congo has faded from the headlines in recent months.

anonymous: having no name; having unknown or unacknowledged name
E.g.The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, is a foreigner with homes in Europe.

anthology: book of literary selections by various authors
E.g.This anthology of science fiction was compiled by the late Isaac Asimov.

apathy: lack of caring; indifference
E.g.A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote.

apprehensive: capable of apprehending; knowing; conscious; relating to the faculty of apprehension; sensible; feeling; perceptive
E.g.Here I walked about for a long time, feeling very strange, and mortally apprehensive of some one coming in and kidnapping me.

apprise: inform; give notice to; make aware
E.g.If you apprise him the dangerous weather conditions, he has to postpone his trip.

approbation: expression of warm approval; praise
E.g.She looked for some sign of approbation from her parents, hoping her good grades would please them.

apt: likely; exactly suitable; appropriate; quick to learn or understand
E.g.The defeated England coach, Bobby Robson, described it as a miracle, which following 'the Hand-of-God' goal seems supremely apt.

archetype: prototype; original model or type after which other similar things are patterned
E.g.The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island and New Jersey.

arid: dry; lacking moisture, especially having insufficient rainfall to support trees or plants
E.g.The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment.

aristocracy: hereditary nobility; privileged class
E.g.Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy.

articulate: expressing oneself easily in clear and effective language
E.g.Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.

assiduous: constant in application or attention; diligent; unceasing or persistent
E.g.He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results.

asylum: place of refuge or shelter; protection
E.g.The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land.

atheist: nonbeliever; one who denies the existence of god
E.g.The view that children are born atheist is relatively recent.

attribute: essential quality; reputation; honor
E.g.His outstanding attribute was his kindness.

augment: make greater, as in size, extent, or quantity
E.g.Armies augment their forces by calling up reinforcements.

auspicious: attended by favorable circumstances; marked by success; prosperous
E.g.With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail.

authentic: not counterfeit or copied; valid; trustworthy
E.g.It is authentic, genuine, and a true and correct copy of the original.

autocratic: having absolute, unchecked power; dictatorial
E.g.Someone accustomed to exercising authority may become autocratic if his or her power is unchecked.

awry: in a position that is turned toward one side; away from correct course
E.g.He held his head awry, giving the impression that he had caught cold in his neck during the night.

banal: obvious and dull; commonplace; lacking originality
E.g.The writer made his comic sketch seem banal.

banter: good-humored, playful conversation
E.g.You bring good diversity to the BombCast because your opinions are varied and present a good contrast to what can sometimes be predictable banter from the guys.

belligerent: inclined or eager to fight; aggressive
E.g.Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers.

benevolent: generous in providing aid to others; charitable
E.g.Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer, who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.

biased: favoring one person or side over another; prejudiced
E.g.Because the judge played golf regularly with the district attorney's father, we feared he might be biased in the prosecution's favor.

bizarre: fantastic; violently contrasting; strangely unconventional in style or appearance
E.g.The plot of the novel was too bizarre to be believed.

bland: lacking stimulating or mild; agreeable
E.g.She kept her gaze level and her expression bland, but her teeth were gritted.

blemish: mark with deformity; injure or impair, as anything which is excellent; make defective, either the body or mind
E.g.A newspaper article alleging he had taken bribes may blemish his reputation.

blight: blast; prevent the growth and fertility of; destroy the happiness of; ruin; frustrate
E.g.I wish to foster, not to blight -- to earn gratitude, not to wring tears of blood -- no, nor of brine: my harvest must be in smiles, in endearments, in sweet -- That will do.

bombastic: pompous; using inflated language; high-sounding but with little meaning
E.g.The biggest military power on Earth was acting belligerent and its president was indulging in bombastic nationalistic grandstanding.


cacophonous: discordant; inharmonious; sounding harshly; ill-sounding
E.g.Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make when they're tuning up? I don't know how they can stand the racket.

callous: emotionally hardened; unfeeling
E.g.He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards.

candid: straightforward; frank; free from prejudice; impartial
E.g.In private, I gave them my candid opinion.

cantankerous: ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious
E.g.Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, he was a cantankerous patient.

