130 VOCABULARY FOR TOEFL iBT
coalesce (koh·a ̆·'les) v. to combine and form a whole; to join together, fuse. Jay
and Jael coalesced their money to create one savings account.
coeval (koh·'ee·va ̆l) adj. of the same time period, contemporary. The poet Ben
Jonson was coeval to Shakespeare.
cogent ('koh·je ̆nt) adj. convincing, persuasive, compelling belief. Ella’s cogent
arguments helped the debate team win the state championship.
collusion (ko ̆·'loo·zho ̆n) n. a secret agreement between two or more people for a
deceitful or fraudulent purpose; conspiracy. The discovery of the e-mail proved
that collusion existed between the CEO and CFO to defraud the shareholders.
complacent (ko ̆m·'play·se ̆nt) adj. contented to a fault; self-satisfied, uncon-
cerned. Renee was complacent even when she learned that her coworkers were trying
to get her fired.
concede (ko ̆n·'seed) v. 1. to acknowledge or admit as true, proper, etc. (often
with reluctance); to yield, surrender. 2. to grant as a right or privilege. The
leader conceded the right to vote to all her country’s inhabitants.
conciliatory (ko ̆n·'sil·ee·a ̆·tohr·ee) adj. making or willing to make concessions
to reconcile, soothe, or comfort; mollifying, appeasing. Abraham Lincoln made
conciliatory gestures toward the South at the end of the Civil War.
conclave ('kon·klav) n. a private or secret meeting. The double agent had a conclave
with the spy he was supposed to be observing.
consensus (ko ̆n·'sen·su ̆s) n. general agreement or accord; an opinion or position
reached by a group. The school board reached a consensus about building a new high
school.
consternation (kon·ste ̆r·'nay·sho ̆n) n. a feeling of deep, incapacitating horror or
dismay. The look of consternation on the faces of the students taking the history exam
alarmed the teacher, who thought he had prepared his students for the test.
contentious (ko ̆n·'ten·shu ̆s) adj. 1. quarrelsome, competitive, quick to fight.- controversial, causing contention. With two contentious candidates on hand, it
was sure to be a lively debate.
conundrum (ko ̆·'nun·dru ̆m) n. a hard riddle, enigma; a puzzling question or
problem. Alex’s logic professor gave the class a conundrum to work on over the
weekend.
copious ('koh·pi·u ̆s) adj. large in number or quantity; abundant, plentiful. The
shipwrecked couple found a copious supply of coconut trees and shellfish on the island.