GRE Power Vocab - P Flashcards
Paean
n. a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving
Palliate
v. to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate
Panacea
n. a remedy for all dieases ro ills; an answer for all problems or difficulties
Panache
adj. a grand or flamboyant manner
Pandemic
adj. widespread; occurring over a large area or affecting an unusually large percentage of the population
pandemic can also be used as a noun.
For related word with a different meaning, see endemic
Panegyric
n. formal expression of praise
Paradigm
n. something that serves as a model, example, or pattern; the framework ofassumptions and understandings shared by a group or discipline that shapes its worldview
Paradox
n. a contradiction; a seemingly self-contradictory statement that seems true nonetheless
Paradoxical is the adjective form
originally, a paradox was a statement that conflicted with expectation or accepted opinions
Paragon
n. something regarded as a model of excellence or perfection in some way
the original meaning of paragon was a touchstone, or something used to distinguish good from bad. Now it tends to mean a standard by which a certain characteristic is judged
Pariah
n. an outcast, a rejected and despised person
Parody
n. a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art, also something so bad as to be potentially mistaken for an intentional mockery
Parry
v. to block, evade or ward off, as a blow
Parsimonious
adj. cheap, miserly
Partisan
adj. one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced
Partisan can also be a noun, meaning supporter, adherent
a related word that we hear frequently is bipartisan, which means both parties. A very popular bill is likely to have bipartisan support
Pastoral
adj. having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characterisitcs generally attributed to rural areas; pertaining to life in the country
Paucity
adj. scarcity, a lacking of
Peccadillo
n. a slight offense; literally, a minor sin
Pedagogy
n. the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing
Pedantic
adj. ostentatious display of learning, excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules, unimaginative
one who has a pedantic style is called a pedant
Pedestrian
adj. commonplace, trite, unremarkable
Pellucid
adj. clear in meaning, expression, or style; translucent
Penchant
n. strong inclination, a liking
Penitential
adj. expressive of regret for one’s wrongdoing
Penurious
adj. penny-pinching, excessively thrifty; ungenerous
Penury is extreme poverty, destitution, or lack of resources
Peremptory
adj. admitting of no contradiction, putting an end to further debate, haughty, imperious
Perennial
adj. recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly
Perfidy
n. intentional breach of faith, treachery
Perfunctory
adj. cursory, done without care of interest
Peripatetic
adj. itinerant, traveling, nomadic
Errant and itinerant are two synonyms for peripatetic
Pernicious
adj. extremely harmful, potentially causing death
Pernicious is similar in meaning to inimical
Personable
adj. pleasing in appearance, attractive
Perspicacious
adj. acutely perceptive, having keen discernment
Someone who is perspicacious probably has great acumen
Peruse
v. to examine with great care
be careful, many people misuse this word, believing that it means to glance over quickly
Pervade
v. to permeate throughout
Pervasive means having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
Petrous
adj. like a rock; hard, stony
Petrous technically refers to the hard temporal bone that protects the inner ear
Petrify means to make hard or rocklike, or to paralyze with fear
Petulant
adj. impatient, irritable
Philanthropic
adj. humanitarian; benevolent
Philanthropic comes from the Greek roots “man-loving” - man meaning humankind. The act of doing humanitarian works is called philanthropy
Misanthrope is the exact opposite
Philistine
n. a crass individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values
Phlegmatic
adj. calm, sluggish, unemotional, stoic
Picaresque
adj. involving clever rogues or adventurers
be careful not to confuse this with pictureesque, which means picture-like, charming, quaint
Pied
adj. multicolored, usually in blotches
Pillory
v. to punish, hold up to public scoen
a pillory was a device for punishing people through public humiliation; it consisted of a wooden frame into which someone’s neck and hands could be locked, and was usually set up in a town square or other public place. It was very similar in design and purpose to the stocks
PIne
v. to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor
Pious
adj. extremely reverent or devout
Pious can also have the sense of false or hypocritical devotion
