Word List 46 Flashcards
pesky
troublesome, vexatious
e.g. the pesky problem of what to do with all the leftovers
petulant
insolent or rude in speech or behavior
characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor; peevish
e.g. a petulant and fussy man who is always blaming everyone else for his problems
pharisaic
marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness
phial
vial
philology
the study of literature and of disciplines relevant to literature or to language as used in literature
linguistics
phony
not genuine or real
e.g. phony publicity stories
a phony poetic elegance
piazza
(pl. piazze) an open square especially in an Italian town
an arcaded and roofed gallery
piebald
composed of incongruous parts
of different colors; especially, spotted or blotched with black and white
e.g. a model who owes his striking good looks to his markedly piebald ethnic background
piecemeal
one piece at a time; gradually
in pieces or fragment; apart
also
e.g. remodeled their house piecemeal because of budgetary constraints
One well-aimed blow ripped the pinata piecemeal.
piecemeal repairs major reconstruction
pilfer
steal; especially, to steal stealthily in small amounts and often again and again
e.g. She pilfered stamps and paper from work.
piscatorial
of, relating to, or dependent on fish or fishing
plank
a heavy thick board
an article in the platform of a political party
a principal item of a policy or program
e.g. Before the convention, there was debate over the foreign policy and economic planks.
plebeian
one of the common people
crude or coarse in manner or style; common
e.g. wondered what the people at the country club would think of his plebeian origins
plenary
complete in every aspects; absolute, unqualified
fulled attended or constituted by all entitled to be present
e.g. plenary power
a plenary meeting of all 500 members
pleonasm
redundancy
e.g. Ignorance of the true meaning of a word often leads to pleonasm.
poach
to encroach upon especially for the purpose of taking something
to trespass on
e.g. a field poached too frequently by the amateur
a staff poached from other companies
poltroon
a spiritless coward; craven
also
e.g. a military commander who was so poltroon that he surrendered without having fired so much as a single shot
polyandry
the state or practice of having more than one husband or male mate at one time
polyglot
a polyglot person
speaking or writing several language; multilingual
widely diverse
e.g. a polyglot population/sign/cuisine
a polyglot community made up of many cultures
polymath
a person of encyclopedic learning
portend
to give an omen or anticipatory sign of
indicate, signify
e.g. The distant thunder portended a storm.
potboiler
a usually inferior work (as of art or literature) produced chiefly for profit
prefigure
to show, suggest, or announce by an antecedent type, image, or likeness
to picture or imagine beforehand
e.g. His style of painting prefigured the development of modern art.
The first crocus traditionally prefigures the arrival of spring.
prehensile
adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around
gifted with mental grasp or moral or aesthetic perception
e.g. a prehensile tail
preponderant
having superior weight, force, or influence
having greater prevalence
e.g. In spite of the preponderant odds against him, the charge was almost a success.
prepossessing
tending to create a favorable impression; attractive
e.g. a confident and prepossessing young man
presentiment
a feeling that something will or is about to happen; premonition
e.g. a nagging presentiment of danger
prevision
foresight, prescience
forecast, prognostication
foresee
e.g. He claimed to have previsioned the crash of the stock market.
prickle
a fine sharp process or projection
a prickling or tingling sensation
e.g. a prickle of fear
He felt the familiar prickle of excitement as the game began.
prig
a person who displays or demands of others pointlessly precise conformity, fussiness about trivialities, or exaggerated propriety, especially in a self-righteous or irritating manner
prissy
overly prim and precise; finicky
procrustean
marked by arbitrary often ruthless disregard of individual differences or special circumstances
e.g. He had no right to tyrannize over others, and tie them down to his own procrustean bed.
progenitor
an ancestor in the direct line; forefather
precursor, originator
e.g. the progenitors of modern art
prognosticate
to foretell from signs or symptoms; predict
presage
e.g. using current trends to prognosticate what the future will be like
prorogue
defer, postpone
to suspend or end a legislative session
e.g. The sovereign had never dared to prorogue the parliament against their will.
