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TOEFL Word List # TOEFL/M52

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Explanation of mercenary (adjective)
working or done for payment only; hired for service

Sample of mercenary
Lila was suspicious that Joe had jumped at the chance only for mercenary reasons.



   
Explanation of apprehensive (adjective)
fearful; aware; conscious; worried; concerned

Sample of apprehensive
The nervous child was apprehensive about beginning a new school year.



   
Explanation of discrete (adjective)
separate; individual

Sample of discrete
There were four discrete aspects to the architecture of the home.
The citizens committee maintained that road widening and drainage were hardly discrete issues.



   
Explanation of bellicose (adjective)
quarrelsome; warlike

Sample of bellicose
The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.



   
Explanation of murky (adjective)
dark; cloudy; gloomy

Sample of murky
The two main parties, defined by Ireland's civil-war allegiances in the 1920s, coexist in a murky world of unprincipled favor-mongering.



   
Explanation of tangible (adjective)
real; actual; substantial

Sample of tangible
So, while product development has been impressive, and confirms a certain level of re-investment, it does not usually lead to development of medium-sized businesses with tangible assets.



   
Explanation of itinerant (adjective)
traveling about; wandering

Sample of itinerant
Ian Franchi, of Britain's Open University, and his colleagues have just spent three weeks on crampons and skidoos, combing the ice sheet for these itinerant boulders.
Evidently the general itinerant care exercised by Paul and his helpers is supplemented by permanent resident officeholders.



   
Explanation of truculent (adjective)
fierce; savage; cruel; destructive; harsh; barbaric

Sample of truculent
Truculent fighting broke out in the war-torn country.
The truculent beast approached the crowd with wild eyes and sharpened claws.



   
Explanation of ubiquitous (adjective)
omnipresent; present everywhere

Sample of ubiquitous
A ubiquitous spirit followed the man wherever he went.
Water may seem ubiquitous, until a drought comes along.



   
Explanation of sporadic (adjective)
rarely occurring or appearing; intermittent; occasional; irregular; infrequent

Sample of sporadic
In the desert there is usually only sporadic rainfall.
Infection commonly occurs in children and infants, and the clinical progression of the disease is similar to syphilis when it is seen in the sporadic form; the late manifestations, however, tend to be seen at a much younger age.



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