List 34 Flashcards
paean
paeanN. /欢乐歌；赞美歌/song of praise or joy. Paeans celebrating the victory filled the air.
painstaking
painstakingADJ. /辛勤的/showing hard work; taking-Dreat care. The new high-frequency word list is the result of painstaking efforts on the part of our research staff.
palatable
palatableADJ. /可接受的；美味的/agreeable; pleasing to the taste. Neither Jack’s underbaked opinions nor his overcooked casseroles were palatable to Jill.
palette
paletteN. /调色板/board on which painter mixes pigments. At the present time, art supply stores are selling a paper palette that may be discarded after use.
pall
pallV. /厌烦，腻味/grow tiresome. The study of word lists can eventually pall and put one to sleep.
pallid
pallidADJ. /苍白的，惨淡的/pale; wan. Because his job required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally pallid complexion.
palpable
palpableADJ. /易于领会的；明显的/tangible; easily perceptible; unmistakable. The patient’s enlarged spleen was palpable: even the first year medical student could feel it.
palpitate
palpitateV. /拍动；跳动；搏动/throb; flutter. As he became excited, his heart began to palpitate more and more erratically.
paltry
paltryADJ. /不显著的；微小的/insignificant; petty; trifling. One hundred dollars for a genuine imitation Rolex watch! Lady, this is a paltry sum to pay for such a high-class piece of jewelry.
panache
panache N. /华丽/flair; flamboyance. Many performers imitate Noel Coward, but few have his panache and sense of style.
pandemic
pandemicADJ. /广泛传播的，流行的/widespread; affecting the majority of people. They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pandemic proportions.
pandemonium
pandemoniumN. /喧嚣；混乱/wild tumult. When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the passengers.
pander
panderV. /低级趣味的；拉皮条/cater to the low desires of others. The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses’ taste for violence.
panegyric
panegyricN. /推崇之至/formal praise. Blushing at all the praise heaped upon him by the speakers, the modest hero said, °I don’t deserve such panegyrics.”
panoramic
panoramicADJ. /全景的/related to an unobstructed and comprehensive view. On a clear day, from the top of the World Trade Center you can get a panoramic view of New York City and parts of New Jersey and Long Island. panorama, N.
pantomime
pantomimeN. /演哑剧/acting without dialogue. Because he worked in pantomime, the clown could be understood wherever he appeared. alsoV.
papyrus
papyrus N. /纸草；草纸（古代的）/ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to write on papyrus.
paranoia
paranoia N. /妄想狂；偏执狂/psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution. Suffering from paranoia, Don claimed everyone was out to get him; ironically, his claim was accurate: even paranoids have enemies.
paraphernalia
paraphernaliaN. /琐碎的东西；零碎的随身物品/equipment; odds and ends. His desk was cluttered with paper, pen, ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft.
pariah
pariahN. /贱民；被社会遗弃的人/social outcast. If everyone ostracized singer Mariah Carey, would she then be Mariah the pariah?
parity
parityN. /相等；势均力敌；奇偶/equality in status or amount; close resemblance. Unfortunately, some doubt exists whether women’s salaries will ever achieve paritywith men’s.
parochial
parochialADJ. /狭小的，地方的/narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes. Although Jane Austen sets her novels in small rural communities, her concerns are universal, not parochial,
parody
parodyN. /拙劣的模仿/humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty. The show Forbidden Broadway presents parodies spoofing the year’s new productions playing on Broadway.
paroxysm
paroxysmN. /突然一阵的，突发的（痛苦，笑，愤怒）/fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage. When he heard of his son’s misdeeds, he was seized by a paroxysm of rage.