proverbial
relating to a proverb
commonly spoken of; widely known
e.g. proverbial brevity/wisdom/sayings
his proverbial inability to get anywhere on time
puffery
exaggerated commendation especially for promotional purposes; hype
e.g. The newspaper’s local stories are often thinly disguised puffery for area business.
pullulate
germinate, sprout
to breed or produce freely
swarm, teem
e.g. the country’s pullulating population
a tough city neighborhood that has a reputation for pullulating with prostitutes and petty criminals
an island pullulated with tourists
pummel
pound, beat
purblind
partly blind
lacking in vision, insight, or understanding; obtuse
purport
meaning conveyed, professed, or implied; import; also, substance, gist
e.g. The letter was not read aloud, but all present were informed of its purport.
purportedly
allegedly
purse
to pucker
contract
putative
commonly accepted or supposed
assumed to exist or to have existed
e.g. The putative reason for her dismissal was poor job performance.
putrid
being in a state of putrefaction; rotten
foul
morally corrupt; totally objectionable
e.g. a putrid shade of green
pygmy
an unusually small person
an insignificant or unimpressive person
e.g. Regrettably, most of the candidates for the party’s nomination that year were political pygmies.
quagmire
soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot
a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position; predicament
e.g. a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
quintessence
the essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form
the most typical example or representative
e.g. The Parthenon in Greece was considered the quintessence of the perfectly proportioned building.
quip
a clever usually taunting remark; gibe
quibble, equivocation
something strange, droll, curious, or eccentric; oddity
also
e.g. trade quips over a beer
racketeer
one who obtains money by an illegal enterprise usually involving intimidation
e.g. The racketeer threatened to have his thugs vandalize the shop if the shopkeeper didn’t pay him a monthly bribe.
raillery
good-natured ridicule; banter
jest
e.g. Luke had to put up with a lot of raillery from his sister the first time he asked a girl for a date.
rapscallion
rascal, ne’er-do-well
e.g. The city’s run-down waterfront was occupied mostly by disreputable places frequented by drunkards and rapscallions.
rasp
to abrade with a rasp
to grate upon; irritate
to utter in a raspy tone
also
e.g. The metal box rasped as they dragged it across.
the rasp of the engine
ratify
to approve and sanction formally; confirm
e.g. ratify the treaty
ravish
to seize and take away by violence
to overcome with emotion (as by joy or delight)
rape; also, plunder
e.g. travelers long ravished with wonder and awe by the immensity of the pyramid
pirates who abduct fair maidens and ravish them without mercy
rebarbative
repellent, irritating
recline
to cause or permit to incline backwards
to lean or incline backwards
repose, lie
e.g. reclining on the sofa, watching TV
reclining seats
reconnoiter
to make a reconnaissance (of)
e.g. An expedition reconnoitered the coast to find out the exact location of enemy forces.
reedy
abounding in or covered with reeds
slender, frail
having the tone quality of a reed instrument
regent
a person who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereignty
a person who rules or reigns; governor
regiment
a military unit consisting usually of a number of battalions
to form into or assign to a regiment
to organize rigidly especially for the sake of regulation
to subject to order or conformity
e.g. regiment their diet
She criticized the way the school regiments its students by having strict rules.
rejoin
to join again
to say often sharply or critically in response especially as a reply to a reply
rejoinder
reply; specifically, an answer to a reply
e.g. The article was a stinging rejoinder to her critics.
remission
- remit
e.g. a temporary remission of symptoms
He was given remission for good behavior.
remit
to desist from (an activity) to let (as attention or diligence) slacken; relax to release from the guilt or penalty of to cancel or refrain from inflicting to send (money) to a person or place abate
e.g. The governor remitted the remainder of her life sentence.
remit a tax
remittance
a sum of money sent, especially by mail, in payment for goods or services or as a gift; payment
the action of sending money in payment
e.g. She always mails in her remittance on time so she won’t ever be charged a late fee.
