| Term | Definition |
|---|
| overwrought | extremely agitated; hysterical |
| ovoid | egg-shaped |
| pachyderm | thick-skinned animal |
| pacifist | one opposed to force; ani-militarist |
| pacify | soothe; make calm |
| paean | song of praise or joy |
| painstaking | showing hard work; take great care |
| palatable | agreable; pleased to taste |
| palate | roof of the mouth |
| palatial | magnificient |
| paleontology | study of prehistoric times |
| palette | board on which painter mixes pigments |
| palimpsest | parchment used for seond time after original writing has been erased |
| pall | grow tiresome |
| pallet | small, poor bed |
| palliate | ease pain; make less severe or offensive |
| pallid | pale; wane |
| palpable | easily perciptible; tangible |
| palpitate | throb; flutter |
| paltry | insignificant; petry; trifling |
| pan | criticize harshly |
| panacea | cure-all; remedy for all diseases |
| panache | flair; flambouyant |
| pandemic | widespread; affecting majority of people |
| pandemonium | wild tumult |
| pander | cater to lower desires of others |
| panegyric | formal praise |
| panoramic | denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view |
| pantomime | acting without dialogue |
| papyrus | ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant |
| parable | short, simple story teaching a moral |
| paradigm | model; example; pattern |
| paradox | something apparently contradictory; statement that actually looks false but is correct |
| paragon | model of perfection |
| parallelism | state of being parallel; similarity |
| parameter | limit; independent variable |
| paramount | formost in important; supreme |
| paramour | illicit lover |
| paranoia | psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution |
| paraphernalia | equipment; odds and ends |
| paraphase | restate a passage in one's own words |
| parasite | animal or plant living in another; toady |
| parched | extrmely dry; thirsty |
| pariah | social outcast |
| parity | equality; close resemblance |
| parlance | language; idiom |
| parley | conference |
| parochial | narrow outlook; provincial; related to parishes |
| parody | humorous imitation; spoof; take off; travesty |
| paroxysm | fit or attack of pain; laughter; rage |
| parquet | floor made of strips inlaid in a mosaic like pattern |
| parry | ward off a blow; deflect |
| parsimony | syinginess; excesive frugality |
| partial | incomplete; having a liking for something |
| partiality | inclination; bias |
| partisan | one-sided; prejudiced; committed |
| partition | divide into parts |
| passe` | old-fahioned; past the prime |
| passive | not active |
| pastiche | imitation of another's style in musical composition |
| pastoral | rural |
| patent | open for public to read |
| pathetic | causing sadness; compassion; pity; touching |
| pathological | pertaining to disease |
| pathos | tender sorrow; pity |
| patina | green crust on old bronze work |
| patois | local or provncial dialect |
| patriarch | father and ruler of or tribe |
| patrician | noble; aristrocratic |
| patronize | support; act superior toward; be a customer of |
| paucity | scarcity |
| pauper | very poor person |
| peccadillo | slight offence |
Combine with other sets
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