TOEFL Vocabulary: Society — TOEFL Academic Vocabulary
Society Five high-utility words with the full apparatus: pronunciation, both definitions, natural + academic examples, collocations, family, mistakes — then a 10-question set quiz.
community /kəˈmjuːnəti/ noun B1
Meaning: A group of people who live in the same area or share the same interests.
Academic meaning: A social group defined by shared location, interests, or identity, often studied as a unit of social organization.
Natural example: Our community raised money to repair the local park.
Academic example: The study examined how immigrant communities maintain their native languages.
Collocations: local community · community service · a sense of community
Synonyms: society, group, neighborhood
Word family: communities (plural noun) · communal (adjective)
⚠ Common mistake: Community is singular as a group noun in American English: “The community is growing,” not “are growing.”
Register: Neutral; common in social science and everyday English · Usage: Use community for a defined group within the wider society.
individual /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒuəl/ noun B2
Meaning: One single person, considered separately from a group.
Academic meaning: A single member of a population or sample, treated as the unit of analysis.
Natural example: Each individual can make a difference by recycling.
Academic example: The survey responses of each individual were recorded anonymously.
Collocations: an individual person · individual rights · individual differences
Synonyms: person, single person, citizen
Antonyms: group, collective
Word family: individually (adverb) · individual (adjective) · individuality (noun)
⚠ Common mistake: Also an adjective: “individual attention” means personal, separate attention — not “one attention.”
Register: Neutral–formal; frequent in academic and legal contexts · Usage: Use individual (noun) when contrasting one person with a group or society as a whole.
culture /ˈkʌltʃɚ/ noun B1
Meaning: The customs, beliefs, art, and way of life of a group of people.
Academic meaning: The shared values, practices, and symbolic systems transmitted within a society or group.
Natural example: Food is an important part of Italian culture.
Academic example: Anthropologists study how culture shapes attitudes toward time and work.
Collocations: popular culture · cultural difference · corporate culture
Synonyms: traditions, customs, way of life
Word family: cultural (adjective) · culturally (adverb)
⚠ Common mistake: Culture is usually uncountable for a way of life; use cultures (plural) only when comparing separate societies.
Register: Neutral; central term in the humanities and social sciences · Usage: The adjective cultural is far more common in academic writing than the noun alone.
policy /ˈpɑːləsi/ noun B2
Meaning: An official plan or set of rules made by a government or organization.
Academic meaning: A formally adopted course of action intended to guide decisions and achieve defined outcomes in public or institutional affairs.
Natural example: The school has a strict policy on mobile phones.
Academic example: Government policy on housing has a direct effect on urban development.
Collocations: government policy · public policy · policy change
Synonyms: plan, strategy, rule
Word family: policies (plural noun) · policymaker (noun)
⚠ Common mistake: Do not confuse policy (a plan of action) with politics (the activity of governing) or police.
Register: Formal–neutral; standard in social science, law, and news reporting · Usage: Use policy for official plans at any level — a university policy, a national policy.
population /ˌpɑːpjəˈleɪʃən/ noun B1
Meaning: All the people who live in a place.
Academic meaning: The total number of individuals of a group or species within a defined area, or the full set from which a sample is drawn.
Natural example: The population of the town is about twenty thousand.
Academic example: The aging population will increase demand for healthcare services over the next decade.
Collocations: population growth · the general population · population density
Synonyms: inhabitants, residents, citizens
Word family: populate (verb) · populated (adjective) · population (adjective in compounds)
⚠ Common mistake: Use population for a whole group; use sample for the smaller part actually studied.
Register: Neutral; key term in geography, sociology, and statistics · Usage: In research, the population is the entire group of interest, not only the people surveyed.