TOEFL Words | Questions & Answers 6/44

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 051-060

051. The committee wanted a homogeneous panel of judges, all trained in the same technique, to keep scoring consistent across regions.

The word "homogeneous" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) uniform
• (B) unusual
• (C) experienced
• (D) modern

052. After moving to the countryside, the family largely renounced processed foods, growing most of what they ate themselves.

The phrase "largely renounced" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) generally rejected
• (B) greatly modified
• (C) loudly declared
• (D) often criticized

053. In most large firms today, a results-driven culture prevails over the older emphasis on seniority.

The word "prevails" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) dominates
• (B) declines
• (C) competes
• (D) adapts

054. Experienced sailors can sense subtle shifts in wind direction long before the instruments register any change.

The word "subtle" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) sudden
• (B) predictable
• (C) constant
• (D) slight

055. The research assistant spent the weekend compiling survey responses from six different regional offices into one spreadsheet.

The word "compiling" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) putting together
• (B) looking up
• (C) piling high
• (D) working over

056. Before publication, editors converted the raw interview transcripts into a polished, readable article.

The word "raw" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) lengthy
• (B) confidential
• (C) handwritten
• (D) unprocessed

057. Small business owners worried about the prospect of a prolonged shipping delay disrupting their holiday sales.

The word "prospect" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) burden
• (B) possibility
• (C) rumor
• (D) consequence

058. The number of applicants to the program roughly tripled after the university began offering online scholarships.

The word "roughly" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) steadily
• (B) unexpectedly
• (C) briefly
• (D) approximately

059. Stricter dress codes at the new office tended to magnify social distinctions between junior and senior staff that had barely mattered before.

The word "magnify" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) hide
• (B) measure
• (C) predict
• (D) increase

The word "distinctions" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) differences
• (B) similarities
• (C) responsibilities
• (D) opinions

060. In biology, a hypothesis is a proposed explanation for events that are related in some observable way.

The word "related" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) connected
• (B) caused
• (C) measured
• (D) predicted

Answers

• 051 — A: homogeneous ≈ uniform — the same throughout.
• 052 — A: largely renounced ≈ generally rejected — mostly gave up or turned away from.
• 053 — A: prevails ≈ dominates — is the strongest or most common.
• 054 — D: subtle ≈ slight — small and hard to notice.
• 055 — A: compiling ≈ putting together — gathering pieces into one whole.
• 056 — D: raw ≈ unprocessed — not yet treated or refined.
• 057 — B: prospect ≈ possibility — a chance that something may happen.
• 058 — D: roughly ≈ approximately — close to an exact amount, not exact.
• 059 — D, A: magnify ≈ increase; distinctions ≈ differences — to make larger, and the differences that separate groups.
• 060 — A: related ≈ connected — linked to something else.

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