Plethora

Noun

Excess

Assuming that more was better, the defendant offered the judge a plethora of excuses

Synonyms: glut; overabundance; superfluity; surfeit

Plastic

Adj

Able to be molded, altered, or bent

The new material was very plastic and could be formed into products of vastly different shape

Synonyms: adaptable; ductile; malleable; pliant

Phlegmatic

Adj

Calm and unemotional in temperament

Although the bomb could go off at any moment, the phlegmatic demolition expert remained calm and unafraid

Synonyms: apathetic; calm; emotionless; impassice; indifferent; passionless; unemotional

Permeate

Verb

To penetrate

The miraculous new cleaning fluid is able to permeate stains and dissolve them in minutes!

Synonyms: imbue; infuse; pervade; suffuse

Penury

Noun

An oppressive lack of resources (as money); severe poverty

Once a famous actor, he eventually died in penury and anonymity

Synonyms: destitution; impoverishment

Pedant

Noun

Someone who shows off learning

The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a pedant

Synonyms: doctrinaire; nit-picker; pedagogue; scholar; schoolmaster; sophist

Peccadillo

Noun

Minor sin or offense

Gabriel tends to harp on his brother's peccadilloes and vere lets him live them down

Synonyms: failing; fault; lapse; misstep

Pathogenic

Adj

Causing disease

Bina's research on the origins of pathogenic microorganisms should help stop the spread of disease

Synonyms: infecting; noxious

Paragon

Noun

Model of excellence or perfection

He is the paragon of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking, and just

Synonyms: apotheosis; ideal; quintessence; standar

Panegyric

Noun

Elaborate praise; formal hymn of praise

The director's panegyric for the donor who kept his charity going was heart-warming.

Synonyms: compliment; homage

Pungent

Adj

Sharp and irritation to the senses

The smoke from the burning tires was extremely pungent

Synonyms: acrid; caustic; piquant; poignent; stingin

Propriety

Noun

The quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs

The aristocracy maintained a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules

Synonyms: appropriateness; decency; decorum; modesty

Propitiate

Verb

To conciliate; to appease

Because their gods were angry and vegeful, the Vikings propitiated them with many sacrifices

Synonyms: appease; conciliate; mollify; pacify; placate

Proliferate

Verb

To increase in number quickly

Although he only kept two guinea pigs initially, they proliferated to such an extent that he soon had dozens

Synonyms: breed; multiply; procreate; propagate; reproduce; spawn

Polemic

Noun

Controversy; argument; verbal attack

The candidate's polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned.

Synonyms: denunciation; refutation

Plucky

Adj

Courageous; spunky

The plucky young nurse dove into the foxhole, determined to help the wounded soldier

Synonyms: brave; bold; gusty

Plebeian

Adj

Crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners

After five weeks of rigorous studying, the graduate settled in for a weekend of plebeian socializing and television watching

Synonyms: Conventional; unrefined

Pithy

Adj

Profound or substantial yet concise, succinct, and to the point

Martha's pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive because she got the job

Synonyms: brief; compact; laconic; terse

Philistine

Noun

A person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of

intellectual or artistic values

The philistine never even glances at the rare violin in his collection but instead kept an eye on his value and sold it at profit

Synonyms: boor; bourgeois; capitalist; clown; lout; materialist; vulgarian

Philanthropy

Noun

Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness

The Metropolitan Museum of Art owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum

Synonyms: Altruism; humanitarianism

Phalanx

Noun

A compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things

A phalanx of guards stood outside the prime minister's home day and night

Synonyms: legion; mass

Pervade

Verb

To be present throughout; to permeat

Four spices - cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cayenne - pervade almost every Indian dish, and give the cuisine its distinctive flavor

Synonyms: imbue; infuse; penetrate; pemeate; suffuse

Peregrinate

Verb

To wander from place to place; to travel, especially on foot

Shivani enjoyed peregrinating the expansive grounds of Central Park

Synonyms: journey; traverse; trek

Pusillanimous

Adj

Cowardly; without courage

The pusillanimous man would not enter the yard where the miniature poodle was barking

Synonyms: cowardly; timid

Pulchritude

Noun

Beauty

The mortals gazed in admiration at Venus, stunned by her incredible pulchritude

Synonyms: comeliness; gorgeousness; handsomeness; loveliness; prettiness

Pugilism

Noun

Boxing

Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressive impulses

Synonyms: fighting; sparring

Panache

Noun

Flamboyance or dash in style and action; verve

Leah has such panache when planning parties, even when they're last-minute affairs

Synonyms: flair

Pallid

Adj

Lacking color or liveliness

The old drugstore's pallid window could not compete with Wal-Mart's extravagant display next door

Synonyms: ashen; blanched; ghostly; pale; wan

Palliate

Verb

To make less serious; ease

The alleged crime was so vicious that the defense lawyer could not palliate it for the jury

Synonyms: alleviate; assuasge; extenuate; mitigate

Puerile

Adj

Childish, immature, or silly

Olivia's boyfriend's puerile antics are really annoying; sometimes he acts like a five-year-old!

