| Question |
Answer |
| prudent |
cautious; careful; prudential |
| prune |
cut away; trim |
| prurient |
having or causing lustful desires and thoughts; arousing immoderate sexual desire |
| pry |
inquire impertinently (someone else's private affairs); use leverage to raise or open something; prize; N. pries: tool for prying |
| pseudonym |
pen name; fictitious name assumed by an author; ADJ. pseudonymous |
| psyche |
soul; mind |
| psychiatrist |
doctor who treats mental diseases |
| psychic |
of psyche; mental; of or possessing extraordinary mental powers |
| psychopathic |
pertaining to mental dearrangement; N. psychopath: person with an antisocial personality disorder |
| psychosis |
mental disorder; ADJ. N. psychotic |
| psychosomatic |
of the influence of the mind on the body (esp. with respect to disease) |
| pterodactyl |
extinct flying reptile; CF. wing+finger |
| pucker |
gather into wrinkles or folds; N: wrinkle or fold |
| pudding |
hot sweet dish |
| puerile |
childish; immature; CF. puer: boy |
| pugilist |
boxer; CF. pugilism: boxing |
| pugnacity |
combativeness; disposition to fight; ADJ. pugnacious: (of people) belligerent; combative in nature |
| puissant |
powerful; strong; potent; N. puissance: power |
| pulchritude |
beauty; comeliness; ADJ. pulchritudinous |
| pulmonary |
pertaining to the lungs |
| pulpit |
raised platform used in preaching (in a church) |
| pulsate |
throb; beat regularly; vibrate regularly |
| pulse |
rhythmical throbbing of arteries; brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity; V: pulsate |
| pulverize |
crush or grind into very small particles |
| pummel |
pommel; beat or pound with fists |
| punctilious |
minutely attentive (perhaps too much so) to fine points; stressing niceties of conduct or form; N. punctilio, punctiliousness: careful attention payed to every small exact detail |
| pundit |
authority on a subject; expert; learned person |
| pungent |
stinging; acrid; sharp in taste or smell; (of speech or writing) caustic; N. pungency |
| punitive |
punishing; Ex. punitive measures |
| puny |
tiny; weak; insignificant |
| purchase |
secure grasp or hold; firm grasp or footing |
| purgatory |
place of spiritual expiation; temporary state or place in which the souls must expiate their sins |
| purge |
remove or get rid of something or someone unwanted; eliminate; free from blame or guilt; cleanse or purify (esp. of sin, guilt, or defilement); N. |
| purport |
intention; purpose; meaning; V: claim; profess; Ex. order which purports to be signed by the general |
| purported |
alleged; claimed; reputed or rumored; Ex. purported Satanists |
| purse |
pucker; contract (lips) into wrinkles; N: wallet |
| purveyor |
furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer; V. purvey: supply (eg. food); furnish; CF. provide |
| pushy |
disagreeably aggressive |
| pusillanimous |
cowardly; lacking courage; fainthearted |
| putative |
supposed; reputed; generally regarded as such; Ex. putative father of the child |
| putrefy |
make or become putrid; N. putrefaction |
| putrescent |
becoming putrid; putrefying |
| putrid |
decayed and foul-smelling; foul; rotten; decayed; N. putridity |
| puzzle |
baffle or confuse by a difficult problem; ponder over a problem in an effort to solve; clarify or solve by reasoning; Ex. puzzle out the answer; N. |
| pyromaniac |
person with an insane desire to set things on fire |
| quack |
charlatan; impostor |
| quadruped |
four-footed animal; ADJ. CF. biped |
| quaff |
drink with zest; drink with relish(zest; hearty enjoyment); CF. sip |
| quagmire |
bog; marsh; soft, wet, boggy land; predicament; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself |
| quail |
cower; shrink back in fear; lose heart |
| quaint |
odd in an old-fashioned way; odd; old-fashioned; picturesque |
| qualified |
limited; restricted; V. qualify: limit the meaning of; modify |
| qualify |
