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TOEFL Words | Questions & Answers 14/44

VocabularyUpdated 3 min read

This page drills ten TOEFL vocabulary words through original context sentences. Read each sentence, choose the closest meaning for the bolded word, then check your answers against the key below.

TOEFL Words | Questions 131-140

  1. Marathon runners train for months to tolerate the muscle fatigue and joint strain that come with running twenty-six miles.

The word "tolerate" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) ignore
  • (B) endure
  • (C) avoid
  • (D) measure
  1. Field researchers often have to hike several kilometers to obtain fresh water samples from the upper stretches of the river.

The word "obtain" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) digest
  • (B) transport
  • (C) get
  • (D) refuse
  1. After public pressure mounted, the city agreed to roll back parking fees to the rate charged two years earlier.

The phrase "roll back" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) postpone
  • (B) publish
  • (C) calculate
  • (D) reduce
  1. Lower interest rates are often credited with stimulating new home construction across suburban districts.

The word "stimulating" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) encouraging
  • (B) measuring
  • (C) delaying
  • (D) questioning
  1. A sudden oversupply of soybeans depressed prices across the regional market for most of the harvest season.

The word "depressed" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) recorded
  • (B) lowered
  • (C) doubled
  • (D) explained
  1. The lab enforces stringent safety rules that require goggles, gloves, and a supervisor present at all times.

The word "stringent" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) outdated
  • (B) flexible
  • (C) strict
  • (D) popular
  1. The grain of a piece of walnut often dictates the final shape a furniture maker chooses for a tabletop.

The word "dictates" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) records
  • (B) ignores
  • (C) publishes
  • (D) determines
  1. During her years as a foreign correspondent, she witnessed three separate elections collapse into disputed recounts.

The word "witnessed" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) observed
  • (B) influenced
  • (C) questioned
  • (D) recorded
  1. The architect's decision to use curved glass walls was seen as a break with the rigid, boxy style that had dominated the district for decades.

The phrase "a break with" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) an improvement on
  • (B) a departure from
  • (C) an argument against
  • (D) a return to
  1. Hibernating animals slow their metabolism dramatically in order to conserve the limited fat reserves built up before winter.

The word "conserve" is closest in meaning to:

  • (A) expand
  • (B) track
  • (C) retain
  • (D) measure

Answers

  • 131 — B: tolerate ≈ endure — to tolerate a strain is to endure it.
  • 132 — C: obtain ≈ get — to obtain something is simply to get it.
  • 133 — D: roll back ≈ reduce — rolling back a fee means reducing it.
  • 134 — A: stimulating ≈ encouraging — stimulating construction means encouraging more of it.
  • 135 — B: depressed ≈ lowered — depressed prices are prices pushed lower.
  • 136 — C: stringent ≈ strict — stringent rules are strict, tightly enforced ones.
  • 137 — D: dictates ≈ determines — grain that dictates a shape determines it.
  • 138 — A: witnessed ≈ observed — to witness an event is to observe it directly.
  • 139 — B: a break with ≈ a departure from — breaking with tradition is departing from it.
  • 140 — C: conserve ≈ retain — to conserve reserves is to retain them.

Browse more vocabulary sets on the vocabulary hub, then reinforce these words with a round of reading practice.

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