TOEIC Legal Vocabulary: Contracts, Clauses and Approval
For TOEIC-style contract reading, focus on who may act, what must be approved, which conditions apply and what is excluded. Scrutinize means examine closely; ratify means formally approve; amend means change. Our legal-tagged group is small—286 questions—but 146 are labelled hard (51.0%), so careful reading of formal wording is useful.
A small context with a high hard-label share
The legal tag appears on 1.8% of the active question bank. Its hard share, 51.0%, is higher than finance’s 39.9% in this snapshot. These are editorial classifications, not candidate error rates, and a context is not the same unit as a grammar skill. We do not compare the legal percentage directly with the conditional percentage to declare one the hardest topic overall.
The practical difference from finance vocabulary is the focus on permissions, approvals, obligations and exceptions. Learn the verbs with their objects and follow the condition attached to each action. A familiar word such as party can refer to a participant in an agreement rather than a celebration.
18 words for contract summaries and formal reviews
Numbers count exact single-word keyed answers within this tagged context, not every occurrence in passages. An em dash marks supplementary teaching vocabulary without a frequency claim. Inflected forms remain separate; collocations are teaching examples, not counted phrases.
| Word / phrase | Meaning (EN / TH) | Example collocation | Keyed answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| scrutinize | examine closely / ตรวจอย่างละเอียด | scrutinize the terms | 35 |
| review | examine again or assess / ตรวจทบทวน | review an agreement | 16 |
| comply | act according to a requirement / ปฏิบัติตาม | comply with the terms | 9 |
| peruse | read or examine / อ่านหรือตรวจเอกสาร | peruse the document | 6 |
| vet | check suitability / ตรวจสอบความเหมาะสม | vet a proposal | 6 |
| imperative | essential / จำเป็นอย่างยิ่ง | it is imperative that… | 5 |
| acceptance | agreement to receive or accept / การยอมรับ | written acceptance | 4 |
| compliance | following a requirement / การปฏิบัติตาม | compliance with regulations | 4 |
| ratify | formally approve / ให้ความเห็นชอบอย่างเป็นทางการ | ratify an agreement | 4 |
| rescind | officially take back / เพิกถอน | rescind an offer | 4 |
| sign | write a signature / ลงนาม | sign the contract | 4 |
| veto | reject using authority / ใช้อำนาจยับยั้ง | veto a proposal | 4 |
| amend | make changes / แก้ไข | amend a clause | 3 |
| clause | part of a written agreement / ข้อกำหนดส่วนหนึ่ง | a renewal clause | — |
| renew | continue for a further period / ต่ออายุ | renew an agreement | — |
| terminate | bring to an end / ยุติ | terminate a contract | — |
| binding | creating an obligation / มีผลผูกพัน | a binding agreement | — |
| notice | formal information given / การแจ้งอย่างเป็นทางการ | written notice | — |
Review, approve, change or withdraw?
| Stage or action | Useful verbs | Reading distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Examine | review, scrutinize, peruse, vet | Reading or assessing does not itself mean approval |
| Approve | approve, ratify, accept | Check who has authority and whether approval is written |
| Change | amend, revise | A change is different from ending the agreement |
| Continue | renew, extend | Check period and conditions |
| End or take back | terminate, rescind | Read the object and the exact statement; do not assume identical effects |
These are vocabulary distinctions for reading the example text, not a substitute for the wording of an actual agreement. “The committee reviewed the proposal” does not entail “the committee ratified it.” Similarly, a request for renewal does not establish that renewal was approved.
Peruse is used for reading or examining a document; surrounding wording determines the intended thoroughness. Do not rely on a supposed universal contrast between peruse and skim to solve a question that gives no such clue. For the common preposition in comply with and compliance with, see TOEIC prepositions.
Original practice contract summary
Training example — service agreement summary: The maintenance agreement covers the two printers listed in Appendix A. Either party may request renewal by giving written notice at least 30 days before the end date. Renewal is subject to written approval by both parties. Replacement ink is excluded from the service fee. Any change to the list of covered equipment must be approved in writing. Please review the equipment list before signing.
- Which equipment is covered?
- How far in advance must a renewal request be made?
- Does giving notice automatically renew the agreement?
- Is replacement ink included in the service fee?
- What is required to change the covered-equipment list?
Answers: preserve every condition
- The two printers listed in Appendix A, not all equipment owned by a party.
- At least 30 days before the end date. A shorter notice period would not satisfy the stated timing.
- No. Renewal is subject to written approval by both parties.
- No. The summary explicitly excludes replacement ink.
- Written approval. A verbal request alone does not meet the stated requirement.
Only means a restriction; at least sets a minimum; subject to introduces a condition; excluded removes something from coverage. Read these small expressions with the larger nouns. A reader who knows ratify but misses both parties can still misread the approval requirement.
Compare the approval dependencies in project-management vocabulary and the force of may versus must in modal verbs.
Three formal-vocabulary checks
- The committee formally approved the agreement; it voted to ___ it. (A ratify / B overlook / C conceal / D postpone)
- The editor must ___ the wording to correct the clause. (A amend / B expire / C ignore / D reimburse)
- Please examine every term closely; ___ the agreement before signing. (A scrutinize / B abandon / C expand / D advertise)
Answers: 1 A, ratify matches formal approval. 2 A, amend means make a change. 3 A, scrutinize matches close examination. Next write two contrasting sentences: one in which a proposal was reviewed but rejected, and one in which it was reviewed and approved.
For choices with opposite meanings, see confusing pairs. Dictionary references: Cambridge, scrutinize, ratify and rescind.
Sources and counting method
The figures come from all 16,214 active, original eng-test.com questions fetched on 27 September 2026. Topic counts use skill labels or exact context tags; groups can overlap. Difficulty means an editorial label, not a measured learner error rate or the difficulty of an official TOEIC paper. The exact legal context tag defines the 286-item group. It is not a count of official exam contract questions.
Download the aggregate counts and matching rules. No learner records are included. The exercises in this guide are newly written teaching examples, not official ETS questions. For the wider picture, see our Reading bank analysis.
Frequently asked questions
Does reviewing a contract mean approving it?
- No. Review describes examination. Approval, acceptance or ratification must be stated or supported separately.
What does subject to approval mean in the practice agreement?
- The proposed action depends on approval. In this example, renewal requires written approval from both parties, so a request alone is insufficient.
Are amend and terminate interchangeable in contract vocabulary?
- No. Amend means make changes; terminate means bring to an end. Always read the object and the exact conditions in the text.
Why compare legal and finance percentages cautiously?
- They are overlapping context tags in an original practice bank, with editorial difficulty labels. They are not official exam proportions or measured learner failure rates.