4000 CPE Vocabulary List

n. a small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests
The number of Republicans who support this man and his cabal is astonishing, but nothing will change that percentage's minds.

n. a woodworker who specializes in making furniture;
In a large cabinet shop furnished with hi-tech computer-controlled equipment, the cabinetmaker may specialize only in one or two of the functions listed.

a. discordant; inharmonious; sounding harsh; ill-sounding
Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make when they're tuning up? I don't know how they can stand the racket.

a. like a corpse; pale; Having appearance or color of dead human body
By his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him.

n. rhythmic rise and fall of words or sounds; beat
Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.

v. influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering
Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car.

n. the event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; disaster; misery
As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured into the stricken community.

v. compute; determine; estimate
He can tell you how to measure and calculate residential square footage.

n. large kettle or boiler of copper, brass, or iron
'Why, Mr. Crusoe,' said the savage heating the giant caldron, 'we love to have you for dinner!'

n. adjustment; the process of checking a measuring instrument to see if it is accurate
We explain in this work why a straight calibration to published files.

n. beautiful writing; excellent penmanship
As we examine ancient manuscripts, we become impressed with the calligraphy of the scribes.

a. youthful; immature; inexperienced; without feathers
As a freshman, Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun of freshmen as callow youths.

a. capable of producing heat; causing heat; heating
Coal is much more calorific than green wood.

n. false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation; slander
He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.

n. good-fellowship; companionship; close friendship in friends or teammates
What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his coworkers shared.

n. piece of jewelry; a small scale used as a jewel for adornment; famous actor's special appearance in a minor role
Maybe you recall her cameo appearance in the movie version of Six Degrees of Separation.

n. act of canceling; calling off some arrangement
They've called for the cancellation of all of Mozambique's foreign debt so that all available resources can be channeled into the reconstruction of the country.

n. disease incident to trees, causing the bark to rot; something evil that spreads through mind or society
Drug addiction is a dangerous canker in society.

n. a human being that eats human flesh; anything that devours its own kind
The scene in the horror film where the cannibal dismembered the missionary left me with my hair standing on end.

n. the practice of eating the flesh of your kind
Cannibalism is an undeniable occurrence rooted in antiquity and branching forth to the present-day.