WordieTOEFL Vocabulary: What the New TOEFL iBT Tests and How to Prepare
The TOEFL iBT changed again in January 2026, with shorter texts, new task types and adaptive Reading and Listening. Vocabulary matters in every one of those tasks. Here is where it shows up and how to build it.
- Since January 21, 2026, the TOEFL iBT uses new task types, shorter texts, a 1–6 band score scale and adaptive Reading and Listening sections.
- Complete the Words (filling in missing letters in an academic paragraph) is the most direct vocabulary task: you must recognize the word and spell it correctly.
- The new test mixes academic vocabulary (lectures, passages) with everyday campus and workplace vocabulary (emails, notices, announcements, interviews).
- The Academic Word List is a strong core for TOEFL reading and lectures, but learn each word with its common collocations and word family.
- A 6-week plan of daily reading and listening, 10–15 captured words a day and active-recall review covers most candidates aiming for higher bands.
TOEFL vocabulary is not tested in a separate section, but it runs through every task on the test. On the current TOEFL iBT, introduced by ETS on January 21, 2026, the clearest vocabulary task is Complete the Words, where you restore missing letters in an academic paragraph. The rest of the test rewards a mix of academic words (for passages and lectures) and everyday campus and workplace language (for emails, notices and interviews). The best preparation is a core of academic vocabulary learned with collocations, plus daily reading and listening.
What changed in the TOEFL iBT, and why it matters for vocabulary
The TOEFL iBT has been redesigned twice in a short period. In July 2023 the test was shortened to under two hours and the old independent essay was replaced by the Academic Discussion task. In January 2026 ETS made a larger change: new task types, shorter texts, multistage adaptive Reading and Listening sections, and a new score scale reported in bands from 1 to 6.
The exact number of items and minutes can change as ETS adjusts the adaptive design, so always check the official ETS TOEFL pages before your test. The task types below are the ones ETS announced for the 2026 format.
| Section | Task types | How vocabulary is tested |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | Complete the Words; Read in Daily Life; Read an Academic Passage | Spelling and recognizing words from partial clues; everyday notices and emails; academic words in short passages |
| Listening | Listen and Choose a Response; Listen to a Conversation; Listen to an Announcement; Listen to an Academic Talk | Understanding spoken everyday phrases and academic lecture vocabulary at natural speed |
| Writing | Build a Sentence; Write an Email; Write for an Academic Discussion | Word order and grammar; register in emails; precise academic vocabulary in a discussion post |
| Speaking | Listen and Repeat; Take an Interview | Hearing and reproducing words accurately; range and accuracy when answering questions |
Reading: where vocabulary counts most
Complete the Words
In this task you see a short academic paragraph in which some words are only partly printed, and you type the missing letters. It is a version of the cloze technique. Two things make it hard: you must recognize the word from its first letters and the surrounding context, and you must spell the rest exactly.
Many plants depend on insects for pollin_____. Without bees, crop yi____ would fall in many reg_____.
Answers: pollination, yields, regions
Notice what helps: knowing that pollination is the noun from pollinate, that yield collocates with crop, and that a plural is needed after many. This is word-family and collocation knowledge, not just meaning.
Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage
Daily-life texts such as notices, emails, menus and announcements test practical vocabulary: deadline, refund, enrollment, prerequisite, reschedule, mandatory. Academic passages are shorter than in the old test but still rely on general academic words, and questions often paraphrase the text. If the passage says "the population declined sharply", an answer option may say "numbers fell significantly".
Listening and Speaking: vocabulary at natural speed
Knowing a word on paper is not the same as catching it in speech. Words like hypothesis, phenomenon and infrastructure are easy to read but can be hard to recognize when spoken quickly with reduced stress. Listen to lectures and podcasts with transcripts, and check the pronunciation of every word you save.
The Listen and Repeat task asks you to repeat sentences you hear, which rewards accurate perception of each word. Take an Interview rewards range and precision: being able to say "I found the workload manageable" instead of "the work was okay".
Writing: register and precision
Write an Email requires appropriate register: polite, clear workplace or campus language (I would appreciate it if, I am writing to request, please let me know whether). Write for an Academic Discussion requires you to state and support an opinion in a class-forum style, which rewards precise academic verbs and linking phrases.
Vague: Online classes are good because they help a lot of students.
Precise: Online classes widen access to education, particularly for students who work full time or live far from campus.