capricious: fickle; impulsive and unpredictable; apt to change opinions suddenly
E.g.The storm was capricious: it changed course constantly.

captious: intended to confuse in an argument
E.g.I resent the way he asked that was captious question.

caricature: representation that is deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic effect
E.g.The caricature he drew yesterday emphasized a personal weakness of the people he burlesqued.

castigate: criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication
E.g.When the teacher threatened that she would castigate the mischievous boys if they didn't behave, they shaped up in a hurry.

chronic: lasting for long period; marked by frequent recurrence, as certain diseases
E.g.The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches to traces of formaldehyde gas in his apartment.

circumspect: carefully aware of all circumstances; cautious
E.g.Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect.

circumvent: surround; enclose or entrapoutwit; beat through cleverness and wit
E.g.In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting our major campaign.

civil: having to do with citizens or the state; courteous and polite
E.g.Although Internal Revenue Service agents are civil servants, they are not always courteous to suspected tax cheats.

clamorous: speaking and repeating loud words; full of clamor; calling or demanding loudly or urgently; vociferous; noisy; bawling; loud
E.g.He sprung his secret, but the surprise it occasioned was largely counterfeit and not as clamorous and effusive as it might have been under happier circumstances.

clandestine: secret; conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
E.g.After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting.

coalition: partnership; league; state of being combined into one body
E.g.The Rainbow coalition united people of all races in a common cause.

coercion: use of force to get someone to obey
E.g.The inquisitors used both physical and psychological coercion to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God.

collusion: secret agreement for an illegal purpose; conspiracy
E.g.They're in collusion with the government and just want a piece of the pie like everyone else.

compatible: harmonious; having similar disposition and tastes
E.g.They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters.

compensation: something given or received as payment as for a service or loss or injury
E.g.There are an estimated 86000 survivors around the world and almost half of them could be eligible for payments from the compensation fund.

concede: admit; yield; give up physical control of another
E.g.Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right.

condole: grieve; express sympathy; speak sympathetically to one in pain, grief, or misfortune
E.g.My hamster died this morning, my friends condole with me and help bury him in the yard.

confederate: ally; form a group or unite 
E.g.President Davis was captured at Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, and the remaining confederate armies surrendered by June 1865.

congenial: compatible
E.g.Thus ideas already in consciousness always repel the entry uncompatible idea and make entry of the congenial idea.

conjecture: believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
E.g.I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all likelihood, a gleam from a lantern carried by someone across the lawn.

consternation: intense state of fear or dismay; astonishment combined with terror
E.g.One would never think that a hunter would display such consternation when a bear closed to camp.

consummate: carried to the utmost extent or degree; of the highest quality; complete; perfect
E.g.She dealt with the problem with consummate skill.

contemptuous: scornful; expressing contempt; showing a lack of respect
E.g.The diners were intimidated by contemptuous manner of the waiter.

convivial: festive; occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
E.g.The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs.

copious: plentiful; containing plenty; affording ample supply
E.g.She had copious reasons for rejecting the proposal.

corpulent: very fat; large in body; overweight
E.g.The corpulent man resolved to reduce.

cosmopolitan: sophisticated; of worldwide scope
E.g.Her years in the capitol had transformed her into a cosmopolitan young woman highly aware of international affairs.

credence: credit; faith
E.g.A letter of credence is a letter sent by one head of state to another formally accrediting a named individual, usually but not always a diplomat.

credible: capable of being credited or believed; worthy of belief; entitled to confidence; trustworthy
E.g.Every detail of the damaging circumstances that occurred in the graveyard upon that morning which all present remembered so well was brought out by credible witnesses, but none of them were cross-examined by Potter's lawyer.

credulous: apt to believe on slight evidence; easily imposed upon; unsuspecting; believed too readily
E.g.They are credulous people who believe in the advertisement.

cringe: shrink or recoil, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment; bend or crouch with base humility
E.g.One thing that makes me cringe is seeing politicians from the mainstream parties acting as apologists for voters.

crucial: of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis; of the greatest importance
E.g.The meeting of today is the crucial moment in his career.

cryptic: having hidden meaning; mystifying; using code or cipher
E.g.Here are a couple of verses written in cryptic rhyme from some of my currently published books.

