| Term | Definition |
|---|
| pacify | v. To bring into a peaceful state. |
| packet | n. A bundle, as of letters. |
| pact | n. A covenant. |
| pagan | n. A worshiper of false gods. |
| pageant | n. A dramatic representation, especially a spectacular one. |
| palate | n. The roof of the mouth. |
| palatial | adj. Magnificent. |
| paleontology | n. The branch of biology that treats of ancient life and fossil organisms. |
| palette | n. A thin tablet, with a hole for the thumb, upon which artists lay their colors for painting. |
| palinode | n. A retraction. |
| pall | v. To make dull by satiety. |
| palliate | v. To cause to appear less guilty. |
| pallid | adj. Of a pale or wan appearance. |
| palpable | n. perceptible by feeling or touch. |
| palsy | n. Paralysis. |
| paly | adj. Lacking color or brilliancy. |
| pamphlet | n. A brief treatise or essay, usually on a subject of current interest. |
| pamphleteer | v. To compose or issue pamphlets, especially controversial ones. |
| panacea | n. A remedy or medicine proposed for or professing to cure all diseases. |
| Pan-American | adj. Including or pertaining to the whole of America, both North and South. |
| pandemic | adj. Affecting a whole people or all classes, as a disease. |
| pandemonium | n. A fiendish or riotous uproar. |
| panegyric | n. A formal and elaborate eulogy, written or spoken, of a person or of an act. |
| panel | n. A rectangular piece set in or as in a frame. |
| panic | n. A sudden, unreasonable, overpowering fear. |
| panoply | n. A full set of armor. |
| panorama | n. A series of large pictures representing a continuous scene. |
| pantheism | n. The worship of nature for itself or its beauty. |
| Pantheon | n. A circular temple at Rome with a fine Corinthian portico and a great domed roof. |
| pantomime | n. Sign-language. |
| pantoscope | n. A very wide-angled photographic lens. |
| papacy | n. The official head of the Roman Catholic Church. |
| papyrus | n. The writing-paper of the ancient Egyptians, and later of the Romans. |
| parable | n. A brief narrative founded on real scenes or events usually with a moral. |
| paradox | n. A statement or doctrine seemingly in contradiction to the received belief. |
| paragon | n. A model of excellence. |
| parallel | v. To cause to correspond or lie in the same direction and equidistant in all parts. |
| parallelism | n. Essential likeness. |
| paralysis | n. Loss of the power of contractility in the voluntary or involuntary muscles. |
| paralyze | v. To deprive of the power to act. |
| paramount | adj. Supreme in authority. |
| paramour | n. One who is unlawfully and immorally a lover or a mistress. |
| paraphernalia | n. Miscellaneous articles of equipment or adornment. |
| paraphrase | v. Translate freely. |
| pare | v. To cut, shave, or remove (the outside) from anything. |
| parentage | n. The relation of parent to child, of the producer to the produced, or of cause to effect. |
| Pariah | n. A member of a degraded class; a social outcast. |
| parish | n. The ecclesiastical district in charge of a pastor. |
| Parisian | adj. Of or pertaining to the city of Paris. |
| parity | n. Equality, as of condition or rank. |
| parlance | n. Mode of speech. |
| parley | v. To converse in. |
| parliament | n. A legislative body. |
| parlor | n. A room for reception of callers or entertainment of guests. |
| parody | v. To render ludicrous by imitating the language of. |
| paronymous | adj. Derived from the same root or primitive word. |
| paroxysm | n. A sudden outburst of any kind of activity. |
| parricide | n. The murder of a parent. |
| parse | v. To describe, as a sentence, by separating it into its elements and describing each word. |
| parsimonious | adj. Unduly sparing in the use or expenditure of money. |
| partible | adj. Separable. |
| participant | n. One having a share or part. |
| participate | v. To receive or have a part or share of. |
| partition | n. That which separates anything into distinct parts. |
| partisan | adj. Characterized by or exhibiting undue or unreasoning devotion to a party. |
| passible | adj. Capable of feeling of suffering. |
| passive | adj. Unresponsive. |
| pastoral | adj. Having the spirit or sentiment of rural life. |
| paternal | adj. Fatherly. |
| paternity | n. Fatherhood. |
| pathos | n. The quality in any form of representation that rouses emotion or sympathy. |
| patriarch | n. The chief of a tribe or race who rules by paternal right. |
| patrician | adj. Of senatorial or noble rank. |
| patrimony | n. An inheritance from an ancestor, especially from one's father. |
| patriotism | n. Love and devotion to one's country. |
| patronize | v. To exercise an arrogant condescension toward. |
| patronymic | adj. Formed after one's father's name. |
| patter | v. To mumble something over and over. |
| paucity | n. Fewness. |
| pauper | n. One without means of support. |
| pauperism | n. Dependence on charity. |
| pavilion | n. An open structure for temporary shelter. |
| payee | n. A person to whom money has been or is to be paid. |
| peaceable | adj. Tranquil. |
| peaceful | adj. Tranquil. |
| peccable | adj. Capable of sinning. |
| peccadillo | n. A small breach of propriety or principle. |
| peccant | adj. Guilty. |
| pectoral | adj. Pertaining to the breast or thorax. |
| pecuniary | adj. Consisting of money. |
| pedagogics | n. The science and art of teaching. |
| pedagogue | n. A schoolmaster. |
| pedagogy | n. The science and art of teaching |
| pedal | n. A lever for the foot usually applied only to musical instruments, cycles, and other machines. |
| pedant | n. A scholar who makes needless and inopportune display of his learning. |
| peddle | v. To go about with a small stock of goods to sell. |
| pedestal | n. A base or support as for a column, statue, or vase. |
| pedestrian | n. One who journeys on foot. |
| pediatrics | n. The department of medical science that relates to the treatment of diseases of childhood. |
| pedigree | n. One's line of ancestors. |
| peddler | n. One who travels from house to house with an assortment of goods for retail. |
| peerage | n. The nobility. |
| peerless | adj. Of unequaled excellence or worth. |
| peevish | adj. Petulant. (irritable) |
| pellucid | adj. Translucent. |
| penalty | n. The consequences that follow the transgression of natural or divine law. |
