| Question |
Answer |
| penumbra |
partial shadow (in an eclipse); CF. almost shadow |
| penury |
extreme poverty; stinginess; ADJ. penurious: very poor; stingy |
| peon |
landless agricultural worker; bond servant; menial worker; N. peonage |
| perceptive |
insightful; showing a good ability at perceiving and understanding; aware; wise; of perception |
| percussion |
striking one object against another sharply; Ex. percussion instrument; N: striking together of two bodies; sound caused by percussion |
| perdition |
damnation; complete ruin; hell |
| peregrination |
journey; V. peregrinate |
| peremptory |
demanding and leaving no choice; imperative; Ex. peremptory decree/knock |
| perennial |
something long-lasting; perennial plant; ADJ: lasting through the year or many years; lasting for a long time; enduring |
| perfidious |
treacherous; disloyal; N. perfidy: treachery |
| perforate |
pierce; put a hole through |
| perfunctory |
done routinely and with little care; superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; Ex. perfunctory kiss |
| perigee |
point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth; CF. apogee |
| perimeter |
outer boundary; length of the outer boundary; circumference |
| peripatetic |
walking about from place to place (to work); moving; Ex. peripatetic school of philosophy |
| peripheral |
of a periphery; marginal; outer; of minor importance; not central; Ex. peripheral nerve/interest |
| periphery |
outside edge especially of a round surface; perimeter; Ex. periphery of the town |
| perjury |
false testimony while under oath; V. perjure oneself: testify falsely under oath |
| permeable |
that can be permeated; penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through; V. permeate: spread or flow throughout; charge |
| permissive |
allowing much freedom; lenient; Ex. permissive society |
| pernicious |
very harmful; deadly; very destructive; Ex. pernicious effect/anemia |
| peroration |
conclusion of an oration; perorating; V. perorate: conclude a speech; speak at great length |
| perpetrate |
commit an offense; do (something wrong) |
| perpetual |
everlasting |
| perpetuate |
make perpetual; make something last for a long time; preserve from extinction; N. perpetuity |
| perquisite(perk) |
any gain above stipulated salary; Ex. perquisites such as free meals and a car |
| persevere |
continue steadily in spite of difficulties |
| persist |
continue in existence; last; continue in a course of action in spite of opposition; Ex. persist in/with something; ADJ. persistent |
| personable |
attractive (in personality or appearance) |
| personify |
represent (an inanimate object) as a person; be the embodiment or perfect example of; Ex. She is evil/patience personified; N. personification |
| perspicacious |
(of someone) having insight; penetrating; astute |
| perspicuity |
clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| perspicuous |
(of something) plainly expressed; easy to understand; Ex. perspicuous comments |
| pert |
(esp. of a girl or young woman) impertinent; forward; trim; jaunty; Ex. pert young miss/hat |
| pertinacious |
holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn; persistent |
| pertinent |
suitable; to the point; relevant |
| perturb |
disturb greatly |
| peruse |
read through with care; N. perusal |
| pervasive |
spread throughout; V. pervade: (of smells, ideas, feelings) spread throughout; charge; permeate |
| perverse |
purposely continuing to do something wrong; stubbornly wrongheaded; perverted; directed away from what is right; wicked and unacceptable; Ex. perverse satisfaction; Ex. Hannibal Lecter in a perverse mood; N. perversity |
| perversion |
corruption; turning from right to wrong |
| pervert |
corrupt; turn from right to wrong; misuse; Ex. perverted sexual desire/scientific knowledge; N: person whose sexual behavior is not natural |
| pessimism |
belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess; tendency to take the gloomiest possible view of a situation; ADJ. pessimistic |
| pestilential(pestilent) |
causing plague; tending to cause death; baneful; N. pestilence: fatal epidemic disease (esp. bubonic plague) |
| pestle |
tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl or mortar |
| petrify |
turn to stone; cause to become stonelike; stun or paralyze |
| petty |
trivial; unimportant; very small; small-minded; petty-minded |
| petulant |
touchy; peevish; ill-tempered |
| phalanx |
formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears; group of men packed together (for attack or defense) |
| pharisaical |
pertaining to the Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; hypocritical |
| pharisee |
Pharisee: member of an ancient Jewish group that emphasized strict observance of the Mosaic law (considering themselves very holy); hypocritical self-righteous person |
| phenomena |
observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation; SG. phenomenon: observable fact; very unusual person, thing, or event; marvel; wonder; CF. phenomenons; ADJ. phenomenal: very unusual; extraordinary; of a phenomenon; Ex. phenomenal strength |
| philanderer |
faithless lover; flirt |
| philanthropist |
lover of mankind; doer of good; N. philanthropy |
| philatelist |
stamp-collector; N. philately: stamp collecting |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| phylum |
major classification, second to kingdom, of plants and animals; category ranking below a kingdom and above a class; division |
| physiognomy |
face (as showing the character and the mind); art of judging human character from facial features |
| physiological |
pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms; N. physiology |
| piebald |
of different colors; mottled; spotted in different colors (esp. in black and white); Ex. piebald horse; CF. pie+bald |
| piecemeal |
one part at a time; gradually; in stages; Ex. read a novel piecemeal |
| pied |
piebald; variegated(many-colored); multicolored |
| piety |
devoutness; reverence for God; ADJ. pious |
| pigment |
coloring matter (usually powder to be mixed with water or oil) |
| pilfer |
steal things of small value; filch; snitch |
| pillage |
plunder |
| pillory |
punish by placing in a wooden frame or pillory; subject or expose to criticism and ridicule; N. |
| pinch |
squeeze between the thumb and a finger, or other edges; Ex. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. N: amount that can be held between the thumb and a finger |
| pine |
long for; yearn; languish from longing or grief; decline |
| pinion |
restrain or immobilize by binding the wings or legs; N: bird's wing |
| pinnace |
small boat |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| pith |
core or marrow; spongelike substance in the center of stems; essence; substance |
| 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 |
| placid |
peaceful; calm; Ex. placid child/lake |
| 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 |
| plaintive |
expressing sorrow; mournful; Ex. plaintive song |
| 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 |
| plane |
carpenter's tool for smoothing and leveling wood; V. CF. flat |
| plaster |
paste that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls; V. |
| 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 |
| platonic |
purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire |
| 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 |
| plebiscite |
direct vote by the entire electorate (on an important issue) |
Spanish 3
