1. by Hatice Oncel TOEFL VOCAB-11

2. rate, speed pace

3. Careful, thorough It took months of painstaking research to write the book painstaking

4. unimportant, minor The company offered Jeremy a paltry sum which he refused paltry

5. Chief, top There are many priorities, but reducing the budget deficit is paramount/is of paramount importance. paramount

6. strange, old, unique, special She has the most peculiar ideas. What a peculiar smell! peculiar

7. enter, go into, puncture Amazingly, the bullet did not penetrate his brain. penetrate

8. observe, sense, notice I perceived a note of unhappiness in her voice. perceive

9. n. danger, hazard, risk I never felt that my life was in peril peril

10. dangerous, risky, hazardous The country roads are quite perilous perilous

11. constant, endless, eternal They lived in perpetual fear of being discovered and arrested. perpetual

12. puzzling, confusing The disease has continued to perplex doctors perplexing

13. Important, key, crucial a pivotal figure/role/idea pivotal

14. epidemic, trouble, harass a plague of insects plague

15. Likely, credible, believable a plausible explanation/excuse plausible

16. beg, appeal He was on his knees, pleading for mercy/forgiveness plead

17. luxurious, opulent, elegant He took me out to a really plush restaurant plush

18. strong, powerful, effective The Berlin Wall was a potent symbol of the Cold War. potent

19. jump, leap The cat sat in the tree ready to pounce on the ducks below. pounce

20. accurate, exact The cat sat in the tree ready to pounce on the ducks below. precise

21. first, opening, leading, foremost He's one of the nation's premier scientists premier

22. urgent, crucial The most pressing question is what do we do next? pressing

23. Excuse, justification I called her on the pretext of needing more information pretext

24. Succeed, win, triumph I am sure that common sense will prevail in the end prevail

25. Common These diseases are more prevalent among young children prevalent

26. Investigate The interviewer probed deep into her private life probe

27. Obtain, secure She's managed somehow to procure his telephone number procure

28. Important, deep profound

29. Plentiful, copious profuse

30. Punctual They've written back already - that was a very prompt reply prompt

31. Flourish, succeed A lot of microchip manufacturing companies prospered at that time prosper

32. Careful, sensible It's always prudent to read a contract properly before signing it. prudent

33. grind, powder, crush pulverized coal/bones pulverize

34. Bitter, sharp I sat down to a cup of wonderfully pungent Turkish coffee. pungent

35. chase, follow, seek The car was pursued by helicopters pursue