< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (108)

Enterprise (noun) 

a project or undertaking that is especially difficult, complicated, 

or risky; a unit of economic organization or activity

Over the last 125 years, scientific research and science-based technology have been the

most profound agents of change in American life, and science has grown into a complex

enterprise interwoven with all aspects of our culture. 

Ethical (adjective)

involving or expressing moral approval or disapproval

The American Medical Association (AMA) on Tuesday endorsed cloning for research

purposes, saying it is medically ethical but allowing doctors who oppose the practice to

refuse to perform it.

Ethnography (noun) 

descriptive anthropology, which is the study of man in relation to distribution, origin,

classification, and relationship to races, physical character, environmental and social

relations and culture

Data from the two locations of Sterling’s ethnography show a uniform preference for

marriage within the community as well as an interesting contrast in rates of endogamy.

Entropic (verb)

rich in dissolved nutrients such as phosphates but often hallow and seasonally deficient in 

oxygen

As a result of pollution, a lake can become entropic, hence making it distasteful and

unhealthy.

Evaporate (verb) 

to pass off as vapor by being heated

There is a special critical initial strength such that the field cannot decide whether to

evaporate away or collapse to form a black hole.

Excavate (verb)

to expose to view by or as if by digging away a covering 

Gold jewelry and other precious items recovered from royal tombs excavated at the

ancient Assyrian capital of Nimrud. 

Exceed (verb) 

to go beyond the limits of

The life span of five Western Diamondbacks at the San Diego Zoo has exceeded 15 yrs.

Excel (verb) 

to be greater or better than 

Because to compete in the emerging global economy, city-states have no choice: they

must mobilize all their skills to protect their center cities, grow smarter, protect their air

and water, achieve more social equity, and train their workforce to excel in an

increasingly competitive world marketplace.

Exceptional (adjective) 

far above others in quality or excellence

As the boycott continued during 1956, King gained national prominence as a result of his

exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage.

Excess (adjective) 

being more than is needed, desired, or appropriate 

Of 14 studies on the mortality of firefighters, 11 found excess risk for brain cancer.