4000 CPE Vocabulary List

n. a large mass of ice floating at sea
But this is just the tip of an iceberg.

n. branch of zoology that deals with the study of fishes
Jacques Cousteau's programs about sea life have advanced the cause of ichthyology.

n. pendent spear of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water
An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from another object freezes.

a. attacking cherished traditions; characterized by an attack on established beliefs
Deeply iconoclastic, Jean Genet deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays.

v. detect; find out; discover
They intercept millions of telephone emails with special software, searching for keywords, attempt to identify threats from terrorists, arms proliferators, and so on.

a. concerned with or suggestive of ideas
As such, it marks an ideological turning-point for the Jewish state.

n. study of origin and nature of ideas
For people who had grown up believing in the communist ideology, it was hard to adjust to capitalism.

n. condition or quality of being an idiot; extreme folly or stupidity
All of this idiocy is a major reason why I moved out of the state in June.

n. an expression whose meaning differs from meanings of its individual words; distinctive style
The phrase is an idiom: if I say that Joe's lost his marbles, I'm not asking you to find some for him. I'm telling you that he's crazy.

n. the behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual
One of Richard Nixon's little idiosyncrasy was his liking for ketchup on cottage cheese.

n. worship of idols; excessive admiration
Such idolatry of singers of country music is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth.

a. produced under conditions involving intense heat
Igneous rock is a rock formed by solidification from a molten state.

v. kindle; cause to start burning; set fire to
A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

a. of lowly origin; not noble in quality, character, or purpose; unworthy
Ignoble motives inspire this plan, and I must, therefore, oppose it.

n. deep disgrace; shame or dishonor
To lose the Ping-Pong match to a trained chimpanzee! How could Rollo stand the ignominy of his defeat?.

a. incapable of being read; unclear; not legible
No one likes his illegible handwriting.

a. without limits in extent, size, or quantity
Man, having explored the far corners of the earth, is now reaching out into illimitable space.

a. of illuminate; tending to increase knowledge; giving or producing light; used for illumination
Science has come a long way in illuminating the development processes of an organism in terms of chemical reactions.

n. degree of visibility of your environment
For roadway luminaries, I estimate an illumination increase with proper shielding to perhaps 115 percent of the unshielded level.

a. deceptive; misleading; based on or having the nature of an illusion
He used to have illusive hopes of finding a better job.