P

pacify v. To bring into a peaceful state.
pact n. A covenant.
palatial adj. Magnificent.
paleontology n. The branch of biology that treats of ancient life and fossil organisms.
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.
paly adj. Lacking color or brilliancy.
pamphleteer v. To compose or issue pamphlets, especially controversial ones.
panacea n. A remedy or medicine proposed for or professing to cure all diseases.
pandemonium n. A fiendish or riotous uproar.
panegyric n. A formal and elaborate eulogy, written or spoken, of a person or of an act.
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.
paradox n. A statement or doctrine seemingly in contradiction to the received belief.
paramour n. One who is unlawfully and immorally a lover or a mistress.
paraphernalia n. Miscellaneous articles of equipment or adornment.
pare v. To cut, shave, or remove (the outside) from anything.
Pariah n. A member of a degraded class; a social outcast.
parity n. Equality, as of condition or rank.
parlance n. Mode of speech.
parley v. To converse in.
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.
partition n. That which separates anything into distinct parts.
pastoral adj. Having the spirit or sentiment of rural life.
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.
paucity n. Fewness.
pauper n. One without means of support.
pauperism n. Dependence on charity.
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
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.
pediatrics n. The department of medical science that relates to the treatment of diseases of childhood.
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.
pellucid adj. Translucent.
penchant n. A bias in favor of something.
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.
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.
pentad n. The number five.
pentahedron n. A solid bounded by five plane faces.
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.
perceptible adj. Cognizable.
percipience n. The act of perceiving.
percolate v. To filter.
percolator n. A filter.
peremptory adj. Precluding question or appeal.
perennial adj. Continuing though the year or through many years.
perforate v. To make a hole or holes through.
perfunctory adj. Half-hearted.
perigee n. The point in the orbit of the moon when it is nearest the earth.
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.
perpetuate v. To preserve from extinction or oblivion.
perquisite n. Any profit from service beyond the amount fixed as salary or wages.
persiflage n. Banter.
perspicacious adj. Astute.
perspicacity n. Acuteness or discernment.
perspicuous adj. Lucid.
PERSPIRE-SWEAT
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.
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.
pharmacopoeia n. A book containing the formulas and methods of preparation of medicines for the use of druggists.
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.
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.
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.
picayune adj. Of small value.
piecemeal adv. Gradually.
pious adj. Religious.
pique v. To excite a slight degree of anger in.
piteous adj. Compassionate.
pitiable adj. Contemptible.
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.
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.
plebeian adj. Common.
plenary adj. Entire.
plenipotentiary n. A person fully empowered to transact any business.
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.
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.
poetaster n. An inferior poet.
poignancy n. Severity or acuteness, especially of pain or grief.
poignant adj. Severely painful or acute to the spirit.
polar adj. Pertaining to the poles of a sphere, especially of the earth.
polemics n. The art of controversy or disputation.
polyglot adj. Speaking several tongues.
polyhedron n. A solid bounded by plane faces, especially by more than four.
polytechnic adj. Pertaining to, embracing, or practicing many arts.
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.
ponderous adj. Unusually weighty or forcible.
pontiff n. The Pope.
portend v. To indicate as being about to happen, especially by previous signs.
portent n. Anything that indicates what is to happen.
posit v. To present in an orderly manner.
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.
potency n. Power.
potentate n. One possessed of great power or sway.
potential n. Anything that may be possible.
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.
precedential adj. Of the nature of an instance that may serve as a guide or basis for a rule.
precipice n. A high and very steep or approximately vertical cliff.
precision n. Accuracy of limitation, definition, or adjustment.
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.
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.
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.
preferment n. Preference.
prehensible adj. Capable of being grasped.
prehensile adj. Adapted for grasping or holding.
prehension n. The act of laying hold of or grasping.
prelacy n. A system of church government.
prelate n. One of a higher order of clergy having direct authority over other clergy.
premier adj. First in rank or position.
premise n. A judgment as a conclusion.
premonition n. Foreboding.
preordain v. To foreordain.
preponderant adj. Prevalent.
preponderate v. To exceed in influence or power.
presage v. To foretell.
prescience n. Knowledge of events before they take place.
prescriptible adj. Derived from authoritative direction.
prescription n. An authoritative direction.
presentient adj. Perceiving or feeling beforehand.
presentiment n. Foreboding.
presentment n. Semblance.
pretension n. A bold or presumptuous assertion.
pretentious adj. Marked by pretense, conceit, or display.
preternatural adj. Extraordinary.
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.
priggish adj. Conceited.
primer n. An elementary reading-book for children.
privateer n. A vessel owned and officered by private persons, but carrying on maritime war.
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.
proctor n. An agent acting for another.
prodigal n. One wasteful or extravagant, especially in the use of money or property.
prodigious adj. Immense.
proffer v. To offer to another for acceptance.
profiteer n. One who profits.
profligacy n. Shameless viciousness.
profligate adj. Abandoned to vice.
progeny n. Offspring.
proletarian n. A person of the lowest or poorest class.
prolific adj. Producing offspring or fruit.
prolix adj. Verbose. (A LOT OF WORDS)
promenade v. To walk for amusement or exercise.
prominence n. The quality of being noticeable or distinguished.
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.
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.
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.
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.
protege n. One specially cared for and favored by another usually older person.
protomartyr n. The earliest victim in any cause.
protoplasm n. The substance that forms the principal portion of an animal or vegetable cell.
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.
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.
proxy n. A person who is empowered by another to represent him or her in a given matter.
prudery n. An undue display of modesty or delicacy.
prurient adj. Inclined to lascivious thoughts and desires.
pseudapostle n. A pretended or false apostle.
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.
pungent adj. Affecting the sense of smell.
pungency n. The quality of affecting the sense of smell.
pupilage n. The state or period of being a student.
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.
pyx n. A vessel or casket, usually of precious metal, in which the host is preserved.