| GRE word list - P |
| pachyderm |
any of various nonruminant hoofed mammals (as an elephant,
a rhinoceros, or a pig) most of which have a thick skin |
| pacify |
to allay the anger or agitation of:SOOTHE |
| pack |
a group of often predatory animals of the same kind |
| pact |
COMPACT; especially:an international treaty |
| padding |
material with which something is padded |
| paean |
a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving,
or triumph; broadly |
| painstaking |
taking pains:expending, showing, or involving diligent
care and effort |
| palatable |
agreeable to the palate or taste |
| palatial |
of, relating to, or being a palace |
| palette |
a particular range, quality, or use of color |
| pall |
to lose in interest or attraction |
| palliate |
to reduce the violence of (a disease) |
| pallid |
Having an abnormally pale or wan complexion |
| pallor |
(n.) lack of facial color |
| palmy |
marked by prosperity |
| palpable |
easily perceived by the senses; audible, recognizable,
perceptible, noticeable, etc. |
| palter |
to act insincerely or deceitfully |
| paltry |
practically worthless; trifling; insignificant; contemptible;
petty |
| pan |
to criticize unfavorably, as in reviewing |
| panache |
dash or flamboyance in style and action |
| Pandemonium |
Wild uproar or noise |
| pander |
to act as a pander; especially:to provide gratification
for others' desires |
| panegyric |
a eulogistic oration or writing; also:formal or elaborate
praise |
| panorama |
comprehensive view; unobstructed view in all directions |
| panoramic |
an unobstructed or complete view of an area in every
direction |
| pantechnicon |
a furniture van |
| pantry |
a room (as in a hotel or hospital) for preparation of
foods on order |
| parable |
EXAMPLE; specifically:a usually short fictitious story
that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle |
| paradigm |
EXAMPLE, PATTERN; especially :an outstandingly clear
or typical example or archetype |
| paradise |
a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight |
| paradox |
a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed
to common sense and yet is perhaps true |
| paragon |
a model of excellence or perfection |
| parallel |
extending in the same direction, everywhere equidistant,
and not meeting |
| paramount |
superior to all others |
| paranoia |
a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward
excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness
of others |
| paraphrase |
to make a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving
the meaning in another form |
| parch |
to dry or shrivel with cold |
| pariah |
a member of a low caste of southern India |
| parity |
the quality or state of being equal or equivalent |
| parlance |
manner or mode of speech |
| parochial |
restricted to a small area or scope; narrow; limited;
provincial |
| parody |
a literary or musical work in which the style of an
author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or
in ridicule; a poor or weak imitation |
| paroxysm |
a sudden violent emotion or action : OUTBURST |
| parquetry |
inlaid woodwork in geometric forms, usually of contrasting
woods, used esp. in flooring |
| parrot |
to repeat by rote |
| parry |
to evade especially by an adroit answer |
| parse |
to resolve (as a sentence) into component parts of speech
and describe them grammatically |
| parsimony |
a tendency to be over-careful in spending; unreasonable
economy; stinginess |
| partial |
inclined to favor one party more than the other:BIASED |
| partiality |
inclination; bias |
| particularize |
to state in detail |
| partisan |
a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person;
especially:one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning
allegiance |
| passionate |
capable of, affected by, or expressing intense feeling |
| pastiche |
a literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work
that imitates the style of previous work; |
| patent |
readily visible or intelligible:OBVIOUS |
| pathology |
something abnormal,deviation from propriety or from
an assumed normal state of something nonliving or nonmaterial |
| patina |
a superficial covering or exterior |
| patrician |
a person of high birth:ARISTOCRAT |
| patriot |
one who loves his or her country and supports its authority
and interests |
| patronize |
to be kind or helpful to, but in a haughty or snobbish
way, as if dealing with an inferior |
| paucity |
smallness of number:FEWNESS |
| paunchy |
having an enlarged, swollen, or protruding abdomen |
| pauper |