| penance | n. Punishment to which one voluntarily submits or subjects himself as an expression of penitence. |
| penchant | n. A bias in favor of something. |
| pendant | n. Anything that hangs from something else, either for ornament or for use. |
| pendulous | adj. Hanging, especially so as to swing by an attached end or part. |
| pendulum | n. A weight hung on a rod, serving by its oscillation to regulate the rate of a clock. |
| penetrable | adj. That may be pierced by physical, moral, or intellectual force. |
| penetrate | v. To enter or force a way into the interior parts of. |
| penetration | n. Discernment. |
| peninsular | adj. Pertaining to a piece of land almost surrounded by water. |
| penitence | n. Sorrow for sin with desire to amend and to atone. |
| penitential | adj. Pertaining to sorrow for sin with desire to amend and to atone. |
| pennant | n. A small flag. |
| pension | n. A periodical allowance to an individual on account of past service done by him/her. |
| pentagram | n. A figure having five points or lobes. |
| pentavalent | adj. Quinqeuvalent. |
| pentad | n. The number five. |
| pentagon | n. A figure, especially, with five angles and five sides. |
| pentahedron | n. A solid bounded by five plane faces. |
| pentameter | n. In prosody, a line of verse containing five units or feet. |
| pentathlon | n. The contest of five associated exercises in the great games and the same contestants. |
| penultimate | adj. A syllable or member of a series that is last but one. |
| penurious | adj. Excessively sparing in the use of money. |
| penury | n. Indigence. |
| perambulate | v. To walk about. |
| perceive | v. To have knowledge of, or receive impressions concerning, through the medium of the body senses. |
| perceptible | adj. Cognizable. |
| perception | n. Knowledge through the senses of the existence and properties of matter or the external world. |
| percipience | n. The act of perceiving. |
| percipient | n. One who or that which perceives. |
| percolate | v. To filter. |
| percolator | n. A filter. |
| percussion | n. The sharp striking of one body against another. |
| peremptory | adj. Precluding question or appeal. |
| perennial | adj. Continuing though the year or through many years. |
| perfectible | adj. Capable of being made perfect. |
| perfidy | n. Treachery. |
| perforate | v. To make a hole or holes through. |
| perform | v. To accomplish. |
| perfumery | n. The preparation of perfumes. |
| perfunctory | adj. Half-hearted. |
| perhaps | adv. Possibly. |
| perigee | n. The point in the orbit of the moon when it is nearest the earth. |
| periodicity | n. The habit or characteristic of recurrence at regular intervals. |
| peripatetic | adj. Walking about. |
| perjure | v. To swear falsely to. |
| perjury | n. A solemn assertion of a falsity. |
| permanence | n. A continuance in the same state, or without any change that destroys the essential form or nature. |
| permanent | adj. Durable. |
| permeate | v. To pervade. |
| permissible | adj. That may be allowed. |
| permutation | n. Reciprocal change, different ordering of same items. |
| pernicious | adj. Tending to kill or hurt. |
| perpendicular | adj. Straight up and down. |
| perpetrator | n. The doer of a wrong or a criminal act. |
| perpetuate | v. To preserve from extinction or oblivion. |
| perquisite | n. Any profit from service beyond the amount fixed as salary or wages. |
| persecution | n. Harsh or malignant oppression. |
| perseverance | n. A persistence in purpose and effort. |
| persevere | v. To continue striving in spite of discouragements. |
| persiflage | n. Banter. |
| persist | v. To continue steadfast against opposition. |
| persistence | n. A fixed adherence to a resolve, course of conduct, or the like. |
| personage | n. A man or woman as an individual, especially one of rank or high station. |
| personal | adj. Not general or public. |
| personality | n. The attributes, taken collectively, that make up the character and nature of an individual. |
| personnel | n. The force of persons collectively employed in some service. |
| perspective | n. The relative importance of facts or matters from any special point of view. |
| perspicacious | adj. Astute. |
| perspicacity | n. Acuteness or discernment. |
| perspicuous | adj. Lucid. |
| perspiration | n. Sweat. |
| perspire | v. To excrete through the pores of the skin. |
| persuade | v. To win the mind of by argument, eloquence, evidence, or reflection. |
| persuadable | adj. capable of influencing to action by entreaty, statement, or anything that moves the feelings. |
| pertinacious | adj. Persistent or unyielding. |
| pertinacity | n. Unyielding adherence. |
| pertinent | adj. Relevant. |
| perturb | v. To disturb greatly. |
| perturbation | n. Mental excitement or confusion. |
| perusal | n. The act of reading carefully or thoughtfully. |
| pervade | v. To pass or spread through every part. |
| pervasion | n. The state of spreading through every part. |
| pervasive | adj. Thoroughly penetrating or permeating. |
| perverse | adj. Unreasonable. |
| perversion | n. Diversion from the true meaning or proper purpose. |
| perversity | n. Wickedness. |
| pervert | n. One who has forsaken a doctrine regarded as true for one esteemed false. |
| pervious | adj. Admitting the entrance or passage of another substance. |
| pestilence | n. A raging epidemic. |
| pestilent | adj. Having a malign influence or effect. |
| pestilential | adj. having the nature of or breeding pestilence. |
| peter | v. To fail or lose power, efficiency, or value. |
| petrify | v. To convert into a substance of stony hardness and character. |
| petulance | n. The character or condition of being impatient, capricious or petulant. |
| petulant | adj. Displaying impatience. |
| pharmacopoeia | n. A book containing the formulas and methods of preparation of medicines for the use of druggists. |
| pharmacy | n. The art or business of compounding and dispensing medicines. |
| phenomenal | adj. Extraordinary or marvelous. |
| phenomenon | n. Any unusual occurrence. |
| philander | v. To play at courtship with a woman. |
| philanthropic | adj. Benevolent. |
| philanthropist | n. One who endeavors to help his fellow men. |
| philanthropy | n. Active humanitarianism. |
| philately | n. The study and collection of stamps. |
| philharmonic | adj. Fond of music. |
