TOEFL Words | Questions & Answers 3/44

This page gives you ten original TOEFL-style vocabulary items built around the target words below. Answer all ten first, then check your choices against the answer key at the end.

TOEFL Words | Questions 021-030

021. Museum staff use climate-controlled rooms to maintain the fragile manuscripts at a constant temperature and humidity.

The word "maintain" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) document
• (B) preserve
• (C) digitize
• (D) relocate

022. The renovation required considerable investment, far more than the committee had originally budgeted for the project.

The word "considerable" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) thoughtful
• (B) substantial
• (C) unexpected
• (D) temporary

023. Local actors were praised for their careful enactment of the centuries-old ceremony during the harvest festival.

The word "enactment" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) authorization
• (B) performance
• (C) description
• (D) invention

024. The scale of destruction after the earthquake was staggering, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble within seconds.

The word "staggering" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) predictable
• (B) isolated
• (C) overwhelming
• (D) gradual

025. The hurricane devastated the coastal town, leaving most of its buildings unusable for months.

The word "devastated" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) developed
• (B) ruined
• (C) surrounded
• (D) rebuilt

026. A series of controlled experiments demonstrated that the new alloy resists corrosion far better than standard steel.

The word "demonstrated" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) predicted
• (B) showed
• (C) overlooked
• (D) questioned

027. The old irrigation canals extend for nearly forty kilometers across the valley floor.

The word "extend" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) stretch
• (B) curve
• (C) narrow
• (D) elevate

028. Explorers were surprised by the vast grasslands that stretched unbroken to the horizon in every direction.

The word "vast" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) large
• (B) barren
• (C) unfamiliar
• (D) distant

029. A single overheated wire sparked the fire that eventually spread through three warehouses.

The word "sparked" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) brought about
• (B) prevented
• (C) extinguished
• (D) delayed

030. Engineers identified several potential causes of the bridge's vibration before settling on wind resonance as the most likely one.

The word "potential" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) urgent
• (B) obvious
• (C) possible
• (D) minor

Answers

• 021 — B: maintain ≈ preserve — to keep something in its existing, stable condition.
• 022 — B: considerable ≈ substantial — large enough to matter.
• 023 — B: enactment ≈ performance — the act of carrying something out, such as a ritual.
• 024 — C: staggering ≈ overwhelming — so great in scale it is hard to grasp.
• 025 — B: devastated ≈ ruined — severely damaged or destroyed.
• 026 — B: demonstrated ≈ showed — proved something through evidence or experiment.
• 027 — A: extend ≈ stretch — to reach across a distance.
• 028 — A: vast ≈ large — very great in size or area.
• 029 — A: sparked ≈ brought about — caused something to start.
• 030 — C: potential ≈ possible — capable of happening, though not yet certain.

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