The word piety means that state of bein pious
Piquant
adj. agreebly pungent, spicy, stimulating
Pique
n. resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride
The pique can also be a verb, meaning to annoy or irritate, or to provoke or arouse, as in “you’ve piqued my curiousity”
Pirate
v. to use or reproduce illegally
Pith
n. the essential or central part
Pithy means precise and brief
Placate
v. to appease, to calm by making concessions
Mollify can be a synonym for placate
Plaintive
adj. mournful, melancholy, sorrowful
Plangent
adj. pounding, thundering, resounding
Plastic
adj. moldable, pliable, not rigid
Platitude
n. a superficial or trite remark, especially one offered as meaningful
Plethora
n. an overabundance, a surplus
Pluck
n. courage, spunk, fortitude
Plumb
v. to measure the depth (as with a plumb line), to examine critically
plumb as an adjective means exactly vertical. Informally it can also mean directly (as in, “fell plumb on his butt”) or completely (as in, “plumb tuckered out”)
Poignant
adj. distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional
Polemical
adj. controversial, argumentative
Polemics are the art or practice of controversy and argumentation
Portentous
adj. ominously significant or indicative
Pragmatic
adj. practical rather than idealistic
a pragmatist is one who is practical
Prate
v. chatter, babble
prate is a synonym of prattle
Prattle
v. to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idll manner
Prattle can also be a noun
Precarious
adj. uncertain, risky, dangerous
Precept
n. rule establishing standards of conduct, a doctrine that is taught
Precipitate
adj. acting with excessive haste or impulse
as a verb, precipitate means to cause or happen before anticipated or required
Precursor
n. something that precedes and indicates or announces another
Predilection
n. a disposition in favor of something, preference
Preeminent
adj. superior to others, surpassing
Preempt
v. to replace, to supersede, to appropriate
Preemption is prior appropriation of or claim to something and preemptive means characterized by preemption
Preen
v. to dress up, primp, groom oneself with elaborate care; in animals, to clean fur or feathers
Premonitory
adj. serving to warn beforehand
Prescience
n. knowing of events prior ro their occurring
Presumptuous
adj. overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy; taking liberties
Prevaricate
v. to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead
Pristine
adj. pure, uncorrupted, clean
Prize
v. to pry, press or force with a lever
Probity
adj. adherence to highest principles, uprightness
Proclivity
n. a natural predisposition or inclination
Prodigal
adj. recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish
Prodigious
adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
Profligate
adj. excessively wasteful, recklessly extravagant
Profuse
adj. given or coming forth abundantly, extravagant
Profusion means abundance or extravagance
Prolific
adj. producing large volumes or amounts, productive
Proliferate is related word meaning to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
Proliferation is the act of increasing quickly
Prolix
adj. long-winded, verbose
see verbose for a synonym of prolix
Promulgate
v. to make known by open declaration, proclaim formally, or put into operation
Propensity
n. a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
Propinquity
adj. nearness in time or place, affinity of nature kinship
Propitiate
v. to appease or pacify
somethinng propitiatory is meant to propitiate
Propitious
adj. auspicious, favorable
Propriety
n. appropriateness, conformity with standards of acceptable behavior
be careful; this word is easy to confuse with proprietary, which means associated with ownership
Prosaic
adj. dull, unimaginative
Proscribe
v. to outlaw or prohibit
Proscription is the act of outlawing something; can also mean to outlaw or banish people, or pass sentence of death. Prescription and proscription often get mixed up; the former describes what you should do and the latter describes something that you are not allowed to do
Provident
adj. frugal, looking to the future
Providential looks similar but means happening as if from divine intervention
Puerile
adj. chilidhs, immature
Pugnacious
adj. contentious, quarrelsome, given to fighting, belligerent
Bellicose and querulous are synonyms for pugnacious
Punctilious
adj. precise, paying attention to trivialities especially in regard to etiquette
Pundit
n. an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions
Pungent
adj. characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste, penetrating, to the point
Pusillanimous
adj. cowardly, craven
Putrefy
v. to rot, decay, and give off a foul odor, become gangreous