a person destitute of means except such as are derived
from charity; specifically :one who receives aid from
funds designated for the poor |
| pebble |
a small usually rounded stone especially when worn by
the action of water |
| peccadillo |
a slight offense |
| peck |
(try to) strike (sth) with the beak |
| pedagogue |
TEACHER, SCHOOLMASTER; especially :a dull, formal, or
pedantic teacher |
| pedant |
one who makes a show of knowledge |
| pedestrian |
COMMONPLACE, UNIMAGINATIVE |
| peep |
to utter the slightest sound |
| peerless |
MATCHLESS, INCOMPARABLE |
| peeve |
to make peevish or resentful:ANNOY |
| pejorative |
having negative connotations; especially :tending to
disparage or belittle:DEPRECIATORY |
| pelf |
Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired |
| pellucid |
easy to understand |
| pen |
a female swan |
| penalty |
the suffering in person, rights, or property that is
annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission
of a crime or public offense |
| penchant |
a strong and continued inclination; broadly :LIKING |
| penetrate |
to enter by overcoming resistance:PIERCE |
| penitent |
feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow
for sins or offenses:REPENTANT |
| pensive |
musingly or dreamily thoughtful |
| penury |
a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money);
especially :severe poverty |
| perceptible |
capable of being perceived especially by the senses |
| peremptory |
characterized by often imperious or arrogant self-assurance |
| perfervid |
marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion : excessively
fervent |
| perfidy |
the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal:TREACHERY |
| perforate |
to make a hole through; especially :to make a line of
holes in to facilitate separation |
| perfunctorily |
lacking in interest or enthusiasm |
| perimeter |
the boundary of a closed plane figure |
| peripatetic |
moving or traveling from place to place:ITINERANT |
| peripheral |
of, relating to, involving, or forming a periphery or
surface part |
| perjury |
the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by
swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has
been promised under oath:false swearing perjury:deposition |
| permanence |
the quality or state of being permanent:DURABILITY |
| permeable |
capable of being permeated:PENETRABLE; especially :having
pores or openings that permit liquids or gases to pass
through |
| pernicious |
highly injurious or destructive:DEADLY |
| perpetual |
continuing forever:EVERLASTING |
| persecute |
to come to mind continually; obsess: |
| persevere |
to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in
spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement |
| persiflage |
to provide with an incentive; move to action; impel |
| personable |
pleasant or amiable in person:ATTRACTIVE |
| perspective |
an optical glass (as a telescope) |
| perspicacious |
of acute mental vision or discernment:KEEN |
| perspicuity |
plain to the understanding especially because of clarity
and precision of presentation |
| pertinacious |
stubbornly unyielding or tenacious |
| pertinent |
having a clear decisive relevance to the matter in hand |
| perturb |
to disturb greatly in mind:DISQUIET |
| peruse |
to examine or consider with attention and in detail:STUDY |
| pervade |
to become diffused throughout every part of suffuse |
| pessimism |
an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions,
and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome |
| pesticide |
an agent used to destroy pests |
| pestle |
a usually club-shaped implement for pounding or grinding
substances in a mortar |
| petition |
to make a request to:SOLICIT |
| petrography |
the description and systematic classification of rocks |
| petty |
having secondary rank or importance : MINOR, SUBORDINATE |
| petulance |
the quality or state of being petulant:PEEVISHNESS |
| phenomenal |
EXTRAORDINARY, REMARKABLE |
| philanthropic |
of, relating to, or characterized by philanthropy:HUMANITARIAN |
| Philistine |
a person who is guided by materialism and is usually
disdainful of intellectual or artistic values |
| philosophical |
of or according to philosophy |
| phlegmatic |
having or showing a slow and stolid temperament |
| photorespiration |
Oxidation of carbohydrates in plants with the release
of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis |
| piddling |
TRIVIAL, PALTRY |
| piebald |
of different colors; especially : spotted or blotched
with black and white |
| pigment |
a coloring matter in animals and plants especially in
