Plebeian (pluh BEE un) - common, vulgar; low class; bourgeois Example: Sarah refused to eat frozen dinners, saying they were to plebeian for her discriminating palate.

Peremptory (puh REMP tuh ree) - final; categorical; dictatorial Example: Someone who is peremptory says or does something without giving anyone a chance to dispute it.

Prodigy (PRAHD uh jee ) - an extremely talented child; an extraordinary accomplishment or occurrence Example: The 3-year-old prodigy could play all of Beethoven and most of Brahms on his harmonica.

Panacea (pan uh SEE uh) - something that cures everything Example: The administration seemed to believe that a tax cut would be a panacea for the country's economic ills.

Precursor (pri KUR sur) - forerunner; something that goes before and anticipates or paves the way for whatever it is that follows Example: The arrival of a million-dollar check in the mail might very well be the precursor of a brand-new car.

Polemic (puh LEM ik) - a powerful argument often made to attack or refute a controversial issue Example: The book was a convincing polemic that revealed the fraud at the heart of the large corporation.

Perjury (PUR jur ee) - lying under oath Example: The defendant was acquitted of bribery but convicted of perjury, because he had lied on the witness stand during his trial.

Portent (POR tent) - an omen; a sign of something coming in the future Example: The distant rumbling we heard this morning was a portent of the thunderstorm that hit our area this afternoon.

Provincial (pruh VIN shul) - limited in outlook to one's own small corner of the world; narrow Example: The farmers were very provincial; they had no opinions about anything but the price of corn and no interest in anything except growing more of it.

Proselytize (PRAHS uh luh tyze) - to convert (someone) from one religion or doctrine to another; to recruit converts to a religion or doctrine Example: The former Methodist had been proselytized by a Lutheran deacon.

Purported (pur PORT id) - rumored; claimed Example: The heiress is purported to have been kidnapped by adventurers and buried in a concrete vault beneath the busiest intersection in Times Square. No one believes this story except the psychic who was consulted by the police.

Polarize (POH luh ryze) - to break up into opposing factions or groupings Example: The increasingly acrimonious debate between the two candidates polarized the political party.

Painstaking (PAYN stay king) - extremely careful; taking pains Example: The jeweler was painstaking in his effort not to ruin the $50 million diamond.

Parochial (puh ROH kee ul) - narrow or confined in point of view; provincial Example: The journalist's parochial point of view prevented him from becoming a nationally known figure.

Prosaic (proh ZAY ik) - dull; unimaginative; like prose Example: The little boy's ambitions were all prosaic: he said he wanted to be an accountant, an auditor, or a claims adjuster.

Preeminent (pree EM uh nunt) - better than anyone else; outstanding; supreme Example: The nation's preeminent harpsichordist would be the best harpsichordist in the nation.

Philistine (FIL i steen ) - a smugly ignorant person with no appreciation of intellectual or artistic matters Example: The novelist dismissed his critics as philistines, saying they wouldn't recognize a good book if it crawled up and bit them on the nose.

Propriety (pruh PRYE uh tee) - properness; good manners Example: The old lady viewed the little girl's failure to curtsy as a flagrant breach of propriety.

Parsimonious (pahr suh MOH nee us) - stingy Example: The old widow was so parsimonious that she hung used teabags out to dry on her clothesline so that she would be able to use them again.

Propitious (pruh PISH us) - marked by favorable signs or conditions Example: Rush hour is not a propitious time to drive into the city.

Pensive (PEN siv) Definition: thoughtful and sad Sentence: Norton became suddenly pensive when Jack mentioned his dead father.

Propitious (pruh PISH us) Definition: marked by favorable signs or conditions Sentence: Rush hour is not a propitious time to drive into the city.

Perfunctory (pur FUNGK tuh ree) Definition: unenthusiastic; careless Sentence: Sandra's lawn mowing was perfunctory at best: she skipped all the difficult parts and didn't rake up any of the clippings.

Plebeian (pluh BEE un) Definition: common, vulgar; low class; bourgeois Sentence: Sarah refused to eat frozen dinners, saying they were to plebeian for her discriminating palate.

Peremptory (puh REMP tuh ree) Definition: final; categorical; dictatorial Sentence: Someone who is peremptory says or does something without giving anyone a chance to dispute it.

Plethora (PLETH ur uh) - an excess Example: We ate a plethora of candy on Halloween and a plethora of turkey on Thanksgiving.

Panacea (pan uh SEE uh) Definition: something that cures everything Sentence: The administration seemed to believe that a tax cut would be a panacea for the country's economic ills.