Synonyms: infantile; jejune; juvenile

Prudence

Noun

Wisdom, caution, or restraint

The college student exhibited prudence by obtaining practical experience along with her studies, which greatly strenthened her resume

Synonyms: astuteness; circumspection; discretion; frugality; judiciousness; providence; thrift

Palatial

Adj

Relating to a palace; magnificent

After living in a cramped studio apartment for years, Siobhan thought the modest one bedroom looked downright palatial

Synonyms: grand; stately

Pejorative

Noun

Having bad connotations; disparaging

The teacher scolded Mark for his unduly pejorative comments about his classmate's presentation

Synonyms: belittling; dismissive; insulting

Pastiche

Noun

Piece of literature or music imitating other works

The playwright's clever pastiche of the well-known children's story had the audience rolling in the aisles

Synonyms: medley; spoof

Parry

Verb

To ward off or deflect, especially by a quick-witted answer

Kari parried every question the army officers fired at her, much to their frustration

Synonyms:avoid; evade; repel

Profligate

Adj

Corrupt; degenerate

Some historians claim that it was the Romans' decadent, profligate behavior that led to the decline of the Roman Empire

Synonyms: dissolute; extravagant; improvident; prodigal; wasteful

Prodigal

Adj

Lavish; wasteful

The prodigal son quickly wasted all of his inheritance on a lavish lifestyle devoted to pleasure

Synonyms: extravagant; lavish; profligate; spendthrift; wasteful

Perspicacious

Adj

Shrewd, astute, or keen-witted

Inspector Poirot used his perspicacious mind to solve mysteries

Synonyms: insightful; intelligent; sagacious

Peripatetic

Adj

Wandering from place to place, especially on foot

Eleana's peripatetic meanderings took her all over the countryside in the summer months

Synonyms: itinerant; nomadic; wayfaring

Prevaricate

Verb

To lie or deviate from the truth

Rather than admit that he had overslept again, the employee prevaricated and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time

Synonyms: equivocate, lie; perjure

Prescient

Adj

Having foresight

Jonah's decision to sell the apartment seemed to be a prescient one, as its value soon dropped by half

Synonyms: augural; divinatory; mantic; oracular; premonitory

Proclivity

Noun

A natural inclination or predisposition

Her childhood love of acting, singing, and adoration indicated a proclivity for the theater in later life

Synonyms: bias; leaning; partiality; penchant; predilection; predisposition; prejudice; propensity

Probity

Noun

Complete honesty and integrity

George Washington's reputation for probity is illustrated in the legend about his inability to lie after he chopped down the cheery tree

Synonyms: integrity; morality; rectitude; uprightness; virtue

Precis

Noun

Short summary of facts

Farah wrote a precis of her thesis on the epic poem to share with the class

Synonyms: summary

Panoply

Noun

Impressive array

Her resume indicates a panoply of skills and accomplishments

Synonyms: array; display; fanfare; parade; pomp; shine; show

Paradox

Noun

A contradiction or dilemma

It is a paradox that those most in need of medical attention are often those least able to obtain it

Synonyms: ambiguity; incongruity

Pare

Verb

To trim off excess; reduce

The cook's hands were sore after she pared hundreds of potatoes for the banquet

Synonyms: clip; peel

Prattle

Noun

Meaningless, foolish talk

Her husband's mindless prattle drove Heidi insane; sometimes she wished he would just shut up

Synonyms: babble; blather; chatter; drivel; gibberish

Perfunctory

Adj

Done in a routine way; indifferent

The machine-like teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a perfunctory smile

Synonyms: apathetic; automatic; mechanical

Politic

Adj

Shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic

She was wise to curb her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner

Synonyms: tactful

Potentate

Noun

A monarch or ruler with great power

Alex was much kinder before he assumed the role of potentate

Synonyms: dominator; leader

Posit

Verb

To assume as real or conceded; propose as an explanation

Before proving the math formula, we needed to posit that x and y were real numbers

Synonyms: suggest

Polyglot

Noun

A speaker of many languages

Ling's extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot

Parley

Noun

Discussion, usually between enemies

The parley between the rival cheerleading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the other's dance moves

Synonyms: debate; dialogue; negotiations; talks

Pragmatic

Adj

Practical, as opposed to idealistic

While idealistic gamblers think they can get rich by frequenting casinos, pragmatic gamblers realize that the odds are heavily stacked against them

Synonyms: rational; realistic

Perfidious

Adj

Willing to betray one's trust

The actress's perfidious companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist

Synonyms: disloyal; faithless; traitorous; treacherous

Pristine

Adj

Fresh and clean; uncorrupted

Since concerted measures had been taken to prevent looting, the archeological site was still pristine when researchers arrived

Synonyms: innocent; undamaged

Precipitate

Verb

To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation

Theirs was a precipitate marriage - they had only known each other for two weeks before they wed

Synonyms: abrupt; hasty; headlong; hurried; ill-considered; impetuous; impulsive; prompt; rash; reckless; sudden

Pariah

Noun

An outcast

Once he betrayed those in his community, he was banished and lived the life of a pariah

Synonyms: castaway; derelict; leper; offscouring; untouchable

Placate

Verb

To soothe or pacify

The burglar tried to placate the snarling dog by referring to it as a "nice doggy" and offering it a treat

Synonyms: appease; conciliate; mollify