| philogynist | n. One who is fond of women. |
| philologist | n. An expert in linguistics. |
| philology | n. The study of language in connection with history and literature. |
| philosophize | v. To seek ultimate causes and principles. |
| philosophy | n. The general principles, laws, or causes that furnish the rational explanation of anything. |
| phlegmatic | adj. Not easily roused to feeling or action. |
| phonetic | adj. Representing articulate sounds or speech. |
| phonic | adj. Pertaining to the nature of sound. |
| phonogram | n. A graphic character symbolizing an articulate sound. |
| phonology | n. The science of human vocal sounds. |
| phosphorescence | n. The property of emitting light. |
| photoelectric | adj. Pertaining to the combined action of light and electricity. |
| photometer | n. Any instrument for measuring the intensity of light or comparing the intensity of two lights. |
| photometry | n. The art of measuring the intensity of light. |
| physicist | n. A specialist in the science that treats of the phenomena associated with matter and energy. |
| physics | n. The science that treats of the phenomena associated with matter and energy. |
| physiocracy | n. The doctrine that land and its products are the only true wealth. |
| physiognomy | n. The external appearance merely. |
| physiography | n. Description of nature. |
| physiology | n. The science of organic functions. |
| physique | n. The physical structure or organization of a person. |
| picayune | adj. Of small value. |
| piccolo | n. A small flute. |
| piece | n. A loose or separated part, as distinguished from the whole or the mass. |
| piecemeal | adv. Gradually. |
| pillage | n. Open robbery, as in war. |
| pillory | n. A wooden framework in which an offender is fastened to boards and is exposed to public scorn. |
| pincers | n. An instrument having two lever-handles and two jaws working on a pivot. |
| pinchers | n. An instrument having two jaws working on a pivot. |
| pinnacle | n. A high or topmost point, as a mountain-peak. |
| pioneer | n. One among the first to explore a country. |
| pious | adj. Religious. |
| pique | v. To excite a slight degree of anger in. |
| piteous | adj. Compassionate. |
| pitiable | adj. Contemptible. |
| pitiful | adj. Wretched. |
| pitiless | adj. Hard-hearted. |
| pittance | n. Any small portion or meager allowance. |
| placate | v. To bring from a state of angry or hostile feeling to one of patience or friendliness. |
| placid | adj. Serene. |
| plagiarism | n. The stealing of passages from the writings of another and publishing them as one's own. |
| planisphere | n. A polar projection of the heavens on a chart. |
| plasticity | n. The property of some substances through which the form of the mass can readily be changed. |
| platitude | n. A written or spoken statement that is flat, dull, or commonplace. |
| plaudit | n. An expression of applause. |
| plausible | adj. Seeming likely to be true, though open to doubt. |
| playful | adj. Frolicsome. |
| playwright | n. A maker of plays for the stage. |
| plea | n. An argument to obtain some desired action. |
| pleasant | adj. Agreeable. |
| pleasurable | adj. Affording gratification. |
| plebeian | adj. Common. |
| pledgee | n. The person to whom anything is pledged. |
| pledgeor | n. One who gives a pledge. |
| plenary | adj. Entire. |
| plenipotentiary | n. A person fully empowered to transact any business. |
| plenitude | n. Abundance. |
| plenteous | adj. Abundant. |
| plumb | n. A weight suspended by a line to test the verticality of something. |
| plummet | n. A piece of lead for making soundings, adjusting walls to the vertical. |
| pluperfect | adj. Expressing past time or action prior to some other past time or action. |
| plural | adj. Containing or consisting of more than one. |
| plurality | n. A majority. |
| plutocracy | n. A wealthy class in a political community who control the government by means of their money. |
| pneumatic | adj. Pertaining to or consisting of air or gas. |
| poesy | n. Poetry. |
| poetaster | n. An inferior poet. |
| poetic | adj. Pertaining to poetry. |
| poetics | n. The rules and principles of poetry. |
| poignancy | n. Severity or acuteness, especially of pain or grief. |
| poignant | adj. Severely painful or acute to the spirit. |
| poise | n. Equilibrium. |
| polar | adj. Pertaining to the poles of a sphere, especially of the earth. |
| polemics | n. The art of controversy or disputation. |
| pollen | n. The fine dust-like grains or powder formed within the anther of a flowering plant. |
| pollute | v. To contaminate. |
| polyarchy | n. Government by several or many persons of what- ever class. |
| polycracy | n. The rule of many. |
| polygamy | n. the fact or condition of having more than one wife or husband at once. |
| polyglot | adj. Speaking several tongues. |
| polygon | n. A figure having many angles. |
| polyhedron | n. A solid bounded by plane faces, especially by more than four. |
| polysyllable | adj. Having several syllables, especially more than three syllables. |
| polytechnic | adj. Pertaining to, embracing, or practicing many arts. |
| polytheism | n. The doctrine or belief that there are more gods than one. |
| pommel | v. To beat with something thick or bulky. |
| pomposity | n. The quality of being marked by an assumed stateliness and impressiveness of manner. |
| pompous | adj. Marked by an assumed stateliness and impressiveness of manner. |
| ponder | v. To meditate or reflect upon. |
| ponderous | adj. Unusually weighty or forcible. |
| pontiff | n. The Pope. |
| populace | n. The common people. |
| populous | adj. Containing many inhabitants, especially in proportion to the territory. |
| portend | v. To indicate as being about to happen, especially by previous signs. |
| portent | n. Anything that indicates what is to happen. |
| portfolio | n. A portable case for holding writing-materials, drawings, etc. |
| posit | v. To present in an orderly manner. |
| position | n. The manner in which a thing is placed. |
| positive | adj. Free from doubt or hesitation. |
| posse | n. A force of men. |
| possess | v. To own. |
| possession | n. The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command. |
| possessive | adj. Pertaining to the having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command. |
