1656

Question 1

pedertrian

Answer 1

D. ordinary and uninteresting

Question 2

pejorative

\pi-ˈjȯr-ə-tiv\

Answer 2

D. derogatory

E. a word with pejorative connotations / Children born with an extra chromosome 21 are healthy, conspicuously happy and destined to live for many years. But they are not considered, in that pejorative word, ‘normal’.

Question 3

pellucid

\pə-ˈlü-səd\

Answer 3

D. clear; easy to understand

E. the pellucid waters that lap upon that island’s beaches / her poetry has a pellucid simplicity that betrays none of the sweat that went into writing it

Question 4

penance

Answer 4

D. voluntary self-punishment

E. She regards living in New York as a penance; she hates big cities.

Question 5

penchant

\ˈpen-chənt\

Answer 5

D. a taste or liking

E. a penchant for sitting by the window and staring moodily off into space

Question 6

pendant

Answer 6

D. sth that hangs

Question 7

pendent

Answer 7

D. hanging

E. the dining area is lit by tasteful pendent lamps over the tables

Question 8

penitent

Answer 8

D. sorry or ashamed

E. a penitent gossip who had come to ask for forgiveness

Question 9

pensive

Answer 9

D. thoughtful

E. rainy days often put her in a pensive mood

Question 10

penurious

\pə-ˈnu̇r-ē-əs\

Answer 10

D. stingy; poverty-stricken

E. The penurious school system had to lay off several teachers.

Question 11

penury

Answer 11

D. poverty

E. lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury (genteel poverty is the condition of well bred, generally well-educated people who have little money)

Question 12

percussion

\pər-ˈkä-shən\

Answer 12

D. the impact of one thing against another

Question 13

perdition

Answer 13

D. damnation; hell

E. simple stupidity is not enough to doom one to perdition

Question 14

peregrination

ˌ\per-ə-grə-ˈnā-shən\

Answer 14

D. travels (especially on foot)

E. a couple of backpacking college students who decided to spend the summer peregrinating around Ireland

Question 15

peremptory

\pə-ˈrem(p)-t(ə-)rē\

Answer 15

D. expecting to be obeyed immediately and without question or refusal

E. the governor’s peremptory personal assistant began telling the crowd of reporters and photographers exactly where they had to stand / a peremptory summons

Question 16

perennial

\pə-ˈre-nē-əl\

Answer 16

D. lasting all through the year; lasting all the time

E. Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river. / a perennial student

Question 17

perfidious

(ˌ)pər-ˈfi-dē-əs\

Answer 17

D. treacherous

E. We were betrayed by a perfidious ally. / a perfidious campaign worker revealed the senator’s strategy to his leading rival for the nomination

Question 18

perforce

\pər-ˈfȯrs\

Answer 18

D. necessarily

E. we must, perforce, deal with this issue immediately, as procrastination is not an option

Question 19

perfunctory

\pər-ˈfəŋ(k)-t(ə-)rē\

Answer 19

D. without care; superficial

E. the violinist delivered a perfunctory performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for

Question 20

perigee

Answer 20

D. the point nearest the earth in an orbit (antonym: apogee)

Question 21

peripatetic

\ˌper-ə-pə-ˈte-tik\

Answer 21

D. moving or walking about

E. She worked as a peripatetic journalist for most of her life.

Question 22

periphery

\pə-ˈri-f(ə-)rē\

Answer 22

D. the boundary of sth; the perimeter

E. the dogs are confined by an invisible electronic fence that runs along the periphery of the yard

Question 23

perjury

\ˈpər-jə-rē\

Answer 23

D. telling a lie under oath

E. The defence witnesses were found guilty of perjury.

Question 24

permeable

\ˈpər-mē-ə-bəl\

Answer 24

D. able to be passed through

E. a permeable fabric that allows your body heat to escape will be much more comfortable in the summertime

Question 25

permeate

Answer 25

D. to pass through

Question 26

permutation

Answer 26

D. a complete change E. the system has gone through several permutations / The possible permutations of x, y and z are xyz, xzy, yxz, yzx, zxy and zyx.

Question 27

pernicious

Answer 27

D. deadly

Question 28

perpetrate \ˈpər-pə-ˌtrāt\

Answer 28

D. to do (sth bad) E. He vowed revenge for the crime perpetrated on his family.

Question 29

perpetual

Answer 29

D. eternal

Question 30

perquisite \ˈpər-kwə-zit\

Answer 30

D. to benefit in addition to one's regular pay; prerogative E. Use of the company's jet is a perquisite of the job.

Question 31

persiflage \ˈpər-si-ˌfläzh\

Answer 31

D. comments and jokes in which people laugh at each other in a fairly unkind but not serious way E. their tongue-in-cheek persiflage is sometimes mistaken for an exchange of insults by people who don't know them

Question 32

perspective \ˌpər-spə-ˈkā-shəs\

Answer 32

D. a particular attitude towards something; the ability to think about problems and decisions in a reasonable way without exaggerating their importance E. Try to see the issue from a different perspective. / Talking to others can often help to put your own problems into perspective.

Question 33

perspicacious \ˌpər-spə-ˈkā-shəs\

Answer 33

D. able to understand somebody/something quickly and accurately; showing this E. He was perspicacious enough to realize that things were soon going to change.

Question 34

pertinacious \ˌpər-tə-ˈnā-shəs\

Answer 34

D. persistent E. a pertinacious salesman who would simply not take “No!” for an answer

Question 35

pertinent \ˈpər-tə-nənt\

Answer 35

D. relevant E. he impressed the jury with his concise, pertinent answers to the attorney's questions

Question 36

perturb \pər-ˈtərb\

Answer 36

D. to upset or alarm E. It perturbed him that his son was thinking about leaving school.

Question 37

peruse \pə-ˈrüz\

Answer 37

D. to study; to read casually E. He perused the newspaper over breakfast.

Question 38

pervade

Answer 38

D. to spread throughout (pervasive)

Question 39

perverse \(ˌ)pər-ˈvərs\

Answer 39

D. wrong or corrupt; perverted; stubborn E. She has a perverse fascination with death. / He seems to take perverse pleasure in making things as difficult as possible.

Question 40

perversion

Answer 40

D. an abnormal form; a twisting or distortion E. They fought against perversion of the health-care system.

Question 41

pervious

Answer 41

D. able to be passed through or penetrated; open-minded (per- through + via way) E. the new road has a pervious surface that will cut down on the amount of water that collects on it during heavy rains

Question 42

pessimist

Answer 42

D. one who looks at the dark sides and expects the worst

Question 43

pestilence \ˈpes-tə-lən(t)s\

Answer 43

D. an epidemic (flu); anything harmful E. the fear that terrorists could unleash a pestilence that would wreak unspeakable havoc

Question 44

petrify

Answer 44

D. to turn to stone; to harden; to stun with fear E. The dead tree petrified into stone.

Question 45

petulant \ˈpe-chə-lənt\

Answer 45

D. pert; irritable E. Her tone was petulant and angry. / a petulant and fussy man who is always blaming everyone else for his problems

Question 46

phalanx \ˈfā-ˌlāŋ(k)s\

Answer 46

D. military ranks in close formation; a group of individuals E. A solid phalanx of armed guards stood in front of the castle.