- palindrome: a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward
- panache: flamboyant confidence of style or manner; a tuft or plume of feathers, esp. as a headdress or on a helmet
- Panglossian: optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
- pantheism: a doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God; worship that admits or tolerates all gods
- pantheon: all the gods of a people or religion collectively; a temple dedicated to all the gods; a building in which the illustrious dead of a nation are buried or honored; a group of particularly respected, famous, or important people
- paramour: a lover, esp. the illicit partner of a married person
- parlance: a particular way of speaking or using words, esp. a way common to those with a particular job or interest
- parvenu: a person of obscure origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity; having recently achieved, or associated with someone who has recently achieved wealth, influence, or celebrity despite obscure origins
- pastiche: an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period; an artistic work consisting of a medley of pieces taken from various sources; a confused mixture or jumble
- pathos: a quality that evokes pity or sadness
- patois: the dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country; the jargon or informal speech used by a particular social group
- pedagogue: a teacher, esp. a strict or pedantic one.
- pellucid: translucently clear; lucid in style or meaning; easily understood; (of music or other sound) clear and pure in tone
- penultimate: last but one in a series of things; second to the last;
- penumbra: the partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object; the shadow cast by the earth or moon over an area experiencing a partial eclipse
- penurious: extremely poor; poverty-stricken; characterized by poverty or need
- perdition: (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death.
- pertinacious: holding firmly to an opinion or a course of action
- pettifogger: an inferior legal practitioner, esp. one who deals with petty cases or employs dubious practices.
- philippic: a bitter attack or denunciation, esp. a verbal one.