P Flashcards
pachyderm
thick-skinned animal
The elephant is probably the best-known pachyderm.
paean
song of praise or joy
paeans celebrating the victory filled the air.
palatial
magnificent
He proudly showed us through his palatial home.
palette
board on which a painter mixes pigments
At the present time, art supply stores are selling a paper palette that may be discarded after use.
palimpsest
parchment used for second time after original writing has been erased
Using chemical reagents, scientists have been able to restore the original writings on many palimpsests.
pall
grow tiresome
The study of word lists can eventually pall and put one to sleep.
pallet
small, poor bed
The weary traveler went to sleep on his straw pallet.
palliate
ease pain; make less severe or offensive
If we cannot cure this disease at present, we can, at least try to palliate the symptoms.
pallid
pale; wan
Because his occupation required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally pallid complexion.
palpable
tangible; easily perceptible
I cannot understand how you could overlook such a palpable blunder.
paltry
insignificant; petty
This is a paltry sum to pay for such a masterpiece.
pan
criticize harshly
Hoping for a rave review of his new show, the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it unanimously.
panache
flair; flamboyance
Many performers imitate Noel Coward, but few have his panache and sense of style.
pandemic
widespread; affecting the majority of people
They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pandemic proportions.
pandemonium
wild tumult
When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the passengers.
pander
cater to the low desires of others
The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses’ taste of violence.
panegyric
formal praise
The modest hero blushed to hear the speakers delivering panegyrics about his valorous act.
pantomine
acting without dialogue
Because he worked in pantomime, the clown could be understood wherever he appeared.
papyrus
ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant
The ancient Egyptians were among the first to write on papyrus.
parable
short, simple story teaching a moral
Let us apply to our own conduct the lesson that this parable teaches.
paragon
model of perfection
The class disliked him because the teacher was always pointing him out as a paragon of virtue.
parameter
limit; independent variable
We need to define the parameters of the problem.
paramour
illicit lover
She sought a divorce on the grounds that her husband had a paramour in another town.
paraphernalia
equipment; odds and ends
His desk was cluttered with paper, pen, ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft.
parched
extremely dry; very thirsty
The parched desert landscape seemed hostile to life.
parity
equality; close resemblance
I find your analogy inaccurate because I do not see the parity between the two illustrations.
parlance
language; idiom
All this legal parlance confuses me; I need an interpreter.
parley
conference
The peace parley has not produced the anticipated truce.
parochial
narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes
Although Jane Austen writes novels set in small rural communities, her concerns are universal, not parochial.
parody
humorous imitation; travesty
We enjoyed the clever parodies of popular songs that the chorus sang.
paroxysm
fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage
When he heared of his son’s misdeeds, he was seized by a paroxysm of rage.
parquet
floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosic-like pattern.
In laying the floor, the carpenters combined redwood and oak in an elegant parquet.
parry
ward off a blow
He was content to wage a defensive battle and tried to parry his opponent’s thrusts.
parsimonious
stingy; excessively frugal
His parsimonious nature did not permit him to enjoy any luxuries.
partiality
inclination; bias
As a judge, not only must I be unbiased, but I must also avoid any evidence of partiality when I award the prize.
passe
old-fashioned; past the prime
Her style is passe and reminiscent of the Victorian era.
pastiche
imitation of another’s style in musical composition or in writing
We cannot even say that her music is a pastiche of this or that composer; it is rather, reminiscent of many musicians.
pastoral
rural
In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk.
patent
open for the public to read; obvious
It was patent to everyone that the witness spoke the truth.
pathos
tender to sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings.
The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly sentimental.
patina
green crust on old bronze works; tone slowly taken by varnished painting
Judging by the patina on this bronze statue, we can conclude that this is the work of a medieval artist.
patois
local or provincial dialect
His years of study of the language at the university did not enable him to understand the patois of the natives.
patrician
noble; aristocratic
We greatly admired her well-bred, patrician elegance
patronize
support; act superior toward
Experts in a field sometimes appear to patronize people who are less knowledgeable of the subject.
paucity
scarcity
They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate.
pauper
very poor person
Though Widow Brown was living on a reduced income, she was by no means a pauper.
peccadillo
slight offense
If we examine these escapades carefully, we will realize that they are mere peccadilloes rather than major crimes.
pecuniary
pertaining to money
I never expected a pecuniary reward for my work in this activity.
pedagogue
teaching; art of education
Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy, it took years before her teaching techniques became common practice in American schools.
pedant
scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities
Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar.
pedantic
showing off learning; bookish
Leaving his decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Walker was not at all pedantic legal scholar.
pedestrian
ordinary; unimaginative
Unintentionally boring, he wrote page after page of pedestrian prose.
pejorative
negative in connotation; having a belittling effect.