| possessor | n. One who owns, enjoys, or controls anything, as property. |
| possible | adj. Being not beyond the reach of power natural, moral, or supernatural. |
| postdate | v. To make the date of any writing later than the real date. |
| posterior | n. The hinder part. |
| postgraduate | adj. Pertaining to studies that are pursued after receiving a degree. |
| postscript | n. Something added to a letter after the writer's signature. |
| potency | n. Power. |
| potent | adj. Physically powerful. |
| potentate | n. One possessed of great power or sway. |
| potential | n. Anything that may be possible. |
| potion | n. A dose of liquid medicine. |
| powerless | adj. Impotent. |
| practicable | adj. Feasible. |
| prate | v. To talk about vainly or foolishly. |
| prattle | v. To utter in simple or childish talk. |
| preamble | n. A statement introductory to and explanatory of what follows. |
| precarious | adj. Perilous. |
| precaution | n. A provision made in advance for some possible emergency or danger. |
| precede | v. To happen first. |
| precedence | n. Priority in place, time, or rank. |
| precedent | n. An instance that may serve as a guide or basis for a rule. |
| precedential | adj. Of the nature of an instance that may serve as a guide or basis for a rule. |
| precession | n. The act of going forward. |
| precipice | n. A high and very steep or approximately vertical cliff. |
| precipitant | adj. Moving onward quickly and heedlessly. |
| precipitate | v. To force forward prematurely. |
| precise | adj. Exact. |
| precision | n. Accuracy of limitation, definition, or adjustment. |
| preclude | v. To prevent. |
| precocious | adj. Having the mental faculties prematurely developed. |
| precursor | n. A forerunner or herald. |
| predatory | adj. Prone to pillaging. |
| predecessor | n. An incumbent of a given office previous to another. |
| predicament | n. A difficult, trying situation or plight. |
| predicate | v. To state as belonging to something. |
| predict | v. To foretell. |
| prediction | n. A prophecy. |
| predominance | n. Ascendancy or preponderance. |
| predominant | adj. Superior in power, influence, effectiveness, number, or degree. |
| predominate | v. To be chief in importance, quantity, or degree. |
| preeminence | n. Special eminence. |
| preempt | v. To secure the right of preference in the purchase of public land. |
| preemption | n. The right or act of purchasing before others. |
| preengage | v. To preoccupy. |
| preestablish | v. To settle or arrange beforehand. |
| preexist | v. To exist at a period or in a state earlier than something else. |
| preexistence | n. Existence antecedent to something. |
| preface | n. A brief explanation or address to the reader, at the beginning of a book. |
| prefatory | adj. Pertaining to a brief explanation to the reader at the beginning of a book. |
| prefer | v. To hold in higher estimation. |
| preferable | adj. More desirable than others. |
| preference | n. An object of favor or choice. |
| preferential | adj. Possessing, giving, or constituting preference or priority. |
| preferment | n. Preference. |
| prefix | v. To attach at the beginning. |
| prehensible | adj. Capable of being grasped. |
| prehensile | adj. Adapted for grasping or holding. |
| prehension | n. The act of laying hold of or grasping. |
| prejudice | n. A judgment or opinion formed without due examination of the facts. |
| prelacy | n. A system of church government. |
| prelate | n. One of a higher order of clergy having direct authority over other clergy. |
| prelude | n. An introductory or opening performance. |
| premature | adj. Coming too soon. |
| premier | adj. First in rank or position. |
| premise | n. A judgment as a conclusion. |
| premonition | n. Foreboding. |
| preoccupation | n. The state of having the mind, attention, or inclination preoccupied. |
| preoccupy | v. To fill the mind of a person to the exclusion of other subjects. |
| preordain | v. To foreordain. |
| preparation | n. An act or proceeding designed to bring about some event. |
| preparatory | adj. Having to do with what is preliminary. |
| preponderant | adj. Prevalent. |
| preponderate | v. To exceed in influence or power. |
| prepossession | n. A preconceived liking. |
| preposterous | adj. Utterly ridiculous or absurd. |
| prerogative | adj. Having superior rank or precedence. |
| presage | v. To foretell. |
| prescience | n. Knowledge of events before they take place. |
| prescient | adj. Foreknowing. |
| prescript | adj. Prescribed as a rule or model. |
| prescriptible | adj. Derived from authoritative direction. |
| prescription | n. An authoritative direction. |
| presentient | adj. Perceiving or feeling beforehand. |
| presentiment | n. Foreboding. |
| presentment | n. Semblance. |
| preservation | n. Conservation. |
| presumption | n. That which may be logically assumed to be true until disproved. |
| presumptuous | adj. Assuming too much. |
| pretension | n. A bold or presumptuous assertion. |
| pretentious | adj. Marked by pretense, conceit, or display. |
| preternatural | adj. Extraordinary. |
| pretext | n. A fictitious reason or motive. |
| prevalence | n. Frequency. |
| prevalent | adj. Of wide extent or frequent occurrence. |
| prevaricate | v. To use ambiguous or evasive language for the purpose of deceiving or diverting attention. |
| prevention | n. Thwarting. |
| prickle | v. To puncture slightly with fine, sharp points. |
| priggish | adj. Conceited. |
| prim | adj. Stiffly proper. |
| prima | adj. First. |
| primer | n. An elementary reading-book for children. |
| primeval | adj. Belonging to the first ages. |
| primitive | adj. Pertaining to the beginning or early times. |
| principal | adj. Most important. |
| principality | n. The territory of a reigning prince. |
| principle | n. A general truth or proposition. |
| priory | n. A monastic house. |
| pristine | adj. Primitive. |
| privateer | n. A vessel owned and officered by private persons, but carrying on maritime war. |
| privilege | n. A right or immunity not enjoyed by all, or that may be enjoyed only under special conditions. |
| privity | n. Knowledge shared with another or others regarding a private matter. |
| privy | adj. Participating with another or others in the knowledge of a secret transaction. |
| probate | adj. Relating to making proof, as of a will. |
