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TOEFL Word List # TOEFL/W17

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Description of abash (verb)
to lose self-confidence; to confuse; to put to shame; to disconcert; to embarrass

Samples of abash
There was no bewilderment or imbecility about the face that looked at him; rather there was a highness, almost an arrogance, in it which abashed him.



   
Description of credence (noun)
trust; belief; confidence; faith

Samples of credence
Foreign relief organizations and subsequent students of their work have tended to exaggerate this dichotomy with regard to the Famine, but internal Soviet sources lend credence to the view that the sudden withdrawal of many kinds of domestic relief was premature.



   
Description of consternation (noun)
amazement or terror that causes confusion; shock; dismay; alarm

Samples of consternation
The look of consternation on the child's face caused her father to panic.

Determination of consternation
Dictionary.com · Cambridge Dictionaries · Merriam-Webster · Onelook.com


   
Description of untenable (adjective)
incapable of being defended or held; uninhabitable

Samples of untenable
One of the interesting facets of developments in France, which also applies to the situation in the former FRG, is that the legacy of mental hospitals is not seen as an intrinsically untenable one.



   
Description of paradox (noun)
tenet seemingly contradictory or false, but actually true

Samples of paradox
The paradox seemed so unlikely though it was true.
At first blush, the company's results were a paradox: Sales were down, yet profits were up.



   
Description of harangue (verb)
to talk or write excitedly; to scold; to lecture

Samples of harangue
Please stop haranguing me so I can breathe freely again.



   
Description of meander (adjective)
winding; wandering aimlessly

Samples of meander
Within this encircling road, lie a series of superb brown trout and sea-trout lochs: Scadavay, with shores that meander round the moor for a distance of more than fifty miles; full of fishy points and promontories, reputed to contain 365 islands.
Because we took a long, meandering walk, we arrived home well after dark.



   
Description of allay (verb)
to calm; to lessen in severity; to mollify; to relieve

Samples of allay
Parliamentary intervention was necessary, partly to allay friction between the established church and Nonconformists, and partly to ensure that cemetery space was allotted at minimum cost to the poor.



   
Description of bulwark (noun)
embankment used as a fortification; an idea; object serving as a protection

Samples of bulwark
She wanted him to have contact with other Irish kids and families, as a sort of bulwark against the swamp of English culture.



   
Description of castigate (verb)
to punish through public criticism; to scold; to reprimand

Samples of castigate
The mayor castigated the police chief for the rash of robberies.



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