Word List 27 Flashcards
(102 cards)
pedestrian
commonplace, unimaginative
going or performed on foot
of, relating to, or designed for walking
e.g. pedestrian concerns like paying the bills and getting the kids to school on time
a pedestrian mall
peeve
to make peevish or resentful; annoy
also
e.g She is constantly peeved by his habit of humming show tunes while she is trying to focus on her work.
My main peeve with the animal welfare organization is the endless stream of unsolicited trinkets in my mailbox.
peevish
querulous in temperament or mood; fretful
perversely obstinate
marked by ill temper
e.g. I would rather figure things out myself than ask that peevish librarian for help.
pejorative
a word or phrase that has negative connotations or that is intended to disparage or belittle
having negative connotations; especially, tending to disparage or belittle; depreciatory
e.g. The reviewer used the pejorative word “versifier” to refer to the writer, whose poems had struck a responsive chord with the general public.
pelf
money, riches
e.g. a politician who seems more interested in pelf than in policy
pell-mell
in mingled confusion or disorder
in confused state
e.g. papers strewn pell-mell on the desk
ran pell-mell for the door
pellucid
admitting maximum passage of light without diffusion or distortion
reflecting light evenly from all surfaces
easy to understand
e.g. the pellucid waters that lap upon that island’s beaches
a pellucid simplicity
pen
to shut in or as if in a pen
a small enclosure for animals; the animals in such enclosure
a small place of confinement or storage
a female swan
e.g. a pen of sheep
penance
an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin
something (as a hardship or penalty) resembling an act of penance (as in compensating for an offense)
e.g. He did charitable work as a penance.
penchant
a strong and continued inclination; broadly, liking
e.g. a penchant for sitting by the window and staring moodily off into space
peninsula
a portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body by an isthmus; also, a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus
penitent
feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offense; repentant
e.g. a penitent gossip who had come to ask for forgiveness
pennant
any of various nautical flags tapering usually to a point or swallowtail and used for identification or signalling
a flag emblematic of championship (as in a professional baseball league); also, the championship itself
e.g. pennants waving atop the tower
The Red Sox won the American League pennant in 2004.
penultimate
next to last
of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word
e.g. the penultimate syllable of the word
a penultimate accent
penury
a cramping and oppressive lack of resources; especially, severe poverty
extreme and often niggardly frugality
e.g. lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury
perambulate
to travel over or through especially on foot; traverse
to make an official inspection of (a boundary) on food
stroll
e.g. We decided to lazily perambulate the entire length of the esplanade and enjoy the fresh air.
long summer evenings spent perambulating up and down the tree-lined streets of the quaint village
peregrinate
to travel especially on foot; walk
to walk or travel over; traverse
e.g. a celebrated novel about penniless free spirits peregrinating the United States
a couple of backpacking college students who decided to spend the summer peregrinating around Ireland
peremptory
putting an end to or precluding a right of action, debate, or delay; admitting of no contradiction
expressive of urgency or command
characterized by often imperious or arrogant self-assurance
e.g. a peremptory mandamus
a peremptory call
peremptory disregard of an objection
The governor’s peremptory personal assistant began telling the crowd of reporters and photographers exactly where they had to stand.
preempt
to acquire by preemption
to seize upon to the exclusion of others; take for oneself
to replace with something considered to be of greater value or priority; take precedence over
to gain a commanding or preeminent place in
to prevent from happening; forestall, preclude
e.g. The movement was then preempted by a lunatic fringe.
The program did not appear, having been preempted by a baseball game.
The state law was preempted by a federal law.
perennial
present at all seasons of the year
persistent, enduring
continuing without interruption; constant, perpetual
regularly repeated or renewed; recurrent
e.g. This variety of oregano is perennial.
the perennial quest for certainty
Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river.
perfervid
marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion; excessively fervent
e.g. the perfervid prose of a romance novel
perfidious
not able to be trusted; showing that someone cannot be trusted
e.g. A perfidious campaign worker revealed the senator’s strategy to his leading rival for the nomination.
perfidy
the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal; treachery
an act or an instance of disloyalty
perforate
to make a hole through
to pass through or into by or as if by making a hole
e.g. He perforated the sheet with his pencil and put it in his binder.
