4000 FCE Vocabulary List

n. lacking restraint or control; feeling of extreme emotional intensity; unbounded enthusiasm
With her parents out of town, Kelly danced all night with abandon.

v. make shorter; reduce to shorter form intended to represent full form, as for word or phrase
Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech.

v. endure; put up with; bear; tolerate
Oh, don't bother ME, I could not abide figures!

a. unusual; not typical; not normal
Fujitsu, Toshiba, HP, and Lenovo all insist that their designs are sufficiently different to Dell and Apple, that there is no abnormal risk of fire.

ad. on a ship, train, plane, or other vehicles; in or into a group, organization, or business
He did make some calls aboard Air Force One, we are told, on his way back to from the Azores.

n. ending; act of abolishing; act of doing away with
In particular, the economists say that the proposed abolition of taxes on dividends is not credible as a short-term stimulus.

a. broken off; very steep; having sudden transitions from one subject to another
Eliza's greeting was delivered in a short, abrupt voice, without a smile, and then she sat down again, fixed her eyes on the fire, and seemed to forget me.

n. state of being absent; state of being away
The other guests had taken advantage of the Queen's absence and were resting in the shade.

a. go away or leave; missing; not present
They are absent themselves from time to time.

n. one who is absent or not in residence
Absentee voting begins 35 days before primary and general elections.

n. habitual not to appear, especially for work or other regular duty
But absenteeism has become a big problem in Britain, where the employment laws offer protection to sick workers.

a. perfect in quality or nature; complete; totally unlimited; certain
Although the King was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without certain evidence.

ad. utterly; not viewed in relation to other things or factors  
For their part, the ambassadors expressed appreciation for the Italian Prime Minister's efforts to clarify that terrorism is absolutely separate from Islam.

v. assimilate or incorporate; suck or drink up; occupy full attention
By contrast, what students can absorb from a one-day visit to a college are the tangibles.

n. process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion; state of mental concentration
I agree that the reader's absorption is a measure of good writing.

a. theoretical; not concrete; not applied or practical; difficult to understand
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

a. preposterous; ridiculously incongruous or unreasonable; foolish
Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare laugh.

n. quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment; logical contradiction
His story of being kidnapped by little green men is sheer absurdity.

a. plentiful; possessing riches or resources
At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant reasons for coming to America: the hope of religious freedom and the prospect of employment.

ad. in great numbers; in a plentiful or sufficient degree; plentifully
With all respect, you have made yourself abundantly clear in an informed and articulate manner.