4000 CPE Vocabulary List

v. make or declare void or invalid; reduce to nothing
The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage.

n. source of relaxation or comfort; medicine that relieves pain
The sound of classical music is usually just anodyne I need after a tough day at work.

v. apply oil or similar substance to; put oil on during religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration.
He described how the prophet Samuel to anoint David with oil crown him king of Israel.

a. deviating from normal or common order, form, or rule
He was placed in the anomalous position of seeming to approve procedures that he despised.

n. active resistance; condition of being an opposing principle, force, or factor
Barry showed his antagonism toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him.

v. precede; go before in time, and sometimes in place, rank, or logical order
The invention of the radiotelegraph should antecede the development of television by a quarter of a century.

n. preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background
Smuggled out of Germany and adopted by a Christian family, she knew nothing of her birth and antecedents until she was reunited with her family in 1989.

v. be earlier in time; go back further
It is up to a claimant to ask the Commission to antedate a claim.

a. antiquated; extremely old and ancient; belonging to very ancient times
Looking at his great aunt's antique furniture, the young heir exclaimed: Heavens! How positively antediluvian!

n. book of literary selections by various authors
The late Isaac Asimov compiled this anthology of science fiction.

a. regarding human beings as the center of the universe
Without considering any evidence that might challenge his anthropocentric viewpoint, Hector categorically maintained that dolphins could not be as intelligent as men.

a. manlike; resembling a human, especially in shape or outward appearance
The gorilla is the strongest of anthropoid animals.

a. having human form or characteristics
Primitive religions often have deities with anthropomorphic characteristics.

n. any substance that can destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria and similar microorganisms
Perhaps the most well-known antibiotic is penicillin.

v. act in advance of; deal with ahead of time; predict
I thought she loved me, outcast as I was, and I, who from man could anticipate only mistrust, rejection, insult, clung to her with filial fondness.

n. the letdown in thought or emotion; decline viewed in disappointing contrast with the previous rise
After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax.

n. strong feeling of aversion; dislike
Tom's extreme antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife.

n. any furniture old and valuable; out of fashion
The woeful ongoing situation of open archaeological sites, which antique smugglers are systematically plundering, will be another priority issue.

n. contrast; direct contrast; opposition
This tyranny was the antithesis of all that he had hoped for, and he fought it with all his strength.

n. entire horn, or any branch of the horn
This is taken from a soft, furry covering on developing antler of deer.