curb: bend or curve; guide and manage, or restrain
E.g.Paradoxically, Ray's strong-arming may be helping to curb violence in Bangalore.

cursory: casual; brief or broad; not cautious, nor detailed
E.g.Because a cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more extensive investigation of the fire's cause.

cynical: skeptical of motives of others; selfishly calculating; negative or pessimistic
E.g.What I find sad, and cynical, is that this guy is essentially saying things will not be better by 2012.

deference: willingness to carry out the wishes of others; great respect
E.g.In deference to the minister's request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.

delectable: delightful; delicious; extremely pleasing to the sense of taste
E.g.We thanked our host for a most delectable meal.

delete: erase; strike out; remove or make invisible
E.g.Less is more: if you delete this paragraph, your whole essay will have greater appeal.

delineate: portray; depict; draw or trace outline of; sketch out
E.g.Using only a few descriptive phrases, you delineate the character of Mr. Collins so well that we can predict his every move.

delinquent: failing in duty; offending by neglect of duty.
E.g.But the couple say their mortgage servicer, CitiMortgage, reported to the credit bureaus that they made partial payments that were delinquent.

deluge: great flood; heavy downpour; any overflowing of water
E.g.When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications.

demeanor: conduct; management; way in which a person behaves
E.g.It'll be interesting to see what her demeanor is and what kind of witness she is.

demure: modest and reserved in manner or behavior
E.g.She was demure and reserved, a nice modest girl whom any young man would be proud to take home to his mother.

denounce: condemn openly; criticize; make known in formal manner
E.g.The reform candidate kept to denounce the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust.

deplete: decrease fullness of; use up or empty out
E.g.We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements.

deplore: feel or express strong disapproval of; condemn; express sorrow or grief over; regret
E.g.Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely.

deprecate: express disapproval of; protest against; belittle
E.g.A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post must deprecate the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.

depreciate: lessen price or value of; think or speak of as being of little worth; belittle
E.g.If you neglect this property, it will depreciate.

devastation: an event that results in total destruction; the state of being decayed or destroyed
E.g.Only a few years ago the River Oder on the Polish-German border caused huge amounts of devastation.

devious: departing from correct or accepted way; misleading; not straightforward
E.g.The story of Byzantine art, though not precisely devious, is not straightforward either.

devoid: completely lacking; barren or empty
E.g.You may think her mind is a total void, but she's actually not devoid of intelligence. She just sounds like an airhead.

devout: expressing devotion or piety; earnest in religious field
E.g.The devout man prayed daily.

dilemma: predicament; state of uncertainty or between equally unfavorable options
E.g.It could create a painful dilemma for the group's members: either accept a lower price or give up additional production quotas they have just given themselves.

disconcert: confuse; frustrate by throwing into disorder; embarrass
E.g.The evidence produced by her adversary does disconcert the lawyer.

discourse: formal, lengthy discussion of a subject; verbal exchange; conversation
E.g.The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers.

discrete: separate; consisting of unconnected distinct parts
E.g.The universe is composed of discrete bodies.

disparity: difference; condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree
E.g.Their disparity in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.

dispassionate: calm; impartial; unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
E.g.Known in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of a problem, giving a dispassionate analysis of what had gone wrong, and go on to suggest how to correct the mess.

dispatch: act of sending off something; property of being prompt and efficient; message usually sent in haste
E.g.He sent a dispatch to headquarters informing his commander of the great victory.

dispel: scatter; drive away; cause to vanish
E.g.The bright sunlight eventually might dispel the morning mist.

dissent: differ in opinion or feeling; withhold assent or approval
E.g.In the future Supreme Court decision, Justice O'Connor will dissent from the majority opinion.

distraught: deeply agitated, as from emotional conflict; mad; insane
E.g.Her father had recently died and her mother was still distraught from the loss.

diverse: differing in some characteristics; various
E.g.The professor suggested diverse ways of approaching the assignment and recommended that we choose one of them.

divulge: reveal; make known to public
E.g.Will update regarding the details, but all I can divulge is that it involves a really good-looking guy.

dogmatic: stubbornly adhering to insufficiently proven beliefs; inflexible, rigid
E.g.We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.