Instead of criticizing Clinton’s policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character.
pellmell
in confusion; disorderly
The excited students dashed pellmell into the stadium to celebrate the victory.
pellucid
transparent; limpid; easy to understand
After reading these stodgy philosophers, I find his pellucid style very enjoyable.
penance
self-imposed punishment for sin
The Ancient Mariner said, “I have penance done and penance more will do,” to atone for the sin of killing the albatross.
penchant
strong inclination; liking
He had a strong penchant for sculpture and owned many statues.
pendant
*
hanging down from something
Her pendant earrings glistened in the light.
**
ornament (hanging from a necklace, etc.)
The grateful team presented the coach with a silver chain and pendant engraved with the school’s motto.
pendulous
hanging; suspended
The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling.
penitent
repentant
When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent.
pensive
dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness
The pensive youth gazed at the painting for a long time and then sighed.
penumbra
partial shadow (in an eclipse)
During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra.
penurious
stingy; parsimonious
He was a penurious man, averse to spending money even for the necessities of life.
penury
extreme poverty
When his pension fund failed, George feared he would end his days in penury.
peon
landless agricultural worker; bond servant
The land reformers sought to liberate the peons and establish them as independent farmers.
percussion
striking one object against another sharply
The drum is a percussion instrument.
peregrination
journey
Auntie Mame was a world traveler whose peregrinations took her from Tiajuana to Timbuctoo.
peremptory
demanding and leaving no choice
From Jack’s peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in.
perennial
something long-lasting
Tese plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years.
perifidious
treacherous; disloyal
When Caesar realized that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend.
perfunctory
superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm
The auditor’s perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors.
perigree
point of moon’s orbit when it is nearest the earth
The rocket which was designed to take photographs of the moon was launched as the moon approached its perigee.
peripatetic
walking about; moving
The peripatetic school of philosophy derives its name from the fact that Aristotle walked with his pupils while discussing philosophy with them.
perjury
false testimony while under oath
When several witnesses appeared to challenge his story, he was indicted for perjury.
pernicious
very destructive, harmful
He argued that these books had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds.
peroration
conclusion of an oration
The peroration was largely hortatory and brought the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close.
perpetrate
commit an offense
Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime.
perquisite
any gain above stipulated salary
The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indicates.
perspicacious
having insight; penetrating; astute
The brillant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions.
perspicuity
clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity
One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear.
perspicuous
plainly expressed
Her perspicuous comments eliminated all posibility of misinterpretation.
pert
impertinent; forward
I think your pert and impudent remarks call for an apology.
pertinacious
stubborn; persistent
He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit.
pertinent
suitable; to the point
The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details.
perturb
disturb greatly
I am afraid this news will perturb him and cause him grief.
perusal
reading
I am certain that you have missed important details in your rapid perusal of this document.
pervasive
spread throughout
Despite airing them for several hours, she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothbals that clung to them.
perverse
stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable
When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims.
perversion
corruption; turning from right to wrong
Inasmuch as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion.
pestilential
causing plague; baneful
People were afraid to explore the pestilential swap.
pestle
tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl
From the way in which the elderly pharmacist pounded the drug with his pestle, young George could tell that his employer was agitated about something.
petrify
turn to stone
His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her.
petulant
touchy; peevish
The feverish patient was petulant and restless.
pharisaical
pertaining to Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; hypocritical
Walter Lippmann has pointed out that moralists who do not attempt to explain the moral code they advocate are often regarded as pharisaical and ignored.
philanderer
faithless lover; flirt
Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman, Jack assured Jill he was no philanderer.
philanthropist
lover of mankind; doer of good
As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy.w
philatelist
stamp-collector
When she heard the value of the Penny Black stamp, Phyllis was inspired to become a philatelist.
philistine
narrow-minded person, uncultured and exculsively interested in material gain
We need more men of culture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us.
philology
study of language
The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language.
phlegmatic
calm; not easily disturbed
The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies.
physiognomy
face
He prided himself on his ability to analyze a person’s character by studying his physiognomy.
piebald
of different colors; motled; spotted
You should be able to identify Polka Dot in this race; he is the only piebald horse running.
pied
variegated; multicolored
The pied piper of Hamelin got his name from the multicolored clothing he wore.
piety
devoutness; reverence for God
Living her life in prayer and good works, Mother Teresa exemplifies the true sprit of piety.
pillage
plunder
The enemy pillaged the quiet village and left it in ruins.
pillory
punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism and ridicule
Even though he was mocked and pilloried, he maintained that he was correct in his beliefs.
pine
languish, decline; long for, yearn
Though she tried to be happy living with Clara in the city, Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff but loving grandfather.
