| Question |
Answer |
| plenary |
(of power) complete; full; fully attended by all qualified members; Ex. plenary power |
| plenitude |
abundance; plenty; great amount; completeness; fullness; CF. plenary, plenty |
| 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 |
| ploy |
strategem to gain an advantage; tactic; Ex. management ploy |
| pluck |
courage; V: pull off or out; pull out the hair or feathers of; ADJ. plucky: courageous; brave |
| plumage |
feathers of a bird; |
| 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 |
| plumber |
one who installs and repairs pipes and plumbing(pipes) |
| plume |
feather, esp. large or showy one; something that rises into the air (like the shape of a feather); Ex. Plume of smoke |
| plummet |
fall sharply; fall straight down; Ex. Stock prices plummeted. |
| plump |
pleasantly fat; nicely rounded |
| plutocracy |
society ruled by the wealthy |
| podiatrist |
doctor who treats ailments of the feet; chiropodist; N. podiatrics |
| podium |
pedestal; raised platform |
| 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 |
| poise |
good judgment with composure; balance; V: place in a carefully balanced position |
| polar |
of a pole; characterized by opposite extremes; Ex. polar opposites |
| polarity |
state of having two opposite qualities |
| polarize |
split into opposite extremes or camps |
| polemic |
attack or defense of an opinion; controversy or refutation; argument in support of point of view; N. polemics: art of debate or controversy |
| 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 |
| ponderous |
having great weight; weighty; unwieldy; lacking lightness; dull; Ex. ponderous body/style of writing |
| pontifical |
pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious; CF. pontiff: pope; bishop |
| pore |
study industriously; ponder; scrutinize; Ex. pore over the book; N. |
| porous |
full of pores; like a sieve |
| porridge |
soft food made by boiling oatmeal |
| portend |
foretell; presage; be a sign or warning of; N. portent: sign; omen; forewarning |
| portly |
stout; corpulent |
| pose |
assume a particular posture; put forward; present; affect a particular attitude (to impress others); Ex. pose a threat; N. |
| poseur |
person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others; person who poses; CF. pose |
| posterity |
descendants; future generations; Ex. go down to posterity; CF. posterior, anterior |
| 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 |
| postmortem |
autopsy; ADJ: occurring after death; of a postmortem |
| postulate |
self-evident truth; something assumed without proof; V: assume the truth of (as a basis of an argument) |
| posture |
assume an affected pose; act artificially; N: pose; attitude |
| potable |
suitable for drinking; drinkable |
| potent |
powerful; convincing; persuasive; greatly influential |
| potentate |
monarch; sovereign |
| potential |
expressing possibility; latent; N: capacity for growth |
| potion |
dose (of liquids); liquid dose |
| potpourri |
heterogeneous mixture; medley; mixture of dried flower petals a pot (to give a pleasant smell to a room) |
| poultice |
soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body |
| pr\'ecis |
abstract; concise summing up of main points; concise summary of a text |
| 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 |
| prance |
move about in a spirited manner (proudly and confidently) |
| prank |
mischievous trick |
| prate |
talk idly; speak foolishly; boast idly |
| prattle |
talk idly; babble; N. CF. prate |
| preamble |
introductory statement |
| precarious |
unsafe; lacking in stability; uncertain; risky; Ex. precarious living |
| precedent |
preceding (in time, rank, etc.) |
| precept |
practical rule guiding conduct; Ex. mother's precept |
| precinct |
division of a city for election or police purposes; precincts: space that surrounds a building; Ex. precincts of the college |
| precipice |
cliff; dangerous position; Ex. on the edge of the precipice |
| precipitant |
something that causes a substance in a chemical solution to separate out in solid form; OP. solvent |
| precipitate |
hurl downward; throw headlong; hasten; cause to happen sooner; condense and fall as rain or snow; cause (a solid substance) to be separated from a solution; ADJ. hasty; rash; premature; sudden |
| precipitous |
steep; overhasty; precipitate |
| precise |
exact |
| preclude |
make impossible; prevent; exclude; eliminate |
| precocious |
advanced in development; N. precocity |
| precursor |
forerunner; predecessor |
| predator |
predatory animal or bird; predatory person; creature that seizes and devours another animal; person who robs or exploits others; ADJ. predatory: living by preying on other organisms; plundering; N. predation |
| predecessor |
former occupant of a post |
| predetermine |
determine in advance; predestine; settle or decide beforehand; influence markedly |
| predicament |
difficult situation; tricky or dangerous situation; dilemma |
| predilection |
preference; partiality |
| predispose |
give an inclination toward (in advance); make susceptible to; Ex. predispose people to certain cancer; N. predisposition |
| preeminent |
outstanding; superior |
| preempt |
prevent in advance; head off(forestall); forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself before others; supplant; take the place of; displace; Ex. preempt any attempts; ADJ. preemptive |
| preen |
make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction or pride; (of a bird) smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak; Ex. preen oneself on; CF. prune |
| prefatory |
introductory; of a preface |
| prefigure |
be a sign of; foreshadow |
| prehensile |
capable of grasping or holding (esp. by wrapping around); Ex. prehensile tails |
| prelate |
church dignitary; priest of high position in the church (esp. bishop) |
| prelude |
introduction; introductory performance or event; forerunner |
| premeditate |
plan in advance; Ex. premeditated murder |
| premise |
assumption; postulate; proposition upon which an argument is based |
| premonition |
forewarning; presentiment; foreboding |
| premonitory |
serving to warn |
| preponderance |
superiority of power, quantity, etc.; V. preponderate: be greater in power, weight, or importance; ADJ. preponderant |
| prepossessing |
attractive; CF. preoccupying ? |
| preposterous |
absurd; completely unreasonable; ridiculous |
| prerogative |
privilege; unquestionable right; CF. ask before |
| presage |
foretell; be a warning or sign of; N: presentiment; foreboding; omen |
| prescience |
ability to foretell the future; knowledge of actions before they occur; ADJ. prescient |
| presentiment |
premonition; foreboding; feeling something will happen; anticipatory fear |
| prestige |
respect or admiration; impression produced by achievements or reputation; ADJ: causing admiration; ADJ. prestigious: having prestige |
| presume |
take for granted; assume; act overconfidently; take liberties; presume on/upon: take unfair advantage of (someone's kindness or connection); N. presumption |
| presumptuous |
going beyond what is right; excessively forward; arrogant; taking liberties |
HHS Shrek
