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90 Cards in this Set
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- Back
politic
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expedent; prudent; well devised. Even though he was disappointed, he did not think it politic to refuse this offer.
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polemical
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aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious. Lexy was a master of polemical retori; she should have won a T-shirt with the slogan 'Born to debate'
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polemic
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controversy; argument in support of point of view. Her essays were, for the main part, polemics for the party's policy.
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polarize
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split into opposite extremes or camps. The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps.
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poignancy
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quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion. Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and chid, the social worker was touched by the poignancy of the scene.
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podium
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pedestal; raised platform. The audience applauded as the conductor made her way to the podium.
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pittance
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a small allowance or wage. He could not live on the pittance he received as a pension and had to look for an additional source of revenue
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pithy
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concise; meaningful; substantial; meaty. While other girls might have gone on and on about how uncool Elton was, Cher summed it up in one pithy remark: He's bogus !
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pith
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core or marroq; essence; substance. In preparing a pineapple for the table, first slice it in half and remove the woody central pith
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pitfall
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hidden danger; concea;ed trap. The preacher warned his flock to beware the pitfall of excessive pride, for pride brought on the angels' fall.
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piscatorial
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pertaining to fishing. he spent many happy hours at the lake in his piscatorial activities.
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pique
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provoke or arouse; annoy. "I know something you don't know, said Lucy, trying to pique Ethel's interest.
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pique
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irritation; resentment. She showed her pique at her loss by refusing to appear with the other contestants at the end of the competition.
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piquant
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pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating. THe piquant sauce added to our enjoyment of the meal
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pious
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devout; religious. The challenge for church peopelt oday is how o be pious in the best sense, that is, to be devout without becoming hypocritical or sanctimonious
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pinnacle
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peak. We could see the morning sunlight illuminate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow.
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pinion
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retrain. They pinioned his arms against his body but left his legs fere so that he could move about
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pine
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languish, decline; long for; yearn. Though she tried to be happy living with clara in the city, Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff but loving grandfather.
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pillory
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punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism and ridicule. Even though he was mocked and pilloried, he maintained that he was correct in his beliefs.
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pillage
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plunder, steal, rob. The enmy pillaged the quiet village and left it in ruins.
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pigment
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coloring matter. Van Gogh mixed various pigments with linseed oil to create his paints.
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piety
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devoutness; reverence for God. Living her life in prayer and good works, Mother Teresa exemplified the true spirit of piety.
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pied
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variegated; multicolored. The Pied Piper of Hamelin got his name from the multicolored clothing he wore
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piecemeal
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one part at a time; gradually. Tolstoy's War and Peace is too huge to finish in one sitting; I'll have to read it piecemeal.
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piebald
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of different colors; mottled; spotted. You should be able to identify Polka Dot in this race; he is the only piebald horse running.
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physiological
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pertaining to the science of the funtion of living organisms. To understand this disease fully, we must examine not only its physiological aspects but also its psychological elements.
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physiognomy
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face. He prided himself on his ability to analyze a person's character by studying his physiognomy.
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phylum
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major classification,s econd to kingdom of plants and animals; division. In sorting ou her hundred of packets of seeds, Katya decided to file them by phylum.
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phoenix
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symbol of immortality or rebirth. Like the legendary phoenix rising from its ashes, the city of San Francisco rose again after its destruction during the 1906 earthquake.
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phobia
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morbid fear. Her fear of flying was more than mere nervousness;it was a real phobia.
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phlegmatic
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calm; not easily disturbed. The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies.
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philology
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study of language. The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language.
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philistine
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narrow-minded person, unculturered and exclusively interested in material gain. We need more men and women of culture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us.
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philatelist
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stamp collector. When she heard the value of the Penny Black Stamp, Phyllis was inspired to become a philatelist.
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philanthropist
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lover of mankind; doer of good. In his role as philantrhopist and public benefactor, John D Rockefeller, Sr.. donated millions to charity; as an individual; however, he was a tight-fisted old man
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philanderer
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faithless lover; flirt. Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman, Jack assured Jill he was no philanderer
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phenomena
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observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation. We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments.
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pharisaical
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pertaining to the PHarisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-rightenous; hy[ocritical. Walter Lippmann has pointed out that moralists who do not attemp to explain the moral code they advocate are often regarded as pharisaical and ignored.
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petulant
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touchy; peevish. If you'd had hardly any sleep for three ights and people kept on phoning and waking you up, you'd sound petulant, too.
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petty
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trivial; unimportant; very small. She had no major complaints to make about his work, only a few petty quibbles that were almost too minor to state.
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petrify
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turn to stone. His sudden and unexpected appearane seemed to petrify her.
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pestle
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tool for mashing or frinding substances in a hard bowl. from the way in which the elderly pharmacist pounted the drug with his pestle, young George could tell that his employer was agitated about something
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pessimism
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belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess. Considering how well you have done in the course so far, you have no real reason for such pessimism about your final grade.
