< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (103)

Embattle (verb) 

being a site of battle, conflict, or controversy

The embattled music industry disclosed aggressive plans Wednesday for an

unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds

of individual computer users who illegally share music files online. 

Embellish (verb) 

to endow with beauty and elegance by way of a notable addition

The success of the cold reading lies in the sitter embellishing selected statements from

the reading, with details that make the generalizations appear more accurate than they

are. 

Embezzlement (noun) 

to steal money entrusted to one’s care

Dubbed the king of white collar crime, Mark Hansen was twice imprisoned for

embezzlement.

Embrace (verb) 

to encircle, to surround, or to enclose

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake can be found over varied country, embracing the

mountains up to altitudes of 8000 ft, the seacoasts levels, inland plains, desert areas. 

Emerge (verb) 

to begin to appear or develop

To compete in the emerging global economy, city-states must mobilize all their skills to

protect their center cities and train their workforce to excel in an increasingly

competitive world marketplace.

Emission (noun) 

discharged vapor or fumes

In 1972 a law was passed to control the emission of coal into the atmosphere.

Emotionalism (noun) 

an appeal to emotion, especially to sway an audience to some belief

Although, from an early age, Martin Luther King resented religious emotionalism and

questioned literal interpretations of scripture, he nevertheless greatly admired black

social gospel proponents such as his father who saw the church as a instrument for

improving the lives of African Americans.

Empathetic (adjective) 

characterized by the projection of one’s personality into the personality of another in order 

to understand the person better

Murillo often chose models he felt had empathetic faces for his paintings. 

Empirical (adjective) 

based solely on experiment and observation rather than theory

Cognitive Psychology is an empirical science and depends on careful experimental

procedures and paradigms to test theories about these mental processes.

Enable (verb) 

to give the means, ability, or opportunity to do something

Sociological research influences the way we think about work and organizational life and

enables us to discover new knowledge.