Pedantic (puh DAN tik) Definition: boringly scholarly or academic Sentence: The discussion quickly turned pedantic as each participant tried to sound more learned than all the others.

Portent (POR tent) Definition: an omen; a sign of something coming in the future Sentence: The distant rumbling we heard this morning was a portent of the thunderstorm that hit our area this afternoon.

Pernicious (pur NISH us) Definition: deadly; extremely evil Sentence: The drug dealers conducted their pernicious business on every street corner in the city.

Provincial (pruh VIN shul) Definition: limited in outlook to one's own small corner of the world; narrow Sentence: The farmers were very provincial; they had no opinions about anything but the price of corn and no interest in anything except growing more of it.

Proselytize (PRAHS uh luh tyze) Definition: to convert (someone) from one religion or doctrine to another; to recruit converts to a religion or doctrine Sentence: The former Methodist had been proselytized by a Lutheran deacon.

Purported (pur PORT id) Definition: rumored; claimed Sentence: The heiress is purported to have been kidnapped by adventurers and buried in a concrete vault beneath the busiest intersection in Times Square. No one believes this story except the psychic who was consulted by the police.

Polarize (POH luh ryze) Definition: to break up into opposing factions or groupings Sentence: The increasingly acrimonious debate between the two candidates polarized the political party.

Parochial (puh ROH kee ul) Definition: narrow or confined in point of view; provincial Sentence: The journalist's parochial point of view prevented him from becoming a nationally known figure.

Peruse (puh ROOZ) Definition: to read carefully Sentence: The lawyer perused the contract for many hours, looking for a loophole that would enable his client to back out of the deal.

Paltry (PAWL tree) Definition: insignificant; worthless Sentence: The lawyer's efforts in our behalf were paltry; they didn't add up to anything.

Preeminent (pree EM uh nunt) Definition: better than anyone else; outstanding; supreme Sentence: The nation's preeminent harpsichordist would be the best harpsichordist in the nation.

Philistine (FIL i steen ) Definition: a smugly ignorant person with no appreciation of intellectual or artistic matters Sentence: The novelist dismissed his critics as philistines, saying they wouldn't recognize a good book if it crawled up and bit them on the nose.

Propriety (pruh PRYE uh tee) Definition: properness; good manners Sentence: The old lady viewed the little girl's failure to curtsy as a flagrant breach of propriety.

Parsimonious (pahr suh MOH nee us) Definition: stingy Sentence: The old widow was so parsimonious that she hung used teabags out to dry on her clothesline so that she would be able to use them again.

Petulant (PECH uh lunt) Definition: rude; cranky; ill-tempered Sentence: The petulant waiter slammed down our water glasses and spilled a tureen of soup onto Roger's toupee.

Paucity (PAW suh tee) Definition: scarcity Sentence: The plan was defeated by a paucity of support.

Promulgate (PRAHM ul gayt) Definition: to proclaim; to publicly or formally declare something Sentence: The principal promulgated a new dress code over the loudspeaker system: red, green. yellow, and blue were the only permissible artificial hair colors.

Platitude (PLAT uh tood) Definition: a dull or trite remark; a cliché Sentence: The principal thinks he is a great orator, but his loud, boring speech was full of platitudes.

Prodigal (PRAHD uh gul) Definition: wastefully extravagant Sentence: The prodigal gambler soon found that he couldn't afford even a two-dollar bet.

Proletariat (proh luh TER ee ut) Definition: the industrial working class Sentence: The proletariat is the laboring class - blue-collar workers or people who roll up their shirtsleeves to do an honest day's work.

Proponent (pruh POH nunt) Definition: an advocate, a supporter of a position Sentence: The proponents of a tax increase will probably not be reelected next fall.

Peccadillo (pek uh DIL oh) Definition: a minor offense Sentence: The smiling defendant acted as though first-degree murder were a mere peccadillo rather than a hideous crime.

Placate (PLAY kayt) Definition: to pacify; to appease; to soothe Sentence: The tribe placated the angry volcano by tossing a few teenagers into the raging crater.

Ponderous (PAHN dur us) Definition: so large as to be clumsy; massive; dull Sentence: The wedding cake was a ponderous blob of icing and jelly beans.

Proscribe (proh SKRYBE) - to outlaw; to prohibit Example: The young doctor proscribed smoking in the waiting room of his office.

Profligate (PRAHF luh git) - extravagantly wasteful and, usually, wildly immoral Sentence: The young heir was profligate with his fortune, spending millions on champagne and racehorses.

