| Term | Definition |
|---|
| pecuniary | pertaining to money |
| pedagogue | teacher; CF. child leader |
| pedagogy | teaching; art of education |
| pedant | scholar who overemphasizes book learning, trivial details of learning, or technicalities |
| pedantic | bookish; showing off learning; marked by an excessive ostentatious concern for book learning; N. pedantry |
| bookish | fond of books and reading |
| studious | given to diligent study |
| pedestrian | ordinary; dull; unimaginative(lacking in imagination); going on foot; Ex. pedestrian prose; N. |
| precinct | division of a city for election or police purposes; precincts: space that surrounds a building; Ex. precincts of the college |
| pedigree | ancestry; lineage |
| pediatrician | physician specializing in children's diseases; N. pediatrics |
| peerless | having no equal; incomparable |
| peer | one who has equal standing with another; nobleman; |
| pejorative | (of a word or phrase) suggesting that someone is of little value; negative in connotation; having a belittling effect; Ex. Many women now considers ``housewife'' a ______ expression, because it patronized them. |
| pell-mell | in confusion; disorderly; Ex. dash pell-mell |
| pellucid | transparent; limpid(crystal clear); clear in meaning; easy to understand |
| penance | self-imposed punishment for sin; Ex. do penance for one's sins; CF. penitent |
| penchant | strong inclination; strong liking (esp. for something that is disapproved of by other people); Ex. _____ for fast cars |
| pendant(pendent) | hanging down from something; pending; N: ornament (hanging from a necklace etc.) |
| pending | not yet decided or settled; impending; Ex. pending decision; PREP. while awaiting; until; Ex. delay the decision pending his return |
| pendulous | hanging; suspended |
| suspend | cause to stop for a period; interrupt; hold in abeyance; defer; hang from above; exclude for a period from a position; Ex. suspended state; Ex. suspend judgment; Ex. suspended from the team; N. suspension |
| suspense | state of being undecided; anxiety or apprehension resulting from uncertainty |
| penitent | repentant; N. |
| pensive | dreamily or deeply thoughtful; sadly thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness; contemplative; CF. think over |
| penumbra | partial shadow (in an eclipse); CF. almost shadow |
| penury | extreme poverty; stinginess; ADJ. penurious: very poor; stingy |
| peon | landless agricultural worker; bond servant; menial worker; N. peonage |
| perceptive | insightful; showing a good ability at perceiving and understanding; aware; wise; |
| percussion | striking one object against another sharply; Ex. percussion instrument; N: striking together of two bodies; sound caused by percussion |
| perdition | damnation; complete ruin; hell |
| damn | condemn; criticize severely; condemn to everlasting punishment; doom; bring to ruin; N. damnation |
| doom | condemnation to a severe penalty; ruin; fate (esp. a tragic or ruinous one); V. |
| peregrination | journey; |
| peremptory | demanding and leaving no choice; imperative; Ex. ________ decree/knock |
| perennial | something long-lasting; _______ plant; ADJ: lasting through the year or many years; lasting for a long time; enduring |
| perfidious | treacherous; disloyal; N. ____dy: treachery |
| perforate | pierce; put a hole through |
| perfunctory | done routinely and with little care; superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; Ex. _______ kiss |
| perigee | point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth; CF. apogee |
| perimeter | outer boundary; length of the outer boundary; circumference |
| peripatetic | walking about from place to place (to work); moving; Ex. _________ school of philosophy |
| peripheral | of a periphery; marginal; outer; of minor importance; not central; Ex. _________ nerve/interest |
| periphery | outside edge especially of a round surface; perimeter; Ex. periphery of the town |
| perjury | false testimony while under oath; V. ______re oneself: testify falsely under oath |
| permeable | that can be permeated; penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through; spread or flow throughout; charge |
| pernicious | very harmful; deadly; very destructive; Ex. __________ effect/anemia |
| peroration | conclusion of an oration; conclude a speech; speak at great length |
| perpetrate | commit an offense; do (something wrong) |
| perpetual | everlasting |
| perpetuate | make something last for a long time; preserve from extinction; |
| perquisite(perk) | any gain above stipulated salary; Ex. _______such as free meals and a car |
| personable | attractive (in personality or appearance) |
| perspicacious | (of someone) having insight; penetrating; astute |
| perspicuity | clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| perspicuous | (of something) plainly expressed; easy to understand; Ex. perspicuous comments |
| pert | (esp. of a girl or young woman) impertinent; forward; trim; jaunty; Ex. _______young miss/hat |
| pertinacious | holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn; persistent |
| pertinent | suitable; to the point; relevant |
| perturb | disturb greatly |
| peruse | read through with care; |
| pervasive | spread throughout; |
| perverse | purposely continuing to do something wrong; stubbornly wrongheaded; directed away from what is right; wicked and unacceptable; Ex. _____ satisfaction; Ex. Hannibal Lecter in a ________ mood; |
| perversion | corruption; turning from right to wrong |
| pervert | corrupt; turn from right to wrong; misuse; Ex. __________ sexual desire/scientific knowledge; N: The history teacher tried to ___________ (= persuade into unacceptable sexual activity) the boys by showing them pornographic magazines |
| pessimism | belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess; tendency to take the gloomiest possible view of a situation; |
| pestilential(pestilent) | causing plague; tending to cause death; baneful; fatal epidemic disease (esp. bubonic plague) |
| pestle | tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl or mortar |
| petrify | turn to stone; cause to become stonelike; stun or paralyze |
| petty | trivial; unimportant; very small; small-minded; _____-minded |
| petulant | touchy; peevish; ill-tempered |
| phalanx | formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears; group of men packed together (for attack or defense) |
| pharisaical | pertaining to the Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; hypocritical |
| pharisee | member of an ancient Jewish group that emphasized strict observance of the Mosaic law (considering themselves very holy); hypocritical self-righteous person |
| self-righteous | sure of one's own righteousness; moralistic |
| phenomena | observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation; SG. phenomenon: observable fact; very unusual person, thing, or event; marvel; wonder; CF. phenomenons; ADJ. phenomenal: very unusual; extraordinary; of a phenomenon; Ex. phenomenal strength |
| philanderer | faithless lover; flirt |
| oration | a formal public speech about a serious subject |
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