| probation | n. Any proceeding designed to ascertain or test character, qualification, or the like. |
| probe | v. To search through and through. |
| probity | n. Virtue or integrity tested and confirmed. |
| procedure | n. A manner or method of acting. |
| proceed | v. To renew motion or action, as after rest or interruption. |
| proclamation | n. Any announcement made in a public manner. |
| procrastinate | v. To put off till tomorrow or till a future time. |
| procrastination | n. Delay. |
| proctor | n. An agent acting for another. |
| prodigal | n. One wasteful or extravagant, especially in the use of money or property. |
| prodigious | adj. Immense. |
| prodigy | n. A person or thing of very remarkable gifts or qualities. |
| productive | adj. Yielding in abundance. |
| profession | n. Any calling or occupation involving special mental or other special disciplines. |
| professor | n. A public teacher of the highest grade in a university or college. |
| proffer | v. To offer to another for acceptance. |
| proficiency | n. An advanced state of acquirement, as in some knowledge, art, or science. |
| proficient | adj. Possessing ample and ready knowledge or of skill in any art, science, or industry. |
| profile | n. An outline or contour. |
| profiteer | n. One who profits. |
| profligacy | n. Shameless viciousness. |
| profligate | adj. Abandoned to vice. |
| profuse | adj. Produced or displayed in overabundance. |
| progeny | n. Offspring. |
| progression | n. A moving forward or proceeding in course. |
| prohibition | n. A decree or an order forbidding something. |
| prohibitionist | n. One who favors the prohibition by law of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. |
| prohibitory | adj. Involving or equivalent to prohibition, especially of the sale of alcoholic beverages. |
| projection | n. A prominence. |
| proletarian | n. A person of the lowest or poorest class. |
| prolific | adj. Producing offspring or fruit. |
| prolix | adj. Verbose. |
| prologue | n. A prefatory statement or explanation to a poem, discourse, or performance. |
| prolong | v. To extend in time or duration. |
| promenade | v. To walk for amusement or exercise. |
| prominence | n. The quality of being noticeable or distinguished. |
| prominent | adj. Conspicuous in position, character, or importance. |
| promiscuous | adj. Brought together without order, distinction, or design (for sex). |
| promissory | adj. Expressing an engagement to pay. |
| promontory | n. A high point of land extending outward from the coastline into the sea. |
| promoter | n. A furtherer, forwarder, or encourager. |
| promulgate | v. To proclaim. |
| propaganda | n. Any institution or systematic scheme for propagating a doctrine or system. |
| propagate | v. To spread abroad or from person to person. |
| propel | v. To drive or urge forward. |
| propellant | adj. Propelling. |
| propeller | n. One who or that which propels. |
| prophecy | n. Any prediction or foretelling. |
| prophesy | v. To predict or foretell, especially under divine inspiration and guidance. |
| propitious | adj. Kindly disposed. |
| proportionate | adj. Being in proportion. |
| propriety | n. Accordance with recognized usage, custom, or principles. |
| propulsion | n. A driving onward or forward. |
| prosaic | adj. Unimaginative. |
| proscenium | n. That part of the stage between the curtain and the orchestra. |
| proscribe | v. To reject, as a teaching or a practice, with condemnation or denunciation. |
| proscription | n. Any act of condemnation and rejection from favor and privilege. |
| proselyte | n. One who has been won over from one religious belief to another. |
| prosody | n. The science of poetical forms. |
| prospector | n. One who makes exploration, search, or examination, especially for minerals. |
| prospectus | n. A paper or pamphlet containing information of a proposed undertaking. |
| prostrate | adj. Lying prone, or with the head to the ground. |
| protagonist | n. A leader in any enterprise or contest. |
| protection | n. Preservation from harm, danger, annoyance, or any other evil. |
| protective | adj. Sheltering. |
| protector | n. A defender. |
| protege | n. One specially cared for and favored by another usually older person. |
| Protestant | n. A Christian who denies the authority of the Pope and holds the right of special judgment. |
| protomartyr | n. The earliest victim in any cause. |
| protocol | n. A declaration or memorandum of agreement less solemn and formal than a treaty. |
| protoplasm | n. The substance that forms the principal portion of an animal or vegetable cell. |
| prototype | n. A work, original in character, afterward imitated in form or spirit. |
| protract | v. To prolong. |
| protrude | v. To push out or thrust forth. |
| protrusion | n. The act of protruding. |
| protuberance | n. Something that swells out from a surrounding surface. |
| protuberant | adj. Bulging. |
| protuberate | v. To swell or bulge beyond the surrounding surface. |
| proverb | n. A brief, pithy saying, condensing in witty or striking form the wisdom of experience. |
| provident | adj. Anticipating and making ready for future wants or emergencies. |
| providential | adj. Effected by divine guidance. |
| provincial | adj. Uncultured in thought and manner. |
| proviso | n. A clause in a contract, will, etc., by which its operation is rendered conditional. |
| provocation | n. An action or mode of conduct that excites resentment. |
| prowess | n. Strength, skill, and intrepidity in battle. |
| proximately | adv. Immediately. |
| proxy | n. A person who is empowered by another to represent him or her in a given matter. |
| prudence | n. Caution. |
| prudential | adj. Proceeding or marked by caution. |
| prudery | n. An undue display of modesty or delicacy. |
| prurient | adj. Inclined to lascivious thoughts and desires. |
| pseudapostle | n. A pretended or false apostle. |
| pseudonym | n. A fictitious name, especially when assumed by a writer. |
| pseudonymity | n. The state or character of using a fictitious name. |
| psychiatry | n. The branch of medicine that relates to mental disease. |
| psychic | adj. Pertaining to the mind or soul. |
| psychopathic | adj. Morally irresponsible. |
| psychotherapy | n. The treatment of mental disease. |
| pudgy | adj. Small and fat. |
| puerile | adj. Childish. |
| pugnacious | adj. Quarrelsome. |
