TOEFL Vocabulary #1

(adj.)—charming, happily engaging, attractive and pleasing, with simple qualities, sometimes like those a child has:

Maria brought along her eldest daughter - a winsome girl with brown eyes and a ready smile.

winsome : /ˈwɪn.səm/ (adj)

winsomely (adv)

(v.)—to end by force; to prevent the dissemination of information
Sue suppressed the urge to press the doorbell for the fifth time.
The Hungarian uprising in 1956 was suppressed by the Soviet Union.

suppress:  /səˈpres/ (V)

suppression (n) - suppressive (adj) - suppressor (n)

(adj.)—preferring to live in isolation

Clouseau became reclusive after he retired; he gave no real clues as to where he lived.

a reclusive billionaire

reclusive:  /rɪˈkluː.sɪv/ (adj)

recluse (n) - synonym: hermit

(adj.)—complaining, irritable, fretful, whiny

The querulous customer bombarded the clerk with a list of questions and complaints.
He became increasingly dissatisfied and querulous in his old age.

querulous: /ˈkwer.jə.ləs/ (adj)

querulously (adv)

(adj.)—considerate, skillful in acting to avoid offense to others

A tactful person’s actions are in good taste.
Mentioning his baldness wasn't very tactful.

tactful: /ˈtækt.fəl/ (adj)

tact (n) - tactfully (adv)

(n.)—the act of agreement after a quarrel, the resolution of a dispute

It took hours of negotiations to bring about a reconciliation between the two sides.
We recognized that the argument was silly and reconciled.

reconciliation: /ˌrek.ənˌsɪl.iˈeɪ.ʃən/ (n)

reconcile(v)

(adj.)—bitter, hateful

The unfair ranking made the contestants rancorous.
Government leaders appear increasingly rancorous.

rancorous:  /ˈræŋ.kɚ.əs/ (adj)

rancor (n)

(adj.)—tending to provoke a response, e.g., anger or disagreement

One who is provocative provokes others to react.
The program will take a detailed and provocative look at the problem of homelessness.

provocative:  /prəˈvɑː.kə.t̬ɪv/ (adj)

provocation (n) - provocatively (adv)

(adj.)—undisturbed; calm, quiet

a slow-moving and placid river
the placid pace of village life
The placid island was like the peaceful place in my dreams.

placid: /ˈplæs.ɪd/ (adj)

placidly (adv) - placidness (n)

(v.)—to make something less harmful, unpleasant, or bad

It is unclear how to mitigate the effects of tourism on the island.

mitigate: /ˈmɪt̬.ə.ɡeɪt/ (v)

mitigating (adj) - mitigation (n)