Palpable (PAL puh bul) Definition: capable of being touched; obvious; tangible Sentence: There was palpable danger in flying the kite in a thunderstorm.

Prodigious (pruh DIJ us) Definition: extraordinary; enormous Sentence: To fill the Grand Canyon with Ping-Pong balls would be a prodigious undertaking; it would be both extraordinary and enormous.

Provident (PRAHV uh dunt) Definition: preparing for the future; providing for the future; frugal Sentence: We were provident with our limited food supplies, knowing that the winter ahead would be long and cold.

Profuse (pruh FYOOS) Definition: flowing; extravagant Sentence: When we gave Marian our house, our car, and all our clothes, her gratitude was profuse.

Profane (proh FAYN) - not having to do with religion; irreverent; blasphemous Example: Worshipping the almighty dollar is profane.

Palliate (PAL ee ayt) - to relieve or alleviate something without getting rid of the problem; to assuage; to mitigate Example: You take aspirin in the hope that it will palliate your headache.

Philanthropy (fi LAN thruh pee) - love of mankind, especially by doing good deeds Example: A charity is a philanthropic institution. An altruist is someone who cares about other people. A philanthropist is actively doing things to help, usually by giving time or money.

Precipitous (pri SIP uh tus) - steep Sentence: A mountain can be precipitous, meaning either that it is steep or that it comprises lots of steep cliffs.

Precipitate (pri SIP uh tayt) - to cause to happen abruptly Sentence: A panic among investors precipitated last Monday's crisis in the stock market.

Patriarch (PAY tree ahrk) - the male head of a family or tribe Sentence: A patriarch is generally a strong male head of a family or tribe.

Pious (PYE us) - reverent or devout; outwardly ( and sometimes falsely ) reverent or devout; hypocritical Sentence: A pious Presbyterian is one who goes to church every Sunday and says his prayers every night before bed. Pious in this sense means something like religiously dutiful.

Pivotal (PIV uh tul) - crucial Sentence: A pivotal comment is a comment that turns a discussion. It is a very important comment.

Poignant (POYN yunt) - painfully emotional; extremely moving; sharp or astute Sentence: A poignant scene is one that is so emotional or moving that it is almost painful to watch.

Postulate (PAHS chuh lut) - something accepted as true without proof; an axiom Sentence: A postulate is taken to be true because it is convenient to do so. We might be able to prove a postulate if we had the time, but not now. A theorem is something that is proven using postulates.

Pragmatic (prag MAT ik) - practical; down to earth; based on theory rather than theory Sentence: A pragmatic person is one who deals with things as they are rather than as they might be or should be.

Preempt (pree EMPT) - to seize something by prior right Sentence: A preemptive action is one that is undertaken in order to prevent some other action from being undertaken.

Prolific (proh LIF ik) - abundantly productive; fruitful or fertile Sentence: A prolific writer is a writer who writes a lot of books. A prolific artist is an artist who paints a lot of pictures.

Permeate (PUR mee ayt) - to spread or seep through; to penetrate Sentence: A stinky smell quickly permeated the room after Jock lit a cigarette.

Pervade (pur VAYD) - to spread throughout Sentence: A terrible smell pervaded the apartment building after the sewer main exploded.

Pristine (PRIS teen) - original; unspoiled; pure Sentence: An antique in pristine condition is one that hasn't been tampered with over the years. It's still in it's original condition.

Preclude (pri KLOOD) - to prevent something from ever happening Sentence: Ann feared that her abysmal academic career might preclude her becoming a brain surgeon.

Parody (PAR uh dee) - a satirical imitation Sentence: At the talent show the girls sang a terrible parody of a Beatles song called I Want to Hold Your Foot.

Penchant (PEN chunt) - a strong taste or liking for something; a predilection Sentence: Dogs have a penchant for chasing cats and mailmen.

Paternal (puh TUR nul) - fatherly; fatherlike Sentence: Fred is paternal toward his niece.

Perquisite (PUR kwuh zit) - a privilege that goes along with a job; a perk Sentence: Free access to a photocopier is a perquisite of most office jobs.

Prerogative (pri RAHG uh tiv) - a right or privilege connected exclusively with a position, a person, a class,a nation, or some other group or classification Sentence: Giving traffic tickets to people he didn't like was one of the prerogatives of Junior's job as a policeman.

Pejorative (pi JOR uh tiv) - negative; disparaging Sentence: Hi, stupid is a pejorative greeting.

Proliferate (proh LIF uh rayt) - to spread or grow rapidly Sentence: Honey bees proliferated when we filled our yard with flowering plants.