dynamic: energetic; vigorously active
E.g.The dynamic aerobics instructor kept her students on the run.

egregious: notorious; conspicuously bad or shocking
E.g.She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said.

elicit: draw out; bring forth or to light; generate or provoke as response or answer
E.g.The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot.

emissary: agent sent on a mission to represent or advance the interests of another
E.g.A native of Brazil, Bella considers herself a kind of emissary from the Brazilian community.

engender: cause; bring into existence; give rise to
E.g.To receive praise for real accomplishments would engender self-confidence in a child.

ensue: pursue; follow or come afterward; follow as a consequence
E.g.The evils ensue from lack of a stable government.

ephemeral: short-lived; enduring a very short time
E.g.The mayfly is an ephemeral creature: its adult life lasts little more than a day.

epithet: word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing
E.g.So many kings of France were named Charles that you could tell one apart only by his epithet: Charles the Wise was someone far different from Charles the Fat.

erratic: no fixed or regular course; wandering
E.g.State Senate Minority Leader, a Democrat, accused him of engaging in erratic behavior.

erudite: learned; scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books
E.g.Though his fellow students thought him erudite, Paul knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself a scholar.

esoteric: hard to understand; known only in a particular group
E.g.The New Yorker short stories often include esoteric allusions to obscure people and events: the implication is, if you are in the in-crowd, you'll get the reference; if you come from Cleveland, you won't.

exceptionable: open or liable to objection or debate; liable to cause disapproval
E.g.Do you find the punk rock band Green Day a highly exceptionable, thoroughly distasteful group, or do you think they are exceptionally talented performers?.

exculpate: pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
E.g.The court will exculpate him of the crime after the real criminal confesses.

exemplary: serving as model; outstanding; typical
E.g.But the official Miss America website stresses you performed all your duties in exemplary fashion before you gave up the crown.

exodus: departure of a large number of people
E.g.The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings.

exotic: from another part of the world; foreign; strikingly strange or unusual
E.g.Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange appearance.

expatriate: someone who has withdrawn from his native land
E.g.Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England.

expedient: suitable; appropriate to a purpose; serving to promote your interest
E.g.A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical.

exploit: make use of, sometimes unjustly
E.g.Cesar Chavez fought attempts to exploit migrant farm workers in California.

extinct: no longer existing or living; vanished; dead
E.g.There are about 35 different kinds of extinct kangaroos in these deposits, none of them looked like anything we know today because they didn't hop.

extirpate: root out; eradicate, literally or figuratively; destroy wholly
E.g.The policemen extirpate the criminals after many years of investigation.


abyss: enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit; any deep, immeasurable space; hell

acquiesce: assent; agree without protesting

affable: easily approachable; warmly friendly

affliction: cause or condition of pain, suffering, or distress

affluent: having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

agitate: cause to move with violence or sudden force; upset; disturb

ambiguous: unclear or doubtful in meaning

annex: append or attach; take possession of; incorporate into an existing political unit

aqueous: of or like water

arduous: demanding great effort or labor; difficult

aroma: fragrance; scent; pleasant characteristic odor, as of a plant, spice, or food

atone: make amends, as for sin or fault; pay for; turn away from sin

avarice: greediness for wealth; insatiable desire of gain

bellicose: warlike or hostile in manner or temperament; showing or having impulse to be combative

calisthenics: exercises to develop strong bodies

captor: person who takes smb captive

concoct: digest; convert into nourishment by the organs of nutrition.

dangle: hang loosely, or with a swinging or jerking motion; swing, as something suspended loosely

deprive: deny; take away

diligent: assiduous; industrious; hard-working

disrobe: undress

docile: obedient; ready and willing to be taught; easily managed or handled

doleful: sorrowful; filled with or expressing grief; mournful

drought: dry period; aridity; long period of abnormally low rainfall

dubious: questionable; filled with doubt

dumbfound: fill with astonishment and perplexity; confound

efface: rub or wipe out; make indistinct as if by rubbing

elucidate: make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify

enchant: charm by sorcery; get control of by magical words and rites

endeavor: attempt by employing effort

endorse: acknowledge by signing a bill, draft, or other instrument

enthral: take the whole attention, enslave

exploit: make use of, sometimes unjustly

extensive: widespread; far-reaching; wide

extol: praise highly; glorify; celebrate

flimsy: weak; feeble; limp; slight; vain; without strength or solidity

fraud: getting money by lying or cheating; something intended to deceive

gaudy: very showy or ornamented, especially when excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner

