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TACHS Vocabulary List > P > Flashcards

P Flashcards

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1
Q

pallid

A

(adjective) pale; dull.

Working all day in the coal mine had given him a pallid complexion. The new musical offers only pallid entertainment: the music is lifeless, the acting dull, the story absurd.

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2
Q

parched

A

(adjective) very dry; thirsty.

After two months without rain, the crops were shriveled and parched by the sun.

parch (verb)

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3
Q

pariah

A

(noun) outcast.

Accused of robbery, he became a pariah; his neighbors stopped talking to him, and people he’d considered friends no longer called.

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4
Q

partisan

A

(adjective) reflecting strong allegiance to a particular party or cause.

The vote on the president’s budget was strictly partisan: every member of the president’s party voted yes, and all others voted no.

partisan (noun)

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5
Q

pathology

A

(noun) disease or the study of disease; extreme abnormality.

Some people believe that high rates of crime are symptoms of an underlying social pathology.

pathological (adjective)

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6
Q

pellucid

A

(adjective) very clear; transparent; easy to understand.

The water in the mountain stream was cold and pellucid. Thanks to the professor’s pellucid explanation, I finally understand relativity theory.

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7
Q

penitent

A

(adjective) feeling sorry for past crimes or sins.

Having grown penitent, he wrote a long letter of apology, asking forgiveness.

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8
Q

penurious

A

(adjective) extremely frugal; stingy.

Haunted by memories of poverty, he lived in penurious fashion, driving a twelve-year-old car and wearing only the cheapest clothes.

penury (noun)

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9
Q

perceptive

A

(adjective) quick to notice, observant.

With his perceptive intelligence, Holmes was the first to notice the importance of this clue.

perceptible (adjective)
perception (noun)

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10
Q

perfidious

A

(adjective) disloyal, treacherous.

Although he was one of the most talented generals of the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold is remembered today as a perfidious betrayer of his country.

perfidy (noun)

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11
Q

perfunctory

A

(adjective) unenthusiastic, routine, or mechanical.

When the play opened, the actors sparkled, but by the thousandth night their performance had become perfunctory.

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12
Q

permeate

A

(verb) to spread through or penetrate.

Little by little, the smell of gas from the broken pipe permeated the house.

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13
Q

persevere

A

(adjective) to continue despite difficulties.

Although several of her teammates dropped out of the marathon, Gail persevered.

perseverance (noun)

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14
Q

perspicacity

A

(noun) keenness of observation or understanding.

Journalist Murray Kempton was famous for the perspicacity of his comments on social and political issues.

perspicacious (adjective)

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15
Q

peruse

A

(verb) to examine or study.

Caroline perused the contract carefully before she signed it.

perusal (noun)

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16
Q

pervasive

A

(adjective) spreading throughout.

As news of the disaster reached the town, a pervasive sense of gloom could be felt.

pervade (verb)

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17
Q

phlegmatic

A

(adjective) sluggish and unemotional in temperament.

It was surprising to see Tom, who is normally so phlegmatic, acting excited.

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18
Q

placate

A

(verb) to soothe or appease.

The waiter tried to placate the angry customer with the offer of a free dessert.

placatory (adjective)

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19
Q

plastic

A

(adjective) able to be molded or reshaped.

Because it is highly plastic, clay is an easy material for beginning sculptors to use.

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20
Q

plausible

A

(adjective) apparently believable.

According to the judge, the defense attorney’s argument was both powerful and plausible.

plausibility (noun)

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21
Q

polarize

A

(verb) to separate into opposing groups or forces.

For years, the abortion debate has polarized the American people, with many people voicing extreme views and few trying to find a middle ground.

polarization (noun)

22
Q

portend

A

(verb) to indicate a future event; to forebode.

According to folklore, a red sky at dawn portends a day of stormy weather.

23
Q

potentate

A

(noun) a powerful ruler.

The Tsar of Russia was one of the last hereditary potentates of Europe.

24
Q

pragmatism

A

(noun) a belief in approaching problems through practical rather than theoretical means.

Roosevelt’s approach to the Great Depression was based on pragmatism: “Try something,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, try something else.”

pragmatic (adjective)

25
Q

preamble

A

(noun) an introductory statement.

The preamble to the Constitution begins with the famous words, “We the people of the United States of America…”

26
Q

precocious

A

(adjective) mature at an unusually early age.

Picasso was so precocious as an artist that, at nine, he is said to have painted far better pictures than his teacher.

precocity (noun)

27
Q

predatory

A

(adjective) living by killing and eating other animals; exploiting others for personal gain.