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perversion
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corruption; turning from right to wrong. In as much as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion
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perverse
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stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable. When Jack was in a perverse mood, he would do the opposite of whatever Jill asked him. When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims
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pervasive
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spread throughout. Despite airing them for several hours, she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothballs that clung to them.
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peruse
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read with care. After the conflagration that burned down her house, Joan closely perused her home insurance policy to discover exactly what benefits her coverage provided.
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perturb
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disturb greatly. The though that electricity might be leaking out of the empty light-bulb sockets perturbed my aunt so much that at night she crept about the house bulbs in the vacant spots. perturbation
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pertinent
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suitable; to the point. The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details
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pertinacious
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stubborn; persistent. She is bound to succeed because her pertinacious nature will not permit her to quit.
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perspicuous
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plainly expressed. Her perspicuous comments eliminated all possiblity of misinterpretation
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perspicuity
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clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity. One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear.
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perspicacious
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having insight; penetrating; astute. The brilliant lawyer was knwon for his perspicacious deductions.
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personable
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attractive. The individual I am seeking to fill this position must be personable since he or she will be representing us before the public.
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perquisite
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any gain above stipulated salary. The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indivates.
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perpetuate
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make something last; preserve from extinction. Some critics attack The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because they believe Twain's book perpetuates a false image if blacks in his country.
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perpetual
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everlasting. Ponce de Leon hoped to find the legendary fountain of perpetual youth
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perpetrate
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commit an offense. Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime.
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peroration
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conclusion of an oration. The peroration was largely hortatory and brough the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close.
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pernicious
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very destructive. The Athenians argued that Socrates's teachings had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds; therefore, they condemned him to death
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permeable
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penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through. If your jogging clothes werent msde out of permeable fabric, you'd drown in your own sweat (figuratively speaking)
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perjury
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false testimony while under oath. Rather than lie under oath and perhaps be indicted for perjury, the wF
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periphery
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edge, especially of a round surface. He sensed that there were something just beyond the periphery of his vision.
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peripheral
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marginal; outer. We lived, not in central london, but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of a great city.
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peripatetic
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walking about; moving. The peripatetic school of philosophy derives its name from the fact that Aristotle walked with his pupils whie discussing philosophy with them
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perimeter
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outer boundary. To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral, we add the lengths of the four sides
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perigee
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point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth. The rocket which was designed to take photographs the moon was launched as the moon approached its perigee
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perfunctory
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superficial' not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm. The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors.
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perforate
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pierce; put a hole through. before you can open the aspirin bottle, you must first perforaye the plastic safety seal that covers tha cap.
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perfidious
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treacheous; disloyal. when caesar realized that brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend
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perennial
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something long-lasting. These plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years.
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peremptory
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demanding and leaving no choice. From Jack's peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let in
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peregrination
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journey. Auntie Mame was a world traveler whose peregrinations took her from tijuana to timbuktu
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perdition
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damnation; complete ruin. praying for salvation, young Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal perdition.
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percussion
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striking one object against another sharply. The drum is a percussion instrument
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perceptive
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insightful; aware; wise. Although Maud was a generally perceptive critic, she had her blind spots: she could never see flaws in the work of her friends.
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peon
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landless agricultural worker; bond servant. The land reformers sought to liberate the peons and establish them as independent farmers.
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penury
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severe poverty; stinginess. When his pension fund failed, Georget feared he would end his days in penury. He became such a penny-pincher that he turned into a closefisted, penurious mister.
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penumbra
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partial shadow (in an eclipse). During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra.
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pensive
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dreamily thoughtful; thoughful with a hint of sadness; contemplative. The pensive lover gazed at the portrait of his beloved and sighed deeply.
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penitent
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repentant. When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent.
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pendulous
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hangingl suspended. The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling.
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pendant
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hanging down from something. Her pendant earrings glistened int he light
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penchant
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strong punishment for sin. The Ancient Mariner said, "I have penance done and penance more will do. " to atone for the sin of killing the albatross.
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pellucid
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transparent; limpid; easy to understand. After reading these stodgy philosophers, i find his pellicid style very enjoyable.
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pell-mell
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in confusion; disorderly. The excited students dashed pell-mell into the stadium to celebrate the victory.
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pejorative
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negative in connotation; having a belittling effect. = Raymond. Instead of criticizing Clinton's policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character.
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peerless
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having no equal; incomparable. The reigning operativ tenor of his generation, to his admirers Luciano Pavarotti was peerless: no one could compare with him.
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pediatrician
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physician specializing in children's diseases. The family doctor advised the parents to consult a pediatrician about their child's ailment.
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pedestrian
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ordinary; unimaginative. Unintentionally boring, he wrote page after page of pedestrian prose
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