1748

Question 1

potable

Answer 1

D. drinkable

E. around here, the only potable water comes from wells

Question 2

potentate

Answer 2

D. a ruler

Question 3

potential

Answer 3

D. possible; latent

Question 4

potpourri

\ˌpō-pə-ˈrē\

Answer 4

D. a collection of varied things

E. The festival was a musical potpourri—performances included folk, jazz, blues, and rap music.

Question 5

poultice

\ˈpōl-təs\

Answer 5

D. a soft usually heated and sometimes medicated mass spread on cloth and applied to sores or other lesions

E. placed a poultice over the infected cut

Question 6

practicable

Answer 6

D. feasible; usable

Question 7

pragmatic

Answer 7

D. practical; dealing with daily matters

Question 8

prate

\ˈprāt\

Answer 8

D. to chatter

E. the young executive gratingly prated on about his weekend hobnobbing with the rich

Question 9

precarious

Answer 9

D. uncertain; risky

Question 10

precedent

\pri-ˈsē-dənt\

Answer 10

D. something done or said that may serve as an example or rule

E. He says that the government will set a dangerous precedent if it refuses to allow the protesters to hold a rally.

Question 11

precept

\ˈprē-ˌsept\

Answer 11

D. a rule or conduct, a doctrine

E. the basic precepts of a religion

Question 12

precipitate

Answer 12

D. to suddenly force somebody/something into a particular state or condition (especially something bad)

E. he assassination of the president precipitated the country into war.

Question 13

precipitous

Answer 13

D. very steep, high and often dangerous; sudden and great; done very quickly, without enough thought or care

E. he land dropped precipitously down to the rocky shore. / The dollar plunged precipitously. / a precipitous decline in exports / We don’t want to act precipitously.

Question 14

preclude

Answer 14

D. to prevent; to make impossible

Question 15

precocious

Answer 15

D. developing earlier than usual

Question 16

precursor

Answer 16

D. a forerunner

Question 17

predatory

Answer 17

D. living by killing and eating other animals; using weaker people for their own financial or sexual advantage

Question 18

predicate

\ˈpre-di-kət\

Answer 18

D. something that is affirmed or denied of the subject in a proposition in logic; to affirm

E. In the sentence “The child threw the ball,” the subject is “the child” and the predicate is “threw the ball.”

Question 19

predilection

\ˌpre-də-ˈlek-shən\

Answer 19

D. a preference

E. an artist with a predilection for bright colours

Question 20

predispose

\ˌprē-di-ˈspōz\

Answer 20

D. to make receptive

E. a good teacher predisposes children to learn / malnutrition predisposes one to disease

Question 21

preeminent

\prē-‘e-mə-nənt\

Answer 21

D. having paramount rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding, supreme

E. She’s the preeminent chef in a city that has many good ones.

Question 22

prefatory

\ˈpre-fə-ˌtȯr-ē\

Answer 22

D. introductory

E. Each chapter in the book has a prefatory quotation.

Question 23

prelude

\ˈprel-ˌyüd\

Answer 23

D. opening

E. an eruption of sectarian violence that proved to be the prelude to all-out civil war / the musical had a brief prelude to get the audience in the proper mood

Question 24

premeditate

(ˌ)prē-ˈme-də-ˌtāt\

Answer 24

D. to think out ahead of time

E. a premeditated attack

Question 25

premise \ˈpre-məs\

Answer 25

D. a statement on which an argument is based E. His reasoning is based on the premise that all people are equally capable of good and evil.

Question 26

premonition \ˌprē-mə-ˈni-shən\

Answer 26

D. anticipation of an event without conscious reason (prae- + monēre to warn） E. she had a premonition that her cat would somehow get hurt that day

Question 27

preponderate \pri-ˈpän-də-ˌrāt\

Answer 27

D. to exceed in weight, power, or number (prae- + ponder-, pondus weight ) E. Evidence for the accused preponderated at the trial.

Question 28

preposterous \pri-ˈpäs-t(ə-)rəs\

Answer 28

D. absurd (pre-before + post-after) E. the idea that extraterrestrials built the pyramids is preposterous

Question 29

prerogative

Answer 29

D. a right or privilege E. If you'd rather sell the tickets than use them, that's your prerogative. / It's a writer's prerogative to decide the fate of her characters.

Question 30

presage \ˈpre-sij\

Answer 30

D. to warn; to predict E. the sight of the first robin is always a welcome presage of spring

Question 31

prescience \ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s\

Answer 31

D. foreknowledge E. He predicted their response with amazing prescience. / Her prescience as an investor is impressive.

Question 32

presentiment \pri-ˈzen-tə-mənt\

Answer 32

D. a feeling that something is going to happen, especially something unpleasant; a premonition (prae- + sentire to feel) E. a nagging presentiment of danger

Question 33

presumption

Answer 33

D. the act of supposing that something is true, although it has not yet been proved or is not certain; behaviour that is too confident and shows a lack of respect for other people E. Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence until they are proved to be guilty. / She was infuriated by his presumption in not consulting her first.

Question 34

pretentious

Answer 34

D. showing off

Question 35

preternatural \ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rəl\

Answer 35

D. abnormal; supernatural E. wits trained to preternatural acuteness by the debates / She has a preternatural ability to charm people.

Question 36

prevaricate \pri-ˈver-ə-ˌkāt\

Answer 36

D. to avoid the truth; to lie E. during the hearings the witness was willing to prevaricate in order to protect his friend

Question 37

primordial \prī-ˈmȯr-dē-əl\

Answer 37

D. existing in or persisting from the beginning; original (primus first + ordiri to begin) E. primordial impulses

Question 38

pristine \ˈpris-ˌtēn\

Answer 38

D. fresh and clean, as if new; not developed or changed in any way; left in its original condition E. The car is in pristine condition. / pristine, pollution-free beaches

Question 39

privy (to) \ˈpri-vē\

Answer 39

D. privy to something: allowed to know about something secret E. he was not privy to any information contained in the letters.

Question 40

probity \ˈprō-bə-tē\

Answer 40

D. honesty E. the defense attorney questioned the probity of the witness

Question 41

proboscis \prə-ˈbä-səs\

Answer 41

D. the long flexible nose of some animals, such as an elephant; the long thin mouth, like a tube, of some insects; a large human nose E. if there were a direct relation between mendacity and the length of one's proboscis, hers would be a mile long

Question 42

proclivity \prō-ˈkli-və-tē\

Answer 42

D. a slope; a tendency E. showed artistic proclivities at an early age

Question 43

procrastinate \pro-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt\

Answer 43

D. to delay or postpone E. He procrastinated and missed the submission deadline.

Question 44

prodigal \ˈprä-di-gəl\

Answer 44

D. wasteful; generous E. the prodigal child always spent her allowance the minute she got it

Question 45

prodigious \prə-ˈdi-jəs\

Answer 45

D. wonderful; huge E. stage magicians performing prodigious feats for rapt audiences

Question 46

profane

Answer 46

D. nonreligious; irreverent E. the once-lovely landscape had been profaned by ugly factories / offended by the profane language that her coworkers used so casually