reach a necessary standard; limit the meaning of something stated |
| qualms |
uneasy feelings; misgivings; uneasy fears especially about matters of conscience; Ex. I have no qualms about giving this assignment to Helen. |
| quandary |
dilemma; state of uncertainty; Ex. She is in a quandary about whether to go. |
| quarantine |
isolation of a person, place, or ship to prevent spread of infection; V: isolate in quarantine |
| quarry |
dig into (to get stone); N: mine; |
| quash |
crush; suppress; squash; subdue; annul; Ex. quash a rebellion/the decision of the low court |
| quay |
dock; wharf; pier; landing place (for boats) |
| queasy |
experiencing nausea; nauseated; easily nauseated; squeamish; Ex. feel a little queasy |
| queer |
strange; eccentric; deviating from the normal |
| quell |
suppress; put an end to; put down forcibly; extinguish; quiet; Ex. ``Army Quells Rebellion'' in newspaper; CF. kill |
| quench |
assuage or satisfy (thrust); slake; douse or extinguish; put out; suppress |
| querulous |
given to complaining; complaining; fretful; whining |
| query |
inquiry; question; V. |
| queue |
line (of waiting people or vehicles) |
| quibble |
minor objection or complaint; V: raise minor objections; carp; cavil |
| quicksilver |
mercury |
| quiescent |
dormant; temporarily inactive; at rest; N. quiescence |
| quietude |
tranquillity; calmness |
| quintessence |
purest and highest embodiment; perfect example; apotheosis; most essential element; Ex. quintessence of wit; ADJ. quintessential; CF. fifth essence |
| quip |
taunt; clever sarcastic remark; V. |
| quirk |
sudden sharp turn or twist; startling twist; caprice; idiosyncrasy; peculiarity of behavior; Ex. by a quirk of fate |
| quisling |
traitor who aids invaders; CF. Vidkun Quisling |
| quiver |
tremble; shake; N. |
| quixotic |
idealistic but impractical; CF. Don Quixote |
| quizzical |
curious; suggesting puzzlement (without saying); questioning; teasing; mocking; bantering; Ex. quizzical glance |
| quorum |
minimal number of members necessary to conduct a meeting |
| quotidian |
daily; commonplace; customary; Ex. quotidian routine |
| rabble |
mob; noisy crowd |
| rabid |
of or suffering rabies; like a fanatic; extremely zealous; furious; CF. rabies: hydrophobia |
| rabies |
disease passed on by the bite of an infected animal (causing madness and death) |
| raconteur |
story-teller; one who tells stories with wit and skill |
| raffle |
lottery; V: award as a prize in a raffle; Ex. raffle off a new car |
| rag |
scrap of cloth; ADJ. ragged: old and torn; seeming unfinished and imperfect; Ex. ragged debut/performance |
| ragamuffin |
dirty child in torn clothes; person wearing tattered clothes |
| rail |
complain bitterly; scold; rant; Ex. the weaker railing against injustices |
| raiment |
clothing; garments; Ex. I have no raiment fit to wear. |
| rake |
immoral or dissolute person |
| rakish |
jaunty; stylish; sporty; morally corrupt; dissolute; Ex. He wore his hat at a rakish and jaunty angle. |
| rally |
come or bring together; call up or summon (forces, vital powers, etc.); revive or recuperate (after illness or difficulty); N: act of rallying; mass gathering |
| ram |
male sheep; V. strike or drive against with a heavy impact |
| ramble |
wander aimlessly (physically or mentally); digress |
| ramification |
branching out; subdivision; one branch of a system; one of the results following from an action or decision; Ex. ramifications of a business/the decision |
| ramify |
branch out; divide into branches or subdivisions |
| ramp |
slope; inclined plane or roadway (connecting two levels) |
| rampant |
growing or spreading uncontrollably; growing in profusion; unrestrained; Ex. rampant lawlessness/weed |
| rampart |
defensive mound of earth |
| ramshackle |
(of a building or vehicle) poorly constructed; rickety; falling apart |
| rancid |
having the odor of stale or decomposing fat; rank |
mr. charles11