TOEFL vocabulary list: academic words with examples
These words appear across subjects in textbooks and lectures. Most come from the Academic Word List. Learn the collocation as well as the meaning.
| Word | Meaning | Common collocation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hypothesis | a proposed explanation to be tested | test a hypothesis | The team designed an experiment to test the hypothesis. |
| significant | large or important enough to matter | a significant increase | There was a significant increase in rainfall. |
| derive | to get something from a source | derive from | Many English words derive from Latin. |
| phenomenon | an observable event or fact | a natural phenomenon | Auroras are a natural phenomenon caused by solar wind. |
| adapt | to change to suit new conditions | adapt to | Some species adapt quickly to urban environments. |
| subsequent | coming after | subsequent studies | Subsequent studies confirmed the result. |
| inhibit | to slow or prevent | inhibit growth | Cold temperatures inhibit bacterial growth. |
| predominant | most common or strongest | the predominant view | The predominant view among historians has changed. |
| sustain | to keep something going | sustain growth | The region could not sustain rapid population growth. |
| empirical | based on observation or experiment | empirical evidence | The theory lacked empirical evidence. |
| diminish | to become smaller | diminish over time | The effect diminished over time. |
| attribute (to) | to say something is caused by | attribute the decline to | Scientists attribute the decline to habitat loss. |
Campus and everyday vocabulary
The 2026 test includes more practical situations, so do not neglect words like these:
| Word or phrase | Example |
|---|---|
| prerequisite | Statistics 101 is a prerequisite for this course. |
| office hours | You can ask the professor during her office hours. |
| extension | I asked for an extension on the lab report. |
| enroll in | She enrolled in an evening class. |
| be due | The assignment is due on Friday. |
| mandatory | Attendance at the safety briefing is mandatory. |
| reschedule | The seminar has been rescheduled to next week. |
| reimburse | The department will reimburse travel expenses. |
How to study TOEFL vocabulary effectively
- Read and listen first, then capture. Words met in context are easier to remember and to use correctly. Read short academic articles (science news, university blogs) and listen to lectures with transcripts.
- Store each word with its sentence and collocation. A bare translation will not help you in Complete the Words or the Academic Discussion task.
- Learn the word family. Analyze, analysis, analytical, analyst: one family, four forms, and the test often needs a specific one. See word family.
- Test yourself. Cover the meaning and recall it, or cover half the word and complete it. Active recall beats re-reading.
- Space your reviews. Review new words after a day, a few days and a week. Our spaced repetition scheduler can generate the dates.
- Use the word. Put three new words into each practice discussion post or interview answer.
If you do your practice reading in Chrome, Wordie can handle steps 1 to 4: select an unfamiliar word for its definition and synonyms, save it, see it highlighted when it appears again on other sites, and test yourself in recall mode. Any notebook or flashcard app works too; the habit is what counts.
A 6-week TOEFL vocabulary plan
| Week | Focus | Daily routine (30–45 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline | Take an official practice test. List every unknown word in Reading and every word you could not catch in Listening. Start AWL sublist 1. |
| 2 | Academic core | AWL sublists 1–2: 10 words a day with collocations. Read one academic article and capture 5 new words. |
| 3 | Life sciences and environment | Read and listen on biology, ecology and geology topics. Practice Complete the Words-style cloze on paragraphs you read. |
| 4 | Social sciences and history | Articles on psychology, economics and history. Write one Academic Discussion response a day using 3 new words. |
| 5 | Campus and workplace | Emails, notices and announcements. Write one email a day in a formal register. Record one interview answer. |
| 6 | Consolidation | No new words after midweek. Recall-test the whole list, focus on spelling, take a second full practice test. |
At 10–15 items a day, six weeks gives you roughly 400–600 carefully learned items, which is a meaningful addition to the words you already know. Use the vocabulary goal planner to adjust the pace to your test date.
Conclusion
The 2026 TOEFL iBT tests vocabulary more directly than its predecessor, especially through Complete the Words, and it mixes academic language with everyday campus and workplace English. Build a core of academic words with their collocations and word families, read and listen daily, test yourself instead of re-reading, and use new words in your own writing and speaking. Check the ETS website for the latest format details before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a vocabulary section on the TOEFL?
No separate section, but vocabulary is tested throughout. The Reading task Complete the Words is essentially a vocabulary and spelling task, and every Listening, Speaking and Writing task depends on knowing academic and everyday words.
Did the TOEFL change in 2026?
Yes. From January 21, 2026, ETS introduced new task types, shorter reading passages, multistage adaptive Reading and Listening sections and a new 1–6 score scale. Check the official ETS site for current item counts and timing, since these can be adjusted.
What words should I study for the TOEFL?
Start with the Academic Word List and high-frequency academic collocations, then add campus and workplace vocabulary for emails, notices and conversations. Words met in practice tests and authentic articles are the most valuable additions.
How many words do I need for the TOEFL?
ETS does not publish a number. Comfortable academic reading generally needs a large receptive vocabulary, several thousand word families plus the Academic Word List. Productive vocabulary for speaking and writing can be smaller but must be accurate.
How do I prepare for Complete the Words?
Read academic texts daily, pay attention to spelling and word endings, and practice with cloze exercises where the second half of words is removed. Knowing word families helps you choose the right suffix from the context.
Build your vocabulary while you browse
Wordie saves any word in one click, highlights it on every page you read, and quizzes you with active recall. Free, private, no account.
Add Wordie to Chrome — it's free
