Word List 34

Question 1

Palpable (adj)

Answer 1

tangible; easily perceptible

After knee surgery, David noticed a palpable bump or swelling below his knee

Question 2

Palpable (v)

Answer 2

throb; flutter

As she became excited, her heart began to palpitate more and more erratically

Question 3

Paltry (adj)

Answer 3

insignificant; petty; trifling
This is a paltry sum to pay for such a high-class piece of jewellery

Question 4

Panacea (n)

Answer 4

cure-all; remedy for all diseases

Question 5

Panache (n)

Answer 5

flair; flamboyance

Many performers imitated Noel Coward, but few had his panache and sense of style

Question 6

Pandemonium (n)

Answer 6

wild tumult

When the ships collided in the harbour, pandemonium broke out among the passengers

Question 7

Pander (n)

Answer 7

cater to the low desires of others

The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon for pandering to the masses’ taste for violence

Question 8

Panegyric (n)

Answer 8

formal praise

Blushing all the praise heaped upon him by the speakers, the modest hero said “I don’t deserve such panegyrics.”

Question 9

Parable (n)

Answer 9

short; simple story teaching a moral

Question 10

Paradigm (m)

Answer 10

model; example; pattern

Question 11

Paradox (n)

Answer 11

something apparently contradictory in nature

Question 12

Paragon (n)

Answer 12

model of perfection

Her fellow students disliked Lavinia because Miss Minchin always pointed her out as a paragon of virtue

Question 13

Paraphernalia (n)

Answer 13

equipment; odds and ends

Her desk was cluttered with paper, pen an ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft

Question 14

Pariah (n)

Answer 14

social outcast

Question 15

Parochial (adj)

Answer 15

narrow in outlook; provincial

Question 16

Paroxysm (n)

Answer 16

fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage

When he heard of his son’s misdeeds, he was seized by a paroxysm of rage

Question 17

Parry (v)

Answer 17

ward off a blow; deflect

Question 18

Parsimony (n)

Answer 18

stinginess; excessive frugality

Question 19

Partisan (adj)

Answer 19

one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party

The Democrats and Republicans spend their time on partisan struggles

Question 20

Passe (adj)

Answer 20

old-fashioned

Question 21

Pastiche (n)

Answer 21

imitation of another’s style in musical composition or in writing

Question 22

Pastoral (adj)

Answer 22

rural; related to the country

Question 23

Pathos (n)

Answer 23

tender 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

Question 24

Patrician (adj)

Answer 24

noble; aristocratic

We greatly admired her well-bred patrician elegance

Question 25

Paucity (n)

Answer 25

scarcity

They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made in uneconomical to operate

Question 26

Pauper (n)

Answer 26

very poor person

She was by no means a pauper

Question 27

Peccadillo (n)

Answer 27

slight offence
Whenever Huck swiped a cookie from the jar, Miss Watson reacted as if he were guilty of armed robbery, not of some mere peccadillo

Question 28

Pecuniary (adj)

Answer 28

pertaining to money

Folk-dance teachers work because they love dancing, not because they expect any pecuniary reward

Question 29

Pedagogue (n)

Answer 29

teacher

He could never be a stuffy pedagogue, his classes were always lively and filled with humour

Question 30

Pedagogy (n)

Answer 30

teaching; art of education

Question 31

Pedant (n)

Answer 31

scholar who emphasises book learning or technicalities

So i generally laugh at the grammar pedants who have fits about every intrusive comma or use of slang

Question 32

Pedantic (adj)

Answer 32

showing off learning; bookish

Leavening her decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Judy was not at all the pedantic legal scholar

Question 33

Pejorative (adj)

Answer 33

negative in connotation; having a belittling effect

Instead of criticising Clinton’s policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character

Question 34

Penitent (adj)

Answer 34

repentant

When he realised the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent

Question 35

Pensive (adj)

Answer 35

dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness; contemplative
The pensive lover gazed at the portrait of his beloved and sighed deeply