1748 Flashcards

1
Q

potable

A

D. drinkable

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

potentate

A

D. a ruler

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

potential

A

D. possible; latent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

potpourri

\ˌpō-pə-ˈrē\

A

D. a collection of varied things

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

poultice

\ˈpōl-təs\

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

practicable

A

D. feasible; usable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

pragmatic

A

D. practical; dealing with daily matters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

prate

\ˈprāt\

A

D. to chatter

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

precarious

A

D. uncertain; risky

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

precedent

\pri-ˈsē-dənt\

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

precept

\ˈprē-ˌsept\

A

D. a rule or conduct, a doctrine

E. the basic precepts of a religion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

precipitate

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

precipitous

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

preclude

A

D. to prevent; to make impossible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

precocious

A

D. developing earlier than usual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

precursor

A

D. a forerunner

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

predatory

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

predicate

\ˈpre-di-kət\

A

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.”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

predilection

\ˌpre-də-ˈlek-shən\

A

D. a preference

E. an artist with a predilection for bright colours

20
Q

predispose

\ˌprē-di-ˈspōz\

A

D. to make receptive

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

21
Q

preeminent

\prē-‘e-mə-nənt\

A

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

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

22
Q

prefatory

\ˈpre-fə-ˌtȯr-ē\

A

D. introductory

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

23
Q

prelude

\ˈprel-ˌyüd\

A

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

24
Q

premeditate

(ˌ)prē-ˈme-də-ˌtāt\

A

D. to think out ahead of time

E. a premeditated attack

25
Q

premise

\ˈpre-məs\

A

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.

26
Q

premonition

\ˌprē-mə-ˈni-shən\

A

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

27
Q

preponderate

\pri-ˈpän-də-ˌrāt\

A

D. to exceed in weight, power, or number (prae- + ponder-, pondus weight )

E. Evidence for the accused preponderated at the trial.

28
Q

preposterous

\pri-ˈpäs-t(ə-)rəs\

A

D. absurd (pre-before + post-after)

E. the idea that extraterrestrials built the pyramids is preposterous

29
Q

prerogative

A

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.

30
Q

presage

\ˈpre-sij\

A

D. to warn; to predict

E. the sight of the first robin is always a welcome presage of spring

31
Q

prescience

\ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s\

A

D. foreknowledge

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

32
Q

presentiment

\pri-ˈzen-tə-mənt\

A

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

E. a nagging presentiment of danger

33
Q

presumption

A

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.

34
Q

pretentious

A

D. showing off

35
Q

preternatural

\ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rəl\

A

D. abnormal; supernatural

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

36
Q

prevaricate

\pri-ˈver-ə-ˌkāt\

A

D. to avoid the truth; to lie

E. during the hearings the witness was willing to prevaricate in order to protect his friend

37
Q

primordial

\prī-ˈmȯr-dē-əl\

A

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

E. primordial impulses

38
Q

pristine

\ˈpris-ˌtēn\

A

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

39
Q

privy (to)

\ˈpri-vē\

A

D. privy to something: allowed to know about something secret

E. he was not privy to any information contained in the letters.

40
Q

probity

\ˈprō-bə-tē\

A

D. honesty

E. the defense attorney questioned the probity of the witness

41
Q

proboscis

\prə-ˈbä-səs\

A

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

42
Q

proclivity

\prō-ˈkli-və-tē\

A

D. a slope; a tendency

E. showed artistic proclivities at an early age

43
Q

procrastinate

\pro-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt\

A

D. to delay or postpone

E. He procrastinated and missed the submission deadline.

44
Q

prodigal

\ˈprä-di-gəl\

A

D. wasteful; generous

E. the prodigal child always spent her allowance the minute she got it

45
Q

prodigious

\prə-ˈdi-jəs\

A

D. wonderful; huge

E. stage magicians performing prodigious feats for rapt audiences

46
Q

profane

A

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