| puissant | adj. Possessing strength. |
| pulmonary | adj. Pertaining to the lungs. |
| punctilious | adj. Strictly observant of the rules or forms prescribed by law or custom. |
| punctual | adj. Observant and exact in points of time. |
| pungent | adj. Affecting the sense of smell. |
| pungency | n. The quality of affecting the sense of smell. |
| punitive | adj. Pertaining to punishment. |
| pupilage | n. The state or period of being a student. |
| purgatory | n. An intermediate state where souls are made fit for paradise or heaven by expiatory suffering. |
| purl | v. To cause to whirl, as in an eddy. |
| purloin | v. To steal. |
| purport | n. Intent. |
| purveyor | n. one who supplies |
| pusillanimous | adj. Without spirit or bravery. |
| putrescent | adj. Undergoing decomposition of animal or vegetable matter accompanied by fetid odors. |
| pyre | n. A heap of combustibles arranged for burning a dead body. |
| pyromania | n. An insane propensity to set things on fire. |
| pyrotechnic | adj. Pertaining to fireworks or their manufacture. |
| pyx | n. A vessel or casket, usually of precious metal, in which the host is preserved. |
| quackery | n. Charlatanry |
| quadrate | v. To divide into quarters. |
| quadruple | v. To multiply by four. |
| qualification | n. A requisite for an employment, position, right, or privilege. |
| qualify | v. To endow or furnish with requisite ability, character, knowledge, skill, or possessions. |
| qualm | n. A fit of nausea. |
| quandary | n. A puzzling predicament. |
| quantity | n. Magnitude. |
| quarantine | n. The enforced isolation of any person or place infected with contagious disease. |
| quarrelsome | adj. Irascible. |
| quarter | n. One of four equal parts into which anything is or may be divided. |
| quarterly | adj. Occurring or made at intervals of three months. |
| quartet | n. A composition for four voices or four instruments. |
| quarto | n. An eight-page newspaper of any size. |
| quay | n. A wharf or artificial landing-place on the shore of a harbor or projecting into it. |
| querulous | adj. Habitually complaining. |
| query | v. To make inquiry. |
| queue | n. A file of persons waiting in order of their arrival, as for admittance. |
| quibble | n. An utterly trivial distinction or objection. |
| quiescence | n. Quiet. |
| quiescent | adj. Being in a state of repose or inaction. |
| quiet | adj. Making no noise. |
| quietus | n. A silencing, suppressing, or ending. |
| quintessence | n. The most essential part of anything. |
| quintet | n. Musical composition arranged for five voices or instruments. |
| quite | adv. Fully. |
| Quixotic | adj. Chivalrous or romantic to a ridiculous or extravagant degree. |
| rabid | adj. Affected with rabies or hydrophobia. |
| racy | adj. Exciting or exhilarating to the mind. |
| radiance | n. Brilliant or sparkling luster. |
| radiate | v. To extend in all directions, as from a source or focus. |
| radical | n. One who holds extreme views or advocates extreme measures. |
| radix | n. That from or on which something is developed. |
| raillery | n. Good-humored satire. |
| ramify | v. To divide or subdivide into branches or subdivisions. |
| ramose | adj. Branch-like. |
| rampant | adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint. |
| rampart | n. A bulwark or construction to oppose assault or hostile entry. |
| rancor | n. Malice. |
| rankle | v. To produce irritation or festering. |
| rapacious | adj. Disposed to seize by violence or by unlawful or greedy methods. |
| rapid | adj. Having great speed. |
| rapine | n. The act of seizing and carrying off property by superior force, as in war. |
| rapt | adj. Enraptured. |
| raptorial | adj. Seizing and devouring living prey. |
| ration | v. To provide with a fixed allowance or portion, especially of food. |
| rationalism | n. The formation of opinions by relying upon reason alone, independently of authority. |
| raucous | adj. Harsh. |
| ravage | v. To lay waste by pillage, rapine, devouring, or other destructive methods. |
| ravenous | adj. Furiously voracious or hungry. |
| ravine | n. A deep gorge or hollow, especially one worn by a stream or flow of water. |
| reaction | n. Tendency towards a former, or opposite state of things, as after reform, revolution, or inflation. |
| reactionary | adj. Pertaining to, of the nature of, causing, or favoring reaction. |
| readily | adv. Without objection or reluctance. |
| readjust | v. To put in order after disarrangement. |
| ready | adj. In a state of preparedness for any given purpose or occasion. |
| realism | n. The principle and practice of depicting persons and scenes as they are believed really to exist. |
| rearrange | v. To arrange again or in a different order. |
| reassure | v. To give new confidence. |
| rebellious | adj. Insubordinate. |
| rebuff | n. A peremptory or unexpected rejection of advances or approaches. |
| rebuild | v. To build again or anew. |
| rebut | v. To oppose by argument or a sufficient answer. |
| recant | v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained). |
| recapitulate | v. To repeat again the principal points of. |
| recapture | v. To capture again. |
| recede | v. To move back or away. |
| receivable | adj. Capable of being or fit to be received - often money. |
| receptive | adj. Having the capacity, quality, or ability of receiving, as truths or impressions. |
| recessive | adj. Having a tendency to go back. |
| recidivist | n. A confirmed criminal. |
| reciprocal | adj. Mutually interchangeable or convertible. |
| reciprocate | v. To give and take mutually. |
| reciprocity | n. Equal mutual rights and benefits granted and enjoyed. |
| recitation | n. The act of reciting or repeating, especially in public and from memory. |
| reck | v. To have a care or thought for. |
| reckless | adj. Foolishly headless of danger. |
| reclaim | v. To demand or to obtain the return or restoration of. |
| recline | v. To cause to assume a leaning or recumbent attitude or position. |
| recluse | n. One who lives in retirement or seclusion. |
| reclusory | n. A hermitage. |
| recognizance | n. An acknowledgment entered into before a court with condition to do some particular act. |
| recognize | v. To recall the identity of (a person or thing). |
| recoil | v. To start back as in dismay, loathing, or dread. |
| recollect | v. To recall the knowledge of. |