remittent
(of a disease) marked by alternating periods of abatement and increase of symptoms
e.g. remittent fever
remonstrate
to present and urge reasons in opposition; expostulate
to say or plead in protest, reproof, or opposition
e.g. I politely remonstrated with him about littering.
remunerate
to pay an equivalent for
to pay an equivalent for a service, loss, or expense; recompense
e.g. promptly remunerated the repair company for fixing the dryer
The negligent landlord must remunerate those made homeless by the fire by finding new housing for them at his own expense.
renascent
rising again into being or vigor
renunciate
to give up; abandon
repository
a place where a large amount of something is stored; depository
a person to whom something is confided or entrusted
e.g. a repository for nuclear waste
He is the repository of many secrets.
rescript
an official or authoritative order, decree, edict, or announcement
an act or instance of rewriting
e.g. Even though there was never an official rescript ordering mass genocide, that was indeed the intent and effect of the government’s policy.
retentive
having the power, property, or capacity of retaining; especially, retaining knowledge easily
e.g. soils retentive of moisture
a retentive memory
reticulation
network
e.g. The reticulation of alleys will always prove to be a trouble to the police and a security for the pickpockets.
retrench
cut down, reduce
to pare away; remove
economize
e.g. When the economy slowed, the company was forced to retrench.
revulsion
a strong pulling or drawing away; withdrawal
a sense of utter distaste or repugnance
e.g. She was struck with revulsion at the sight of the dead animal.
a growing revulsion to war
rhapsody
effusively rapturous or extravagant discourse
rapture, ecstasy
a musical composition of irregular form having an improvisatory character
e.g. The mayor launched into a long rhapsody about his plans for the city.
Listening to Mozart always left him in a rhapsody that lingered for the remainder of the evening.
riffle
to ruffle slightly; ripple
to flip cursorily; thumb
also
e.g. Web research is convenient but doesn’t offer the tactile pleasures of riffling through heavy old books.
riffraff
disreputable persons
the lowest class; rabble
refuse; rubbish
e.g. Here all the riffraff that had been unable to establish itself in better quarters had found some sort of a haven.
The sight of piles and piles of riffraff at the town dump was a sobering reminder that we are indeed a society of consumers.
rigmarole
confused or meaningless talk
a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
e.g. We had to go through the rigmarole of installing, registering, and activating the software before we found out it wouldn’t work.
roister
to engage in noisy revelry; carouse
e.g. dressed and ready for a roistering night in town
rollicking
boisterously carefree, joyful, or high-spirited
e.g. a rollicking adventure film
rote
mechanical or unthinking routine or repetition
e.g. learn by rote
a joyless routine order, rote, and commercial hustle
rotund
rounded
orotund, sonorous
chubby
e.g. The actor’s distinct baritone and his clear and rotund elocution are especially effective in dramatic readings.
rout
a crowd of people; specifically, rabble disturbance to poke around; to search haphazardly to come up with; uncover a state of wild confusion or disorderly retreat debacle to defeat decisively or disastrously
e.g. scouts routing out new talents
the discomfiture of seeing their party routed at the polls
rove
to move aimlessly; roam
e.g. rove the woods
ruck
the usual run of persons or things; generality
an indistinguishable gathering; jumble
pucker, wrinkle
e.g. trying to rise above the ruck
rucksack
knapsack
e.g. hikers carrying their food and water in rucksacks
rustle
to make or cause a rustle
to act or move with energy or speed
to forage food
to steal (as livestock) especially from a farm or ranch
to obtain by one’s own exertions (oft. used with up)
a quick succession or confusion of small sounds
e.g. trees rustling in the wind
able to rustle up $5,000 bail
a rustle of leaves behind him
rustler
one who steals cattle, horses, etc.
saccharine
of or relating to sugar
overly or sickishly sweet
ingratiatingly or affectedly agreeable or friendly
overly sentimental; mawkish
e.g. a saccharine love story
saliferous
containing or producing salt
