< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (150)

Nominate (verb) 

to select someone for an office, a position, or an award

Among her volumes of poetry are A Brave and Startling Truth (Random House, 1995),

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994), Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), I Shall Not Be Moved (1990),

Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983), Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975),

and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Die (1971), which was nominated for the

Pulitzer prize. 

Norm (noun) 

an accepted way or behaving in a certain group

A person who engages in criminal behavior can be differentiated by the quality or

quantity of his/her learning through associations with those who define criminal activity

favorable and the relative isolation from lawful social norms.

Notch (noun) 

a v-shaped indentation of an edge or surface

It is said that the notorious Billy the Kid made a notch on his pistol grip for each of his

victims. 

Notion (noun) 

something believed or accepted as true by a person

The Battle at Shiloh changed all preconceived notions that the Civil War would be short

lived.

Notwithstanding (preposition) 

[notwithstanding their lack of experience, they were an immediate success] — often used 

after its object [the motion passed, our objection notwithstanding]: despite 

Seahorses are no ordinary sea creatures, notwithstanding their monogamy which is

highly unusual for the animal kingdom. It is the male who receives eggs from his female

partner and fertilizes them himself. 

Novelistic (adjective) 

of or pertaining to new and unusual; being the first of its kind    

Los trabajos is the best evidence not only of the survival of Greek novelistic themes but 

also of the survival of forms and ideas of the Spanish novel of the second Renaissance.

Nucleus (noun)

a source of further growth and development

A family is the basic unit in society having as its nucleus two or more adults living

together and cooperating in the care and rearing of their own or adopted children. 

Nuptial (adjective) 

of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony; characteristic of or occurring in the 

breeding season 

Winged males and female carpenter ants engage in a nuptial flight in late spring and

early summer. 

Obesity (noun) 

being overweight, very fat

Obesity is a high percentage of body fat, whereas a physically fit individual has a low

percentage of body fat.

Objective (adjective) 

expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal 

feelings, prejudices, or interpretations  

Researcher Lu Wang, of the University of Minnesota, and colleagues say previous studies

have shown that the fatty acid composition of the blood provides an objective estimate

of the dietary intake of saturated fat for weeks to months before the sample is taken.