| reconcilable | adj. Capable of being adjusted or harmonized. |
| reconnoiter | v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes. |
| reconsider | v. To review with care, especially with a view to a reversal of previous action. |
| reconstruct | v. To rebuild. |
| recourse | n. Resort to or application for help in exigency or trouble. |
| recover | v. To regain. |
| recreant | n. A cowardly or faithless person. |
| recreate | v. To refresh after labor. |
| recrudescence | n. The state of becoming raw or sore again. |
| recrudescent | adj. Becoming raw or sore again. |
| recruit | v. To enlist men for military or naval service. |
| rectify | v. To correct. |
| rectitude | n. The quality of being upright in principles and conduct. |
| recuperate | v. To recover. |
| recur | v. To happen again or repeatedly, especially at regular intervals. |
| recure | v. To cure again. |
| recurrent | adj. Returning from time to time, especially at regular or stated intervals. |
| redemption | n. The recovery of what is mortgaged or pledged, by paying the debt. |
| redolent | adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable. |
| redolence | n. Smelling sweet and agreeable. |
| redoubtable | adj. Formidable. |
| redound | n. Rebound. |
| redress | v. To set right, as a wrong by compensation or the punishment of the wrong-doer. |
| reducible | adj. That may be reduced. |
| redundance | n. Excess. |
| redundant | adj. Constituting an excess. |
| reestablish | v. To restore. |
| refer | v. To direct or send for information or other purpose. |
| referrer | n. One who refers. |
| referable | adj. Ascribable. |
| referee | n. An umpire. |
| refinery | n. A place where some crude material, as sugar or petroleum, is purified. |
| reflectible | adj. Capable of being turned back. |
| reflection | n. The throwing off or back of light, heat, sound, or any form of energy that travels in waves. |
| reflector | n. A mirror, as of metal, for reflecting light, heat, or sound in a particular direction. |
| reflexible | adj. Capable of being reflected. |
| reform | n. Change for the better. |
| reformer | n. One who carries out a reform. |
| refract | v. To bend or turn from a direct course. |
| refractory | adj. Not amenable to control. |
| refragable | adj. Capable of being refuted. |
| refringency | n. Power to refract. |
| refringent | adj. Having the power to refract. |
| refusal | n. Denial of what is asked. |
| refute | v. To prove to be wrong. |
| regale | v. To give unusual pleasure. |
| regalia | n. pl. The emblems of royalty. |
| regality | n. Royalty. |
| regenerate | v. To reproduce. |
| regent | n. One who is lawfully deputized to administer the government for the time being in the name of the ruler. |
| regicide | n. The killing of a king or sovereign. |
| regime | n. Particular conduct or administration of affairs. |
| regimen | n. A systematized order or course of living with reference to food, clothing and personal habits. |
| regiment | n. A body of soldiers. |
| regnant | adj. Exercising royal authority in one's own right. |
| regress | v. To return to a former place or condition. |
| regretful | adj. Feeling, expressive of, or full of regret. |
| rehabilitate | v. To restore to a former status, capacity, right rank, or privilege. |
| reign | v. To hold and exercise sovereign power. |
| reimburse | v. To pay back as an equivalent of what has been expended. |
| rein | n. A step attached to the bit for controlling a horse or other draft-animal. |
| reinstate | v. To restore to a former state, station, or authority. |
| reiterate | v. To say or do again and again. |
| rejoin | v. To reunite after separation. |
| rejuvenate | v. To restore to youth. |
| rejuvenescence | n. A renewal of youth. |
| relapse | v. To suffer a return of a disease after partial recovery. |
| relegate | v. To send off or consign, as to an obscure position or remote destination. |
| relent | v. To yield. |
| relevant | adj. Bearing upon the matter in hand. |
| reliance | n. Dependence. |
| reliant | adj. Having confidence. |
| relinquish | v. To give up using or having. |
| reliquary | n. A casket, coffer, or repository in which relics are kept. |
| relish | v. To like the taste or savor of. |
| reluctance | n. Unwillingness. |
| reluctant | adj. Unwilling. |
| remembrance | n. Recollection. |
| reminiscence | n. The calling to mind of incidents within the range of personal knowledge or experience. |
| reminiscent | adj. Pertaining to the recollection of matters of personal interest. |
| remiss | adj. Negligent. |
| remission | n. Temporary diminution of a disease. |
| remodel | v. Reconstruct. |
| remonstrance | n. Reproof. |
| remonstrant | adj. Having the character of a reproof. |
| remonstrate | v. To present a verbal or written protest to those who have power to right or prevent a wrong. |
| remunerate | v. To pay or pay for. |
| remuneration | n. Compensation. |
| Renaissance | n. The revival of letters, and then of art, which marks the transition from medieval to modern time. |
| rendezvous | n. A prearranged place of meeting. |
| rendition | n. Interpretation. |
| renovate | v. To restore after deterioration, as a building. |
| renunciation | n. An explicit disclaimer of a right or privilege. |
| reorganize | v. To change to a more satisfactory form of organization. |
| reparable | adj. Capable of repair. |
| reparation | n. The act of making amends, as for an injury, loss, or wrong. |
| repartee | n. A ready, witty, or apt reply. |
| repeal | v. To render of no further effect. |
| repel | v. To force or keep back in a manner, physically or mentally. |
| repellent | adj. Having power to force back in a manner, physically or mentally. |
| repentance | n. Sorrow for something done or left undone, with desire to make things right by undoing the wrong. |
| repertory | n. A place where things are stored or gathered together. |
| repetition | n. The act of repeating. |
| repine | v. To indulge in fretfulness and faultfinding. |
| replenish | v. To fill again, as something that has been emptied. |
| replete | adj. Full to the uttermost. |
| replica | n. A duplicate executed by the artist himself, and regarded, equally with the first, as an original. |
| repository | n. A place in which goods are stored. |
| reprehend | v. To find fault with. |
| reprehensible | adj. Censurable. |
