TOEFL Words | Questions & Answers 17/44

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 161-170

161. Halfway through the audit, the accountant reached an uneasy realization that several invoices had been altered.

The word "realization" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) hesitation
• (B) awareness
• (C) relief
• (D) distraction

162. Critics praised the renovated train station as aesthetically striking, even though a few travelers complained the new layout was confusing.

The word "aesthetically" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) technically
• (B) modestly
• (C) artistically
• (D) briefly

163. After years of predictable praise for the same restaurant, readers found the reviewer's blunt critique genuinely refreshing.

The word "refreshing" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) alarming
• (B) welcome
• (C) lengthy
• (D) technical

164. Few volunteers devote as many weekend hours to trail maintenance as the retired ranger who founded the hiking club.

The word "devote" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) dedicate
• (B) delay
• (C) limit
• (D) mention

165. Railroads bound distant frontier towns to eastern markets long before highways or telephone lines reached the same regions.

The word "bound" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) separated
• (B) tied
• (C) welcomed
• (D) led

166. The custom of regularly assembling delegates from every county grew alongside the expansion of the railway network.

The word "assembling" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) scheduling
• (B) recording
• (C) gathering
• (D) separating

167. Wealthy merchants in the port city often adorned their front doors with carved wooden panels imported from overseas.

The word "adorned" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) replaced
• (B) displayed
• (C) cleaned
• (D) decorated

168. Museum visitors were surprised to learn that many beads once sewn into ceremonial attire were traded across three continents.

The word "attire" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) clothing
• (B) jewelry
• (C) packaging
• (D) luggage

169. Archivists spent a decade trying to unravel the true origin of the manuscript before finally tracing it to a monastery in the Alps.

The word "unravel" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) conceal
• (B) discover
• (C) measure
• (D) publish

170. Even the most mundane household objects, like a wooden spoon, can carry a surprising amount of family history.

The word "mundane" is closest in meaning to:

• (A) fragile
• (B) valuable
• (C) ordinary
• (D) antique

Answers

• 161 — B: realization ≈ awareness — a realization is a sudden coming-to-awareness.
• 162 — C: aesthetically ≈ artistically — aesthetically pleasing means pleasing in an artistic sense.
• 163 — B: refreshing ≈ welcome — something refreshing feels like a welcome change from the usual.
• 164 — A: devote ≈ dedicate — to devote time is to dedicate it.
• 165 — B: bound ≈ tied — railroads that bound towns together tied them.
• 166 — C: assembling ≈ gathering — to assemble delegates is to gather them.
• 167 — D: adorned ≈ decorated — a door that is adorned is decorated.
• 168 — A: attire ≈ clothing — attire is simply another word for clothing.
• 169 — B: unravel ≈ discover — to unravel a mystery is to discover its answer.
• 170 — C: mundane ≈ ordinary — mundane objects are plain and ordinary.

Keep sampling other lists on the vocabulary hub, then put these words to use with reading practice.