| Question |
Answer |
| paleontology |
study of prehistoric life or fossils; CF. paleo-: ancient or prehistoric; Ex. paleography: study of ancient written documents |
| palette |
board on which painter mixes pigments(coloring matters) |
| palimpsest |
parchment or piece of writing material used for second time after original writing has been erased |
| pall |
become boring; grow tiresome |
| pallet |
small poor bed; Ex. straw pallet |
| palliate |
ease pain (without curing); make less severe or offensive (a crime or illness) |
| pallid |
pale; wan; Ex. pallid complexion |
| palm |
conceal in the palm of the hand; palm off: pass off; Ex. palm off some bad oranges onto the lady/the painting as a real Renoir |
| palpable |
tangible; (of something bad) easily perceptible; obvious; Ex. palpable blunder |
| palpitate |
throb; beat rapidly; flutter; tremble; Ex. Her heart began to palpitate. |
| paltry |
insignificant; petty; trifling; contemptible; Ex. paltry sum; CF. trash |
| pan |
criticize harshly |
| panacea |
cure-all; remedy for all diseases |
| panache |
flair; manner of doing things without any difficulty (causing admiration); flamboyance; bunch of feathers (on a helmet); Ex. with great panache; |
| pandemic |
widespread; affecting the majority of people; N: pandemic disease; CF. all people |
| Pandemonium |
wild tumult(commotion); wild noisy disorder; CF. Paradise Lost |
| pander |
cater to (the low desires of others) |
| panegyric |
formal praise; encomium; Ex. I don't deserve such panegyrics. |
| pang |
sudden sharp feeling of pain |
| panoramic |
denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view; N. panorama: unbroken view of a wide area |
| pantomime |
acting without dialogue; V. |
| papyrus |
ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant |
| parable |
short simple story teaching a moral |
| paradigm |
model; example that serves as a model; pattern; list of all the inflectional forms of a word |
| paradox |
something apparently contradictory in nature (that may nonetheless be true); statement that looks false but is actually correct |
| paragon |
model of perfection; Ex. paragon of virtue |
| parallel |
similar; analogous; corresponding; N: parallel line; person or thing that is parallel (to another); similarity; Ex. know of no parallel to the case; Ex. without parallel; V: be similar to; make parallel; Ex. Your experience parallels mine; CF. unp |
| parallelism |
state of being parallel; similarity; analogy |
| parameter |
limit; independent variable; Ex. parameters of the problem; Ex. within the parameters of the budget |
| paramount |
foremost in importance; supreme; CF. para-: beyond; above; Ex. paranormal |
| paramour |
illicit lover |
| paranoia |
psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution; N: ADJ: paranoid, paranoiac |
| paraphernalia |
equipment; odds and ends used in a particular activity; personal belongings; Ex. photographic paraphernalia; CF. married woman's property exclusive of her dowry |
| paraphrase |
restate a passage in one's own words while retaining thought of author; N: restatement of a text in other words |
| parasite |
animal or plant living on another; toady; sycophant; CF. para-: beside |
| parched |
extremely dry; very thirsty; V. parch: make or become extremely dry (by exposure to heat) |
| parchment |
writing material made from the skin of a sheep or goat |
| pare |
cut away the outer covering or skin of (with a knife); trim; Ex. pare apples/expenses |
| pariah |
social outcast; Ex. Mariah the pariah |
| parish |
area in the care of a single priest and served by one main church |
| parity |
equality; close resemblance; CF. disparate |
| parlance |
language; manner of speaking; idiom; Ex. in legal/common parlance |
| parley |
conference (between opponents); CF. speak |
| parochial |
narrow in scope or outlook; provincial; related to parishes |
| parody |
humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty; V. |
| paroxysm |
fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage; sudden outburst |
| parquet |
floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosaic like matter; CF. strip: long narrow piece |
| parry |
ward off a blow; deflect; Ex. He parried the unwelcome question very skillfully; N. |
| parsimony |
stinginess; excessive frugality; ADJ. parsimonious |