Partisan (PAHR tuh zun) Definition: one who sports a particular person, cause, or idea Sentence: I am the partisan of any candidate who promises not to make promises.

Proficient (pruh FISH unt) Definition: thoroughly competent; skillful; very good ( at something) Sentence: I fiddled around at the piano for many years but never became proficient at playing.

Proximity (prok SIM uh tee) Definition: nearness Sentence: In a big city, one is almost always in the proximity of a restaurant.

Premise (PREM is) Definition: an assumption; the basis for a conclusion Sentence: In deciding to eat all the ice cream in the freezer, my premise was that if I didn't do it, you would.

Paradigm (PAR uh dime) Definition: a model or example Sentence: In selecting her wardrobe, messy Gertrude apparently used a scarecrow as her paradigm.

Perfidy (PUR fuh dee) Definition: treachery Sentence: It was the criminals' natural perfidy that finally did them in, as each one became an informant on the other.

Profess (pruh FES) Definition: to declare: to declare falsely or pretend Sentence: Jason professed to teach himself calculus; he declared that he was going to do it.

Propensity (pruh PEN suh tee) Definition: a natural inclination or tendency; a predilection Sentence: Jessie has a propensity for saying stupid things: every time she opens her mouth, something stupid comes out.

Prudent (PROOD unt) Definition: careful; having foresight Sentence: Joe is a prudent money manager. He doesn't invest heavily in racehorses, and he puts only a small part of his savings in the office football pool.

Predilection (pred uh LEK shun) Definition: a natural preference for something Sentence: Joe's predilection for saturated fats has added roughly a foot to his waistline in the past twenty years.

Periphery (puh RIF uh ree) - the outside edge of something Example: Jose never got involved in any of our activities; he was always at the periphery.

Penitent (PEN uh tunt) - sorry; repentant; contrite Example: Julie was penitent when Hank explained how much pain she had caused him.

Precedent (PRES uh dunt) - an earlier example or model of something Example: Last year's million-dollar prom set a precedent that the current student council hopes will not be followed in the future.

Provisional (pruh VIZH uh nul) - conditional; temporary; tentative Example: Louis had been accepted as a provisional member of the club. He wouldn't become a permanent member until the other members had a chance to see what he was really like.

Precept (PREE sept) - a rule to live by; a principle establishing a certain kind of action or behavior; a maxim Example: Love thy neighbor is a precept we have sometimes found difficult to follow; our neighbor is a noisy oaf who painted his house electric blue and who throws his empty beer cans into our yard.

Protagonist (proh TAG uh nist) - the leading character in a novel, play, or other work; a leader or champion Example: Martin Luther King, JR., was a protagonist in the long and continual struggle for racial equality.

Pedestrian (puh DES tree un) - unimaginative; banal Example: Mary Anne said the young artist's work was brilliant, but I found it to be pedestrian; I've seen better paintings in kindergarten classrooms.

Patrician (puh TRISH un) - a person of noble birth; an aristocrat Example: Mr. Anderson was a patrician, and he was never truly happy unless his place at the dinner table was set with at least a half a dozen forks.

Paradox (PAR uh dahks) - a true statement or phenomenon that nonetheless seems to contradict itself; an untrue statement or phenomenon that nonetheless seems logical Example: Mr. Cooper is a political paradox; he's a staunch Republican who votes only for Democrats.

Perennial (puh REN ee ul) - continual; happening again and again or year after year Example: Mr. Phillips is a perennial favorite of students at the high school because he always gives everyone an A.

Pensive (PEN siv) - thoughtful and sad Example: Norton became suddenly pensive when Jack mentioned his dead father.

Pathology (puh THAHL uh jee) - the science of diseases Example: Pathology is the science or study of diseases, but not necessarily in the medical sense. Pathological means relating to pathology, but it also means arising from a disease. Brad is an inveterate, incorrigible, pathological liar.

Profound (pruh FOUND) - deep (in several senses) Example: Profound respect is deep respect. Profound horror is deep horror.

Perturb (pur TURB) - to disturb greatly Example: Rudolph' s mother was perturbed by his aberrant behavior at the dinner table. Rudolph's father was not bothered. Nothing bothered Rudolph SR. He was imperturbable.

Petulant (PECH uh lunt) - rude; cranky; ill-tempered Example: The petulant waiter slammed down our water glasses and spilled a tureen of soup onto Roger's toupee.

Paucity (PAW suh tee) - scarcity Example: The plan was defeated by a paucity of support.