The tiger is the largest predatory animal native to Asia. Microsoft has been accused of predatory business practices that prevent other software companies from competing with it.

predation (noun)
predator (noun)

28
Q

predilection

A

(noun) a liking or preference.

To relax from his presidential duties, Kennedy had a predilection for spy novels featuring James Bond.

29
Q

predominant

A

(adjective) greatest in numbers or influence.

Although hundreds of religions are practiced in India, the predominant faith is Hinduism.

predominance (noun)
predominate (verb)

30
Q

prepossessing

A

(adjective) attractive.

Smart, lovely, and talented, she has all the prepossessing qualities that mark a potential movie star.

31
Q

presumptuous

A

(adjective) going beyond the limits of courtesy or appropriateness.

The senator winced when the presumptuous young staffer addressed him as “Chuck.”

presume (verb)
presumption (noun)

32
Q

pretentious

A

(adjective) claiming excessive value or importance.

For a shoe salesman to call himself a “Personal Foot Apparel Consultant” seems awfully pretentious.

pretension (noun)

33
Q

procrastinate

A

(verb) to put off, to delay.

If you habitually procrastinate, try this technique: never touch a piece of paper without either filing it, responding to it, or throwing it out.

procrastination (noun)

34
Q

profane

A

(adjective) impure, unholy.

It is inappropriate and rude to use profane language in a church.

profane (verb)
profanity (noun)

35
Q

proficient

A

(adjective) skillful, adept.

A proficient artist, Louise quickly and accurately sketched the scene.

proficiency (noun)

36
Q

proliferate

A

(verb) to increase or multiply.

Over the past twenty-five years, high-tech companies have proliferated in northern California, Massachusetts, and Seattle.

proliferation (noun)

37
Q

prolific

A

(adjective) producing many offspring or creations.

With more than 300 books to his credit, Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time.

38
Q

prominence

A

(noun) the quality of standing out; fame.

Barack Obama rose to political prominence after his keynote address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

prominent (adjective)

39
Q

promulgate

A

(verb) to make public, to declare.

Lincoln signed the proclamation that freed the slaves in 1862, but he waited several months to promulgate it.

40
Q

propagate

A

(verb) to cause to grow; to foster.

John Smithson’s will left his fortune for the founding of an institution to propagate knowledge, without saying whether that meant a university, a library, or a museum.

propagation (noun)

41
Q

propriety

A

(noun) appropriateness.

The principal questioned the propriety of the discussion the teacher had with her students about another instructor’s gambling addiction.

42
Q

prosaic

A

(adjective) everyday, ordinary, dull.

“Paul’s Case” tells the story of a boy who longs to escape from the prosaic life of a clerk into a world of wealth, glamour, and beauty.

43
Q

protagonist

A

(noun) the main character in a story or play; the main supporter of an idea.

Leopold Bloom is the protagonist of James Joyce’s great novel Ulysses.

44
Q

provocative

A

(adjective) likely to stimulate emotions, ideas, or controversy.

The demonstrators began chanting obscenities; a provocative act that they hoped would cause the police to lose control.

provoke (verb)
provocation (noun)

45
Q

proximity

A

(noun) closeness, nearness.

Neighborhood residents were angry over the proximity of the sewage plant to the local school.

proximate (adjective)

46
Q

prudent

A

(adjective) wise, cautious, and practical.

A prudent investor will avoid putting all of her money into any single investment.

prudence (noun)
prudential (adjective)

47
Q

pugnacious

A

(adjective) combative, bellicose, truculent; ready to fight.

Ty Cobb, the pugnacious outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, got into more than his fair share of brawls, both on and off the field.

pugnacity (noun)

48
Q

punctilious

A

(adjective) very concerned about proper forms of behavior and manners.

A punctilious dresser like James would rather skip the party altogether than wear the wrong color tie.

punctilio (noun)

49
Q

pundit

A

(noun) someone who offers opinions in an authoritative style.

The Sunday morning talk shows are filled with pundits, each with his or her own theory about the week’s political news.

50
Q

punitive

A

(adjective) inflicting punishment.

The jury awarded the plaintiff one million dollars in punitive damages, hoping to teach the defendant a lesson.

51
Q

purify

A

(verb) to make pure, clean, or perfect.

The new plant is supposed to purify the drinking water provided to everyone in the nearby towns.

purification (noun)

TACHS Vocabulary List (23 decks)

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