| Term | Definition |
|---|
| philanthropist | lover of mankind; doer of good; N. philanthropy |
| n philatelist | stamp-collector; N. philately: stamp collecting |
| n philistine | narrow-minded person, uncultured and exclusively interested in material gain; uncultured person who is indifferent to artistic and cultural values; member of an ancient people in Palestine; OP. aesthete |
| philology | study of language or words |
| n phlegmatic | calm and unexcitable; not easily disturbed; CF. phlegm: sticky mucus produced in the respiratory tract |
| phobia | morbid fear |
| phoenix | symbol of immortality or rebirth; Ex. phoenix rising from its ashes |
| n phylum | major classification, second to kingdom, of plants and animals; category ranking below a kingdom and above a class; division |
| n physiognomy | face (as showing the character and the mind); art of judging human character from facial features |
| n physiological | pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms; N. physiology |
| n piebald | of different colors; mottled; spotted in different colors (esp. in black and white); Ex. piebald horse; CF. pie+bald |
| n piecemeal | one part at a time; gradually; in stages; Ex. read a novel piecemeal |
| n pied | piebald; variegated(many-colored); multicolored |
| piety | devoutness; reverence for God; ADJ. pious |
| n pigment | coloring matter (usually powder to be mixed with water or oil) |
| pillage | plunder |
| pillory | punish by placing in a wooden frame or pillory; subject or expose to criticism and ridicule; N. |
| pine | long for; yearn; languish from longing or grief; decline |
| pinion | restrain or immobilize by binding the wings or legs; N: bird's wing |
| pinnacle | peak; highest point; acme; Ex. pinnacle of fame |
| pious | devout; religious; N. piety |
| piquant | pleasantly tart-tasting; spicy; pleasantly stimulating; Ex. piquant situation when my old enemy asked for my help. tart -sharp to the taste; acid-tasting; caustic; sarcastic; Ex. tart apple/reply. sour - having a sharp or acid taste; acid; tart; bad-tempered; V. |
| pique | irritation; resentment from wounded pride (eg. loss in a contest); V: provoke; arouse; annoy; cause to feel resentment; Ex. pique her curiosity |
| piscatorial | pertaining to fishing; CF. Pisces |
| pitfall | hidden danger; concealed trap |
| beware | be cautious (of) |
| pith | core or marrow; spongelike substance in the center of stems; essence; substance |
| marrow | soft fatty tissue that fills most bone cavities and is the source of blood cells |
| pithy | concise and meaningful; substantial; meaty |
| pittance | small amount (of money); small allowance or wage |
| pivotal | of a pivot; central; critical; crucial |
| placate | pacify; bring peace to; conciliate; appease |
| placebo | harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill |
| s tablet | small round piece of medicine; flat piece of stone or metal bearing an inscription; Ex. stone tablet on the wall |
| placid | peaceful; calm; Ex. placid child/lake |
| n plagiarize | steal another's ideas or writings and pass them off as one's own; Ex. ideas plagiarized from my article; N. plagiarism; CF. kidnap |
| n plaintive | expressing sorrow; mournful; Ex. plaintive song |
| n plait | braid; interwine; interweave strands or lengths of; make by weaving strands together; Ex. plaited hair; N: braided length as of hair o fabric; CF. pigtail, ponytail |
| n plasticity | ability to be molded; ADJ. plastic: capable of being shaped or molded; Ex. plastic material such as clay |
| platitude | trite remark; commonplace statement; ADJ. platitudinous |
| s commonplace | ordinary; N: something ordinary or common; trite remark |
| s commonwealth | nation governed by the people; republic; people of a nation |
| platonic | purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire |
| n plaudit | praise; enthusiastic approval; round(succession or series) of applause; ADJ. plauditory; CF. applaud |
| plausible | conceivably true; having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious |
| plebeian | common; vulgar; pertaining to the common people; N: common people in ancient Rome; CF. patrician |
| s plebiscite | direct vote by the entire electorate (on an important issue) |
| s referendum | direct vote by all the people |
| n plenary | (of power) complete; full; fully attended by all qualified members; Ex. plenary power |
| n plenitude | abundance; plenty; great amount; completeness; fullness; CF. plenary, plenty |
| n plethora | excess; overabundance; Ex. a plethora of excuses |
| pliable | flexible; easily influenced; yielding; adaptable |
| pliant | flexible; easily influenced |
| plight | difficult condition; condition or state (esp. a bad state or condition); predicament-unfortunate situation |
| n pluck | courage; V: pull off or out; pull out the hair or feathers of; ADJ. plucky: courageous; brave |
