List 38 Flashcards
propitious
propitiousADJ. /吉利的；有利的/favorable; fortunate; advantageous. Chloe consulted her horoscope to see whether Tuesday would be a propitious day to dump her boyfriend.
propound
propoundV. /提出/put forth for analysis. In your discussion, you have propounded several questions; let us consider each one separately.
propulsive
propulsiveADJ. /推进的；有推进力的/driving forward. The jet plane has a greater propulsive power than the engine-driven plane.
proselytize
proselytizeV. /劝其改宗；改宗/convert to a religion or belief. In these interfaith meetings, there must be no attempt to proselytize; we must respect all points of view.
prosperity
prosperity N. /繁荣；好运/good fortune; financial success; physical well-being. Promising to stay together “for richer, for poorer,” the newlyweds vowed to be true to one another in prosperity and hardship alike.
prostrate
prostrateV. /弄倒；降伏/stretch out full on ground. He prostrated himself before the idol. alsoADJ.
protégé
protégéN. /被保护人/person receiving protection and support from a patron. Born with an independent spirit, Cyrano de Bergerac refused to be a protégé of Cardinal Richelieu.
protocol
protocolN. /协议/diplomatic etiquette. We must run this state dinner according to protocol if we are to avoid offending any of our guests.
protract
protractV. /延长/prolong. Seeking to delay the union members’ vote, the management team tried to protract the negotiations endlessly.
protrude
protrudeV. /突出/stick out. His fingers protruded from the holes in his gloves. protrusion, N.
protuberance
protuberance N. /隆起；突出；瘤/protrusion; bulge. A ganglionic cyst is a fluid-filled tumor that develops near a joint membrane or tendon sheath, and that bulges beneath the skin, forming a protuberance.
provisional
provisionalADJ. /临时的/tentative. Kim’s acceptance as an American Express card holder was provisional: before issuing her a card, American Express wanted to check her employment record and credit history.
prowess
prowessN. /非常勇猛/extraordinary ability; military bravery. Performing triple axels and double lutzes at the age of six, the young figure skater was world famous for her prowess on the ice.
proxy
proxyN. /代理/authorized agent. Please act as my proxy and vote for this slate of candidates in my absence.
prude
prudeN. /规矩的人；正经人；故作正经的人/excessively modest person. The X-rated film was definitely not for prudes, prudish,ADJ.
prune
pruneV. /切掉；修剪/cut away; trim. With the help of her editor, she was able to prune her overlong manuscript into publishable form.
prurient
prurientADJ. /好色的；渴望的/having or causing lustful thoughts and desires. Aroused by his prurient impulses, the dirty old man leered at the sweet young thing and offered to give her a sample of his “prowess.”
pseudonym
pseudonymN. /假名；笔名/pen name. Samuel Clemens’ pseudonym was Mark Twain.
pterodactyl
pterodactylN. /翼龙/extinct flying reptile. The remains of pterodactyls indicate that these flying reptiles had a wingspan of as much as twenty feet.
puerile
puerileADJ. /幼稚的，孩子气的/childish. His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends.
pugilist
pugilistN. /拳击家/boxer. The famous pugilist Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali.
pugnacity
pugnacityN. /好斗的/combativeness; disposition to fight. “Put up your dukes!” he cried, making a fist to show his pugnacity. pugnacious,ADJ.
pulchritude
pulchritudeN. /美丽；标致/beauty; comeliness. I do not envy the judges who have to select this year’s Miss America from this collection of female pulchritude.
pulverize
pulverizeV. /磨碎；粉碎/crush or grind into dust. Before sprinkling the dried herbs into the stew, Michael first pulverized them into a fine powder.
pummel
pummelV. /用拳头打/beat or pound with fists. Swinging wildly, Pam pummeled her brother around the head and shoulders.
punctilious
punctiliousADJ. /谨小慎微的；一丝不苟的/laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; minutely attentive to fine points (perhaps too much so). Percy is punctilious about observing the rules of etiquette whenever Miss Manners invites him to stay. punctiliousness.N.
pungent
pungentADJ. /刺激的；辛辣的；尖锐的/stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic. The pungent odor of ripe Limburger cheese appealed to Simone but made Stanley gag.
punitive
punitiveADJ. /惩罚的/punishing. He asked for punitive measures against the offender.
puny
punyADJ. /不显著的；不明显的；细微的/insignificant; tiny; weak. Our puny efforts to stop the flood were futile.
purge
purgeV. /净化；清除；拉肚子/remove or get rid of something unwanted; free from blame or guilt; cleanse or purify. When the Communist government purged the party to get rid of members suspected of capitalist sympathies, they sent the disloyal members to labor camps in Siberia.
purported
purportedADJ. /传说的；谣传的/alleged; claimed; reputed or rumored. The purported Satanists sacrificing live roosters in the park turned out to be a party of Shriners holding a chicken barbecue.
purveyor
purveyorN. /承办商/furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer. As purveyor of rare wines and viands, he traveled through France and Italy every year in search of new products to sell.
pusillanimous
pusillanimousADJ. /懦弱的；优柔寡断的/cowardly; fainthearted. You should be ashamed of your pusillanimous conduct during this dispute.
putrid
putridADJ. /恶臭的；腐烂的/foul; rotten; decayed. The gangrenous condition of the wound was indicated by the putrid smell when the bandages were removed. putrescence, N.
pyromaniac
pyromaniacN. /纵火狂/person with an insane desire to set things on fire. The detectives searched the area for the pyromaniac who had set these costly fires.
quadruped
quadrupedN. /四足动物/four-footed animal. Most mammals are quadrupeds.
quaff
quaffV. /一饮而尽/drink with relish. As we quaffed our ale, we listened to the lively songs of the students in the tavern.
quagmire
quagmireN. /沼泽；湿地/soft wet boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself. Up to her knees in mud, Myra wondered how on earth she was going to extricate herself from this quagmire.
quail
quailV. /懦弱；胆怯/cower; lose heart. The Cowardly Lion was afraid that he would quail in the face of danger.
quaint
quaintADJ. /离奇古怪的；做的精巧的；过时的/odd; old-fashioned; picturesque. Her quaint clothes and old-fashioned language marked her as an eccentric.
qualms
qualmsN. /担心，害怕；担惊受怕；愧对良心/misgivings; uneasy fears, especially about matters of conscience. I have no qualms about giving this assignment to Helen; I know she will handle it admirably.
qualms
qualmsN. /担心，害怕；担惊受怕；愧对良心/misgivings; uneasy fears, especially about matters of conscience. I have no qualms about giving this assignment to Helen; I know she will handle it admirably.
quandary
quandary N. /两难的困境/dilemma. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura, she was in a quandary as to which school she should attend.
quarry
quarryN. /猎物；受害者/Victim; object of a hunt. The police closed in on their quarry.
quarry
quarryV. /挖掘出，寻找出/dig into. They quarried blocks of marble out of the hillside. also N.