| partial |
incomplete; favoring one side over another; having a liking for something |
| partiality |
state of being partial; inclination; favorable bias; special fondness; preference |
| partisan |
one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party (with dislike of any others); N: strong supporter of a party; guerrilla |
| partition |
divide into parts |
| parvenu |
upstart; newly rich person |
| pass\'e |
old-fashioned; past the prime |
| pass_off |
present falsely; represent falsely to be |
| passive |
not active; acted upon; receiving an action without acting in return; accepting without resistance |
| paste |
smooth viscous mixture as of flour(powder made by crushing grain) and water (used as an adhesive); V: cause to adhere by applying paste |
| pastiche |
imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing; work of art openly imitating the works of other artists |
| pastoral |
rural; of rural life; idyllic; of a pastor |
| pastry |
paste of flour and water (eaten when baked) |
| patent |
obvious; easily seen; open for the public to read; of or protected by a patent; Ex. patent to everyone; N. |
| pathetic |
causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching |
| pathological |
pertaining to disease; N. pathology: study of disease |
| pathos |
tender sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings; Ex. pathos that runs through the novel |
| patina |
green crust on old bronze works or copper; tone slowly taken by varnished painting |
| patois |
local or provincial dialect |
| patriarch |
father and ruler of a family or tribe |
| patrician |
noble; aristocratic; N: person of high rank; aristocrat; CF. member of the governing classes in ancient Rome; CF. plebian |
| patrimony |
property inherited from a father |
| patronize |
support; act superior toward; treat in a condescending manner; be a customer of; N. patron: one that supports; regular customer; N. patronage; CF. boycott |
| paucity |
scarcity; dearth |
| pauper |
very poor person |
| peccadillo |
slight offense or fault; CF. sin |
| pecuniary |
pertaining to money |
| pedagogue |
teacher; CF. child leader |
| pedagogy |
teaching; art of education |
| pedant |
scholar who overemphasizes book learning, trivial details of learning, or technicalities |
| pedantic |
bookish; showing off learning; marked by an excessive ostentatious concern for book learning; N. pedantry |
| peddle |
travel about selling (wares); CF. foot |
| pedestal |
support or base as for a pillar or statue |
| pedestrian |
ordinary; dull; unimaginative(lacking in imagination); going on foot; Ex. pedestrian prose; N. |
| pediatrician |
physician specializing in children's diseases; N. pediatrics |
| pedigree |
ancestry; lineage |
| peer |
one who has equal standing with another; nobleman; V: look intently; N. peerage; CF. peeress |
| peerless |
having no equal; incomparable |
| peevish |
bad-tempered; irritable; V. peeve: make angry |
| pejorative |
(of a word or phrase) suggesting that someone is of little value; negative in connotation; having a belittling effect; Ex. Many women now considers ``housewife'' a pejorative expression, because it patronized them. |
| pell-mell |
in confusion; disorderly; Ex. dash pell-mell |
| pellucid |
transparent; limpid(crystal clear); clear in meaning; easy to understand |
| pen |
fenced enclosure for animals; confining space; Ex. sheep pen; V: confine in a pen; enclose |
| penance |
self-imposed punishment for sin; Ex. do penance for one's sins; CF. penitent |
| penchant |
strong inclination; strong liking (esp. for something that is disapproved of by other people); Ex. penchant for fast cars |
| pendant(pendent) |
hanging down from something; pending; N: ornament (hanging from a necklace etc.) |
| pending |
not yet decided or settled; impending; Ex. pending decision; PREP. while awaiting; until; Ex. delay the decision pending his return |
| pendulous |
hanging; suspended |
| penetrate |
enter into; pierce; permeate; see through; grasp the inner significance of; understand |
| penitent |
repentant; N. |
| penology |
study of prison management and criminal rehabilitation |
| pensive |
dreamily or deeply thoughtful; sadly thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness; contemplative; CF. think over |
Buen Viaje lv.2 ch 8