| reprehension | n. Expression of blame. |
| repress | v. To keep under restraint or control. |
| repressible | adj. Able to be kept under restraint or control. |
| reprieve | v. To grant a respite from punishment to. |
| reprimand | v. To chide or rebuke for a fault. |
| reprisal | n. Any infliction or act by way of retaliation on an enemy. |
| reprobate | n. One abandoned to depravity and sin. |
| reproduce | v. To make a copy of. |
| reproduction | n. The process by which an animal or plant gives rise to another of its kind. |
| reproof | n. An expression of disapproval or blame personally addressed to one censured. |
| repudiate | v. To refuse to have anything to do with. |
| repugnance | n. Thorough dislike. |
| repugnant | adj. Offensive to taste and feeling. |
| repulse | n. The act of beating or driving back, as an attacking or advancing enemy. |
| repulsive | adj. Grossly offensive. |
| repute | v. To hold in general opinion. |
| requiem | n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead. |
| requisite | adj. Necessary. |
| requital | n. Adequate return for good or ill. |
| requite | v. To repay either good or evil to, as to a person. |
| rescind | v. To make void, as an act, by the enacting authority or a superior authority. |
| reseat | v. To place in position of office again. |
| resemblance | n. Similarity in quality or form. |
| resent | v. To be indignant at, as an injury or insult. |
| reservoir | n. A receptacle where a quantity of some material, especially of a liquid or gas, may be kept. |
| residue | n. A remainder or surplus after a part has been separated or otherwise treated. |
| resilience | n. The power of springing back to a former position |
| resilient | adj. Having the quality of springing back to a former position. |
| resistance | n. The exertion of opposite effort or effect. |
| resistant | adj. Offering or tending to produce resistance. |
| resistive | adj. Having or exercising the power of resistance. |
| resistless | adj. Powerless. |
| resonance | n. The quality of being able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations. |
| resonance | adj. Able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations. |
| resonate | v. To have or produce resonance. |
| resource | n. That which is restored to, relied upon, or made available for aid or support. |
| respite | n. Interval of rest. |
| resplendent | adj. Very bright. |
| respondent | adj. Answering. |
| restitution | n. Restoration of anything to the one to whom it properly belongs. |
| resumption | n. The act of taking back, or taking again. |
| resurgent | adj. Surging back or again. |
| resurrection | n. A return from death to life |
| resuscitate | v. To restore from apparent death. |
| retaliate | v. To repay evil with a similar evil. |
| retch | v. To make an effort to vomit. |
| retention | n. The keeping of a thing within one's power or possession. |
| reticence | n. The quality of habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance. |
| reticent | adj. Habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance. |
| retinue | n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance. |
| retort | n. A retaliatory speech. |
| retouch | v. To modify the details of. |
| retrace | v. To follow backward or toward the place of beginning, as a track or marking. |
| retract | v. To recall or take back (something that one has said). |
| retrench | v. To cut down or reduce in extent or quantity. |
| retrieve | v. To recover something by searching. |
| retroactive | adj. Operative on, affecting, or having reference to past events, transactions, responsibilities. |
| retrograde | v. To cause to deteriorate or to move backward. |
| retrogression | n. A going or moving backward or in a reverse direction. |
| retrospect | n. A view or contemplation of something past. |
| retrospective | adj. Looking back on the past. |
| reunite | v. To unite or join again, as after separation. |
| revelation | n. A disclosing, discovering, or making known of what was before secret, private, or unknown. |
| revere | v. To regard with worshipful veneration. |
| reverent | adj. Humble. |
| reversion | n. A return to or toward some former state or condition. |
| revert | v. To return, or turn or look back, as toward a former position or the like. |
| revile | v. To heap approach or abuse upon. |
| revisal | n. Revision. |
| revise | v. To examine for the correction of errors, or for the purpose of making changes. |
| revocation | n. Repeal. |
| revoke | v. To rescind. |
| rhapsody | n. Rapt or rapturous utterance. |
| rhetoric | n. The art of discourse. |
| rhetorician | n. A showy writer or speaker. |
| ribald | adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity. |
| riddance | n. The act or ridding or delivering from something undesirable. |
| ridicule | n. Looks or acts expressing amused contempt. |
| ridiculous | adj. Laughable and contemptible. |
| rife | adj. Abundant. |
| righteousness | n. Rectitude. |
| rightful | adj. Conformed to a just claim according to established laws or usage. |
| rigmarole | n. Nonsense. |
| rigor | n. Inflexibility. |
| rigorous | adj. Uncompromising. |
| ripplet | n. A small ripple, as of water. |
| risible | adj. capable of exciting laughter. |
| rivulet | n. A small stream or brook. |
| robust | adj. Characterized by great strength or power of endurance. |
| rondo | n. A musical composition during which the first part or subject is repeated several times. |
| rookery | n. A place where crows congregate to breed. |
| rotary | adj. Turning around its axis, like a wheel, or so constructed as to turn thus. |
| rotate | v. To cause to turn on or as on its axis, as a wheel. |
| rote | n. Repetition of words or sounds as a means of learning them, with slight attention. |
| rotund | adj. Round from fullness or plumpness. |
| rudimentary | adj. Being in an initial, early, or incomplete stage of development. |
| rue | v. To regret extremely. |
| ruffian | adj. A lawless or recklessly brutal fellow. |
| ruminant | adj. Chewing the cud. |
| ruminate | v. To chew over again, as food previously swallowed and regurgitated. |
| rupture | v. To separate the parts of by violence. |
| rustic | adj. Characteristic of dwelling in the country. |
| ruth | n. Sorrow for another's misery. |
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