4000 CPE Vocabulary List

v. assign; distribute according to plan
Even though the Red Cross did allocate a large sum to relieve the sufferers of the disaster, many people perished.

v. combine; mix; make less pure; lessen or moderate
Our concern for Dwight Gooden, who injured his pitching arm in the game,  will alloy our delight at the Yankees' victory.

v. refer casually or indirectly, or by suggestion
Try not to mention divorce in Jack's presence because he will think you allude to his marital problems with Jill.

v. attract with something desirable; be highly, often subtly attractive
Promises of quick profits allure the unwary investor.

n. temptation; enticement; any real or apparent good held forth or operating, as a motive to action
Money is a kind of allurement for us.

n. indirect reference; symbolical reference or comparison; metaphor
Without naming names, the candidate criticized the national leaders by allusion.

n. confederate; partner; collaborator
The trouble is that selling arms to this particular ally regularly involves commissions - in plain language, bribes - to well-placed people.

ad. in or into a high place; high or higher up
It tried to remain aloft, but its flying grew wild and reckless.

a. apart; remote in manner; distant physically or emotionally; reserved and remote
In this age of information and communication, no sector can remain aloof from the revolution in these fields.

n. a passage from one form or state to another; change
Both sides can make a pretty plausible argument that the alteration is what they want it to be.

a. unselfishly generous; concerned for others
In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed.

v. combine; unite in one body; mix or alloy metal with mercury
The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body.

v. collect; gather for oneself, as for one's pleasure or profit
The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible.

v. astonish; affect with wonder
Archaeologists amaze that such a fragile ancient document could have survived for so long and that it was then discovered as it could so easily have been overlooked.

a. awesome; astounding; surprising
It was an amazing year for female performances and to be nominated amongst them was really incredible.

a. capable of using either hand with equal ease
A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous.

n. particular environment or surrounding influence; an atmosphere of the environment
A certain ambience is lost when you choose a tampon over a cocktail glass at a party.

n. state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty
This ambiguity is also becoming part of US policy toward Israel; we all have to guess the next step.

a. unclear or doubtful in meaning
His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.

n. aspiration; a strong wish to achieve something
They may be trying to protect their rich pickings, but this is also in line with President Putin's ambition to see Russian business as a truly international player.