< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (159)

Phenomenal (adjective) 

so remarkable as to elicit disbelief

Few in the music world were prepared for the phenomenal success in 1983 of Michael

Jackson's Thriller produced by Quincy Jones. 

Phobia (noun) 

having a fear of something 

People who have a lot of phobias will also be characterized as having unusually high

stress levels.

Phony (adjective) 

unreal, fake, pretend 

Multiple Personality Disorder was being thrown into disrepute by many people giving

phony demonstrations of alter switching during television talk shows.

Phrase (noun) 

to convey in language or words of a particular form 

It would seem socially unacceptable utter the following phrase to a co-worker: “You are

ugly?”

Physiologist (noun) 

one who studies the functions of the living organisms and their living parts 

The first studies done with classical conditioning were performed by Ivan Pavlov, a

Russian physiologist.

Pier (noun) 

a structure extending into navigable water for use as a landing place or promenade or to 

protect or form a harbor

Seaweeds, or algae, some of which attach themselves to stationary objects such as rocks

or piers by the suction of organs called holdfasts, do not have roots like higher land

plants.

 

Pigment (noun) 

something that imparts color

Many types of seaweed and other plants that do not appear to be green also have

chlorophyll and therefore can convert the sun's energy into food.  In these plants, the

greenness is hidden by other pigments.

Pilgrimage (noun) 

a journey to a shrine or sacred place

Dr. Martin Luther King emphasized the goal of black voting rights when he spoke at the

Lincoln Memorial during the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom.

Pinpoint (verb) 

to look for and discover; to establish the identification of

In cores from Antarctica and Greenland, researchers have pinpointed the beginning of

atomic bomb testing in the mid 1950s. 

Pipeline (noun) 

a line of pipe with pumps, valves, and control devices for conveying liquids, gases, or solids

Diamonds were formed under extreme heat and pressure at our Earth's core. They

traveled to the surface through volcanic pipelines known as kimberlitic during the

Earth's formation.