Promulgate (PRAHM ul gayt) - to proclaim; to publicly or formally declare something Example: The principal promulgated a new dress code over the loudspeaker system: red, green. yellow, and blue were the only permissible artificial hair colors.

Platitude (PLAT uh tood) - a dull or trite remark; a cliché Example: The principal thinks he is a great orator, but his loud, boring speech was full of platitudes.

Prodigal (PRAHD uh gul) - wastefully extravagant Example: The prodigal gambler soon found that he couldn't afford even a two-dollar bet.

Proletariat (proh luh TER ee ut) - the industrial working class Example: The proletariat is the laboring class - blue-collar workers or people who roll up their shirtsleeves to do an honest day's work.

Proponent (pruh POH nunt) - an advocate, a supporter of a position Example: The proponents of a tax increase will probably not be reelected next fall.

Prevail (pri VAYL) - to triumph; to overcome rivals; (with on, upon, or with) to persuade Example: The prosecutor prevailed in the murder trial; the defendant was found guilty.

Putative (PYOO tuh tiv) - commonly accepted; supposed; reputed Example: The putative reason for placing the monument downtown is that nobody had wanted it uptown.

Peccadillo (pek uh DIL oh) - a minor offense Example: The smiling defendant acted as though first-degree murder were a mere peccadillo rather than a hideous crime.

Pertinent (PUR tuh nunt) - relevant; dealing with the matter at hand Example: The suspect said he was just borrowing the jewelry for a costume ball. The cop said he did not think that was pertinent.

Protract (proh Trakt ) - to prolong Example: The trial was so protracted that one of the jurors died of old age and another gave birth.

Placate (PLAY kayt) - to pacify; to appease; to soothe Example: The tribe placated the angry volcano by tossing a few teenagers into the raging crater.

Palpable (PAL puh bul) - capable of being touched; obvious; tangible Example: There was palpable danger in flying the kite in a thunderstorm.

Prodigious (pruh DIJ us) - extraordinary; enormous Example: To fill the Grand Canyon with Ping-Pong balls would be a prodigious undertaking; it would be both extraordinary and enormous.

Patent (PAYT unt) - obvious Example: To say that the earth is flat is a patent absurdity, since the world is obviously spherical.

Polarize (POH luh ryze) - to break up into opposing factions or groupings Sentence: The increasingly acrimonious debate between the two candidates polarized the political party.

Patronize (PAY truh nyze) - to treat as an inferior; to condescend to Example: We felt patronized by the waiter at the fancy French restaurant; he ignored all our efforts to attract his attention and then pretended not to understand our accents.

Provident (PRAHV uh dunt) - preparing for the future; providing for the future; frugal Example: We were provident with our limited food supplies, knowing that the winter ahead would be long and cold.

Profuse (pruh FYOOS) - flowing; extravagant Example: When we gave Marian our house, our car, and all our clothes, her gratitude was profuse.

Precipitous (pri SIP uh tus) - steep Example: A mountain can be precipitous, meaning either that it is steep or that it comprises lots of steep cliffs.

Precipitate (pri SIP uh tayt) - to cause to happen abruptly Example: A panic among investors precipitated last Monday's crisis in the stock market.

Patriarch (PAY tree ahrk) - the male head of a family or tribe Example: A patriarch is generally a strong male head of a family or tribe.

Pious (PYE us) - reverent or devout; outwardly ( and sometimes falsely ) reverent or devout; hypocritical Example: A pious Presbyterian is one who goes to church every Sunday and says his prayers every night before bed. Pious in this sense means something like religiously dutiful.

Pivotal (PIV uh tul) - crucial Example: A pivotal comment is a comment that turns a discussion. It is a very important comment.

Poignant (POYN yunt) - painfully emotional; extremely moving; sharp or astute Example: A poignant scene is one that is so emotional or moving that it is almost painful to watch.

Pragmatic (prag MAT ik) - practical; down to earth; based on theory rather than theory Example: A pragmatic person is one who deals with things as they are rather than as they might be or should be.

Preempt (pree EMPT) - to seize something by prior right Example: A preemptive action is one that is undertaken in order to prevent some other action from being undertaken.

Prolific (proh LIF ik) - abundantly productive; fruitful or fertile Example: A prolific writer is a writer who writes a lot of books. A prolific artist is an artist who paints a lot of pictures.

Permeate (PUR mee ayt) - to spread or seep through; to penetrate Example: A stinky smell quickly permeated the room after Jock lit a cigarette.

Pervade (pur VAYD) - to spread throughout Example: A terrible smell pervaded the apartment building after the sewer main exploded.