a cell or tissue; |
| pilfer |
STEAL; especially :to steal stealthily in small amounts
and often again and again |
| pillar |
a firm upright support for a superstructure:POST |
| pillory |
to expose to public contempt, ridicule, or scorn |
| pilot |
one employed to steer a ship:HELMSMAN |
| pine |
to yearn intensely and persistently especially for something
unattainable |
| pinnacle |
an upright architectural member generally ending in
a small spire and used especially in Gothic construction
to give weight especially to a buttress |
| pinpoint |
to locate or aim with great precision |
| piquant |
agreeably stimulating to the palate; especially :SPICY |
| pithy |
having substance and point:tersely cogent |
| pitiless |
devoid of pity:MERCILESS |
| pittance |
a small portion, amount, or allowance; also :a meager
wage or remuneration |
| pixel |
The smallest image-forming unit of a video display |
| placate |
to soothe or mollify especially by concessions:APPEASE |
| placebo |
an inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled
experiments testing the efficacy of another substance
(as a drug) |
| plagiarize |
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another)
as one's own:use (another's production) without crediting
the source |
| plangent |
having a loud reverberating sound |
| plantation |
a usually large group of plants and especially trees
under cultivation |
| plateau |
a region of little or no change in a graphic representation |
| platitude |
a banal, trite, or stale remark |
| platonic |
purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire |
| plaudit |
An expression of applause. |
| plausible |
superficially fair, reasonable, or valuable but often
specious |
| playoff |
A final game or series of games played to break a tie |
| pleat |
FOLD; especially :to arrange in pleats |
| plethora |
EXCESS, SUPERFLUITY; also :PROFUSION, ABUNDANCE |
| pliable |
a. supple enough to bend freely or repeatedly without
breaking b. Easily influenced, persuaded, or swayed; tractable. |
| pliant |
easily influenced:YIELDING |
| plight |
to put or give in pledge:ENGAGE |
| plodding |
working laboriously and monotonously:DRUDGE |
| plot |
1. a secret plan for accomplishing a usually evil or
unlawful end:INTRIGUE 2. the plan or main story of a literary
work |
| pluck |
1. to play by sounding the strings with the fingers
or a pick 2. courageous readiness to fight or continue
against odds:dogged resolution |
| plumage |
the feathers of a bird |
| plumb |
to measure the depth of with a plumb |
| plummet |
to drop sharply and abruptly |
| plump |
having a full rounded usually pleasing form a plump
woman |
| plurality |
A majority. |
| polarize |
to break up into opposing factions or groupings |
| polemic |
the art or practice of disputation or controversy |
| polish |
of Poland or the Poles |
| polished |
highly developed, finished, or refined PERFECT |
| politic |
characterized by shrewdness in managing, contriving,
or dealing |
| pollster |
one that conducts a poll or compiles data obtained by
a poll |
| Pollyanna |
A person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic |
| pompous |
having or exhibiting self-importance:ARROGANT |
| ponderable |
significant enough to be worth considering:APPRECIABLE |
| ponderous |
of very great weight |
| pontificate |
to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic
way |
| porcelain |
a hard, fine-grained, sonorous, nonporous, and usually
translucent and white ceramic ware that consists essentially
of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar and is fired at high temperatures |
| pore |
a minute opening especially in an animal or plant; especially
:one by which matter passes through a membrane |
| porous |
capable of being penetrated |
| portentous |
eliciting amazement or wonder:PRODIGIOUS |
| portrait |
PICTURE; especially :a pictorial representation (as
a painting) of a person usually showing the face |
| poseur |
a person who pretends to be what he or she is not:an
affected or insincere person |
| posit |
to assume or affirm the existence of:POSTULATE |
| posterity |
the offspring of one progenitor to the furthest generation |
| postscript |
a note or series of notes appended to a completed letter,
article, or book |
| postulate |
to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary:depend
upon or start from the postulate of |
| posture |
to assume an artificial or pretended attitude:ATTITUDINIZE |
| pot |
an enclosed framework of wire, wood, or wicker for catching
fish or lobsters |
| potable |
suitable for drinking |
| potboiler |