| plumage | feathers of a bird; |
| n plumb | exactly vertical; N: weight on the end of a line; V: examine very carefully or critically in order to understand; measure depth (by sounding); Ex. plumb the depth of |
| s plumber | one who installs and repairs pipes and plumbing(pipes) |
| n plummet | fall sharply; fall straight down; Ex. Stock prices plummeted. |
| plutocracy | society ruled by the wealthy |
| podiatrist | doctor who treats ailments of the feet; chiropodist; N. podiatrics |
| podium | pedestal; raised platform |
| s pedestal | support or base as for a pillar or statue |
| n poignancy | quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion; ADJ. poignant: touching; deeply moving; (of sorrow, grief, etc.) painful; keenly distressing to the mind; Ex. poignant memory/anxiety; CF. prick |
| n polarize | split into opposite extremes or camps |
| s polarity | state of having two opposite qualities |
| s polar | of a pole; characterized by opposite extremes; Ex. polar opposites |
| s camp | group sharing a common cause or opinion |
| polemic | attack or defense of an opinion; controversy or refutation; argument in support of point of view; N. polemics: art of debate or controversy |
| n polemical(polemic) | aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious (rather than simply expressing opinions) |
| politic | prudent; judicious; well judged; expedient; well devised |
| polity | (particular form of) political organization; form of government of nation or state; Ex. student polity |
| polygamist | one who has more than one spouse at a time; CF. bigamy; CF. polyandry |
| polyglot | speaking several languages; multilingual; Ex. polyglot person/society; N. |
| pomposity | self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt(pompous person); ADJ. pompous: self-important |
| n ponderous | having great weight; weighty; unwieldy; lacking lightness; dull; Ex. ponderous body/style of writing |
| n pontifical | pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious; CF. pontiff: pope; bishop |
| n pore | study industriously; ponder; scrutinize; Ex. pore over the book; N. |
| porous | full of pores; like a sieve |
| s interstice | narrow space between things |
| portend | foretell; presage; be a sign or warning of; N. portent: sign; omen; forewarning |
| s soothsayer | one who foretells the future |
| n portly | stout; corpulent |
| s stout | rather fat; strong in body; sturdy; resolute; determined; strong in determination; Ex. stout stick/supporter |
| n poseur | person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others; person who poses; CF. pose |
| s pose | assume a particular posture; put forward; present; affect a particular attitude (to impress others); Ex. pose a threat; N. |
| n posterity | descendants; future generations; Ex. go down to posterity; CF. posterior, anterior |
| n posthumous | after death (as of child born after father's death or book published after author's death); coming or occurring after one's death; Ex. posthumous fame/novel |
| s postmortem | autopsy; ADJ: occurring after death; of a postmortem |
| n postulate | self-evident truth; something assumed without proof; V: assume the truth of (as a basis of an argument) |
| n posture | assume an affected pose; act artificially; N: pose; attitude |
| n potable | suitable for drinking; drinkable |
| potent | powerful; convincing; persuasive; greatly influential |
| n potentate | monarch; sovereign |
| potential | expressing possibility; latent; N: capacity for growth |
| potion | dose (of liquids); liquid dose |
| n potpourri | heterogeneous mixture; medley; mixture of dried flower petals a pot (to give a pleasant smell to a room) |
| n poultice | soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body |
| practicable | feasible |
| practical | based on experience; of or acquired through practice (rather than theory); useful; Ex. practical man |
| pragmatic | practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with practical worth or impact of something; Ex. pragmatic test of the skill |
| pragmatist | practical person; N. pragmatism: pragmatic way of dealing with things |
| s prance | move about in a spirited manner (proudly and confidently) |
| n prate | talk idly; speak foolishly; boast idly |
| n prattle | talk idly; babble; N. CF. prate |
| s idle | not working; not employed or busy; lazy; without purpose; useless; lacking substance; baseless; not based on truth; Ex. idle worker; Ex. talk idly; V. |
| preamble | introductory statement |
| precarious | unsafe; lacking in stability; uncertain; risky; Ex. precarious living |
| precedent | something preceding in time which may be used as an authority or guide for future action; V. precede; CF. unprecedented |
| precedent | preceding (in time, rank, etc.) |
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