ghastly: horrible; inspiring shock; extremely unpleasant or bad

grumble: utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds

harass: irritate or torment persistently; wear out; exhaust

heretic: one who holds to a heresy; one who believes some doctrine contrary to the established faith or prevailing religion

impediment: any structure that makes progress difficult; stumbling-block

indigenous: native; originating where it is found

insatiate: never satisfied

intrepid: fearless; indicating or springing from courage

irate: feeling or showing extreme anger; enraged

jeopardy: exposure to death, loss, or injury; hazard; risk of loss or injury

leash: control

loafer: an idle, lazy person

lucrative: profitable; producing good profit

lustrous: giving out or shedding light, as sun or fire; reflecting light; having brilliant surface

malign: speak evil of; bad-mouth; defame

meddle: mix; mingle; interfere or busy one's self improperly with another's affairs, specifically, to handle or disturb another's property without permission

mend: make repairs or restoration to; fix; improve

mirth: gladness and gaiety, especially when expressed by laughter

nausea: feeling of sickness in stomach by an urge to vomit; strong aversion; disgust

neglect: disregard; ignore; pay little or no attention to

nocturnal: of or relating to or occurring in the night; most active at night

obese: extremely fat; grossly overweight

obsolete: no longer useful; outmoded; antiquated

perch: a place high up; an elevated place serving as a seat 

pervade: pass or flow through, as an aperture; permeate; pass or spread through the whole extent of

petulant: easily irritated or annoyed; unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered

pillage: rob of goods by force, especially in time of war; plunder; take as spoils

presumptuous: overconfident; going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward

quashed: annuled

quenching: satisfy, put an end to, put out

refurbished: make clean, as if like new

rejoicing: of rejoice; feeling and expression of joy and gladness; procedure expressive of joy; festivity

reticent: inclined to keep silent; reserved; uncommunicative.

reverberate: be sent back, again and again

rigor: strictness or severity, as in temperament, action, or judgment; something hard to endure

rotundity: roundness; rounded fullness; integral entireness

salvage: save from loss or destruction; rescue of a ship; save for further use

scattered: not situated together

shatter: destroy; break up; break into many pieces

shunned: avoided, kept away from

sketchy: containing only an outline or rough form; being in the manner of a sketch; incomplete

sporadic: occurring at irregular intervals; having no pattern or order in time

stifled: suppressed, kept back

strive: endeavor; struggle or fight forcefully; exert much effort or energy

subsequent: following in time or order; succeeding; later

succumb: submit to an overpowering force; yield to an overwhelming desire; give up or give in

taciturn: silent or reserved in speech; saying little; not inclined to speak or converse

tantalize: tease; torture with disappointment; bait someone by showing something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied

tentative: hesitant; not fully worked out or developed; experimental; not definite or positive

torpid: having lost motion, or the power of exertion and feeling; numb; benumbed

treacherous: dangerous; dangerously unstable and unpredictable; disloyal; tending to betray

tremor: shaking or vibrating movement; slight quiver

tyro: beginner in learning something; novice

uproar: noise and excitement

vanity: quality or state of being vain; emptiness; feelings of excessive pride; conceit

vehemence: forcefulness; intensity; conviction

vigilance: watchfulness; wakefulness; process of paying close and continuous attention

vindicate: clear from blame; exonerate; maintain, uphold, or defend

voluptuous: giving pleasure or satisfaction of the senses; having strong sexual appeal

wan: having a pale or sickly color; unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress

wile: trick or stratagem practiced for deception; 

wrinkle: a minor difficulty; a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface

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An alternative list of 200 common words for the TOEFL iBT: http://www.unrestrictedarea.com/esl/Michael%20Buckhoff's%20TOEFL%20iBT%20Vocabulary%20List%20-%20Intermediate.pdf