a literary or artistic work of poor quality, producedquickly
for profit |
| potentate |
RULER, SOVEREIGN; broadly:one who wields great power
or sway |
| potentiate |
to make effective or active or more effective or more
active; also:to augment the activity of (as a drug) synergistically |
| pout |
to show displeasure by thrusting out the lips or wearing
a sullen expression |
| prairie |
a large area of level or rolling land in the Mississippi
valley that in its natural uncultivated state usually
has deep fertile soil, a cover of tall coarse grasses,
and few trees |
| prate |
to talk long and idly:CHATTER |
| preach |
to deliver a sermon |
| precarious |
characterized by a lack of security or stability that
threatens with danger |
| precedent |
prior in time, order, arrangement, or significance |
| precipice |
a very steep or overhanging place; dangerous position:CLIFF |
| precipitate |
to bring about especially abruptly |
| precipitation |
something precipitated:as a deposit on the earth of
hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow |
| precipitous |
very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging in rise or
fall |
| preclude |
To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent |
| precursor |
one that precedes and indicates the approach of another |
| predecessor |
one that precedes; especially:a person who has previously
occupied a position or office to which another has succeeded |
| preeminent |
having paramount rank, dignity, or importance:OUTSTANDING |
| preempt |
to replace with something considered to be of greater
value or priority:take precedence over |
| preen |
to dress or smooth (oneself) up:PRIMP |
| preface |
the introductory remarks of a speaker or author |
| pregnant |
abounding in fancy, wit, or resourcefulness:INVENTIVE |
| prejudice |
an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or
without knowledge or examination of the facts. |
| preliminary |
coming before and usually forming a necessary prelude
to something else |
| premeditated |
characterized by fully conscious willful intent and
a measure of forethought and planning |
| preponderant |
having superior weight, force, or influence |
| prepossessing |
tending to create a favorable impression:ATTRACTIVE |
| preposterous |
contrary to nature, reason, or common sense:ABSURD |
| presage |
FORETELL, PREDICT |
| prescience |
foreknowledge of events:a:divine omniscience b:human
anticipation of the course of events:FORESIGHT |
| prescription |
a written direction for a therapeutic or corrective
agent; specifically:one for the preparation and use of
a medicine |
| presentiment |
a feeling that something will or is about to happen:PREMONITION |
| preservative |
something that preserves or has the power of preserving;
specifically:an additive used to protect against decay,
discoloration, or spoilage |
| prestige |
standing or estimation in the eyes of people:weight
or credit in general opinion |
| presumptuous |
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy):taking
liberties |
| pretense |
an inadequate or insincere attempt to attain a certain
condition or quality |
| prevail |
to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority:TRIUMPH |
| prevalent |
generally or widely accepted, practiced, or favored:WIDESPREAD |
| prevaricate |
to deviate from the truth:EQUIVOCATE |
| prime |
the earliest stage |
| primordial |
existing in or persisting from the beginning |
| primp |
to dress, adorn, or arrange in a careful or finicky
manner |
| principal |
most important, consequential, or influential:CHIEF |
| prissy |
being prim and precise:FINICKY |
| pristine |
not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization):PURE |
| privation |
the state of being deprived; especially : lack of what
is needed for existence |
| privilege |
a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage,
or favor:PREROGATIVE; especially :such a right or immunity
attached specifically to a position or an office |
| probe |
to make a searching exploratory investigation |
| probity |
adherence to the highest principles and ideals:UPRIGHTNESS |
| proclivity |
A natural propensity or inclination; predisposition |
| procrastinate |
to put off intentionally the doing of something that
should be done |
| procure |
to get possession of:obtain by particular care and effort |
| prod |
to incite to action:STIR |
| prodigal |
characterized by wasteful expenditure:LAVISH |
| prodigy |
an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment,
deed, or event |
| profane |
to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence,
or contempt:DESECRATE |
| proffer |
to present for acceptance:TENDER, OFFER |
| proficient |
having or marked by an advanced degree of competence,
as in an art, vocation, profession, or branch of learning |
| profligate |
wildly extravagant:PRODIGAL |
| profusion |
great quantity:lavish display or supply |
| proliferate |
to increase in number as if by proliferating:MULTIPLY |
| prolix |
marked by or using an excess of words |
| prolong |
to lengthen in extent, scope, or range |
| prominent |
readily noticeable:CONSPICUOUS |
| promote |
to contribute to the growth or prosperity of:FURTHER |
| propagate |
to cause to spread out and affect a greater number or
greater area:EXTEND |
| propensity |
an often intense natural inclination or preference |
| prophetic |
foretelling events:PREDICTIVE |
| propitiate |
to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of:APPEASE,
CONCILIATE |
| propitious |
favorably disposed:BENEVOLENT |
| proposal |
an act of putting forward or stating something for consideration |
| prosaic |
DULL, UNIMAGINATIVE,EVERYDAY, ORDINARY |
| proscribe |
to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful:PROHIBIT |
| prosecution |
the act or process of prosecuting; specifically:the
institution and continuance of a criminal suit involving
the process of pursuing formal charges against an offender
to final judgment |
| proselytize |
to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution,
or cause |
| prospect |
to search for or explore (a region) for mineral deposits
or oil. |
| prosperous |
enjoying vigorous and healthy growth:FLOURISHING |
| prostrate |
stretched out with face on the ground in adoration or
submission; also:lying flat |
| protean |
displaying great diversity or variety:VERSATILE |
| protest |
to execute or have executed a formal protest against
(as a bill or note) |
| protocol |
a code prescribing strict adherence to correct etiquette
and precedence |
| protract |
to prolong in time or space:CONTINUE |
| protuberant |
thrusting out from a surrounding or adjacent surface
often as a rounded mass:PROMINENT |
| provident |
FRUGAL, SAVING |
| providential |
Happening as if through divine intervention; opportune. |
| provincial |
limited in outlook:NARROW |
| provisional |
serving for the time being:TEMPORARY |
| provisory |
containing or subject to a proviso:CONDITIONAL |
| provoke |
to call forth (as a feeling or action):EVOKE |
| prowess |
distinguished bravery; especially:military valor and
skill |
| prowl |
to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search
of prey |
| prude |
a person who is excessively or priggishly attentive
to propriety or decorum; especially :a woman who shows
or affects extreme modesty |
| prudent |
marked by circumspection:DISCREET |
| prudish |
marked by prudery:PRIGGISH |
| prune |
a plum dried or capable of drying without fermentation |
| pry |
to look closely or inquisitively; also:to make a nosy
or presumptuous inquiry |
| psychology |
the study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular
field of knowledge or activity |
| pucker |
to contract into folds or wrinkles |
| puckish |
IMPISH, WHIMSICAL |
| puerile |
CHILDISH, SILLY |
| puissance |
Power; might |
| pulchritude |
physical comeliness |
| pullet |
a young hen; specifically:a hen of the domestic chicken
less than a year old |
| pulverize |
to reduce (as by crushing, beating, or grinding) to
very small particles:ATOMIZE |
| pun |
a joke using words with similar sounds or two different
meanings: |
| punch |
the sentence, statement, or phrase (as in a joke) that
makes the point |
| punctilious |
marked by or concerned about precise accordance with
the details of codes or conventions |
| pundit |
one who gives opinions in an authoritative manner:PANDIT,
CRITIC |
| pungent |
causing a sharp or irritating sensation; especially:ACRID |
| puny |
slight or inferior in power, size, or importance:WEAK |
| purgatory |
an intermediate state after death for expiatory purification;
spec.:a place or state of punishment wherein according
to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die
in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and
so become fit for heave |
| purity |
the quality or state of being pure |
| purlieu |
a frequently visited place:HAUNT |
| purloin |
to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust |
| pursue |
to follow in order to overtake, capture, kill, or defeat |
| purvey |
to supply (as provisions) usually as a matter of business |
| pusillanimous |
lacking courage and resolution:marked by contemptible
timidity |
