GRE Vocab "P"

Paean

a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving (noun)

Palliate

to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate (verb)

Panacea

a remedy for all diseases or ills; an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties (noun)

Panache

a grand or flamboyant manner (adj)

Panegyric

formal expression of praise (noun)

Paradigm

something that serves as a model, example, or patter; the framework of assumptions and understandings shared by a group or discipline that shapes its worldview (noun)

Paragon

model of excellence or perfection (noun)

Pariah

an outcast, a rejected and despised person (noun)

Parsimonious

cheap, frugal (adj)

Partisan

one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced (adj)

Pastoral

having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas; pertaining to the life in the country (adj)

Paucity

scarcity, a lacking of (adj)

Peccadillo

a slight offense; literally, a minor sin (noun)

Pedagogy

the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing (noun)

Pedantic

showing off learning (adj)

Pedestrian

commonplace, trite, unremarkable (adj)

Pellucid

clear in meaning, expression, or style; translucent (adj)

Penchant

strong inclination, a liking (noun)

Penitential

expressive of regret for one's wrongdoing (adj)

Penurious

penny-pinching, excessively thrifty (adj)

Peremptory

imperative; leaving no choice, putting an end to further debate (adj)

Perennial

recurrent through the year or many years (adj)

Perfidy

intentional breach of faith, treachery (noun)

Perfunctory

superficial, not thorough, done without care of interest (adj)

Peripatetic

itinerant, traveling, nomadic (adj)

Pernicious

extremely harmful, potentially causing death (adj)

Personable

pleasing in appearance, attractive (adj)

Perspicacious

acutely perceptive, having keen discernment (adj)

Peruse

to examine with great care (verb)

Pervade

to permeate throughout (verb)

Petrous

like a rock; hard, stony (adj)

Petulant

impatient, irritable; rude, peevish (adj)

Philistine

a crass individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values (noun)

Phlegmatic

calm, sluggish, unemotional, stoic (adj)

Picaresque

involving clever rogues or adventures (adj)

Pied

multicolored, usually in blotches (adj)

Pillory

to punish, hold up to public scorn (verb)

Pine

to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor (verb)

Pious

extremely reverent or devout (adj)

Piquant

agreeably pungent, spicy, stimulating (adj)

Pique

resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride (noun)

Pith

the essential or central part (noun)

Placate

to appease, to lessen one's anger; to pacify (verb)

Plaintive

mournful, melancholy, sorrowful (adj)

Plangent

pounding, thundering, resounding (adj)

Plastic

moldable, pliable, not rigid (adj)

Platitude

stale, overused expression (noun)

Pluck

courage, spunk, fortitude (noun)

Plumb

to measure the depth; to examine critically (verb)

Poignant

distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional (adj)

Polemical

controversial, argumentative (adj)

Portentous

ominously significant or indicative (adj)

Pragmatic

practical rather than idealistic (adj)

Prate

chatter, babble (verb)

Prattle

to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner (verb)

Precarious

uncertain, risky, dangerous (adj)

Precept

principle; law (noun)

Precipitate

acting with excessive haste or impulse (adj)

Predilection

a disposition in favor or something, preference (noun)

Preeminent

superior to others; surpassing (adj)

Preempt

to replace, to supersede, to appropriate (verb)

Preen

to dress up, primp, groom oneself with elaborate care; in animals, to clean fur or feathers (verb)

Premonitory

serving to warn beforehand (adj)

Prescience

knowing of events prior to their occurring (noun)

Presumptuous

overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy; taking liberties (adj)

Prevaricate

to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead (verb)

Pristine

pure, uncorrupted, clean (adj)

Prize

to pry, press of force with a lever (verb)

Probity

adherence to highest principles, uprightness (adj)

Proclivity

a natural predisposition or inclination (noun)

Prodigal

recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish (adj)

Prodigious

abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary (adj)

Profligate

excessively wasteful, recklessly extravagant (adj)

Profuse

given or coming forth abundantly, extravagant (adj)

Prolific

producing large volumes or amounts, productive (adj)

Prolix

long-winded, verbose (adj)

Promulgate

to make known by declaration, proclaim formally, or put into operation (verb)

Propensity

a natural inclination or tendency, penchant (noun)

Propinquity

nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship (adj)

Propitiate

to win over; appease (verb)

Propitious

auspicious, favorable (adj)

Propriety

correct conduct; fitness (noun)

Prosaic

dull, unimaginative (adj)

Proscribe

to outlaw or prohibit (verb)

Provident

providing for future needs; frugal (adj)

Puerile

childish, immature (adj)

Pugnacious

contentious, quarrelsome, given to fighting, belligerent (adj)

Punctilious

precise, careful in observing rules of behavior or ceremony (adj)

Pundit

an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions (noun)

Pungent

characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste, penetrating, to the point (adj)

Pusillanimous

cowardly, craven (adj)

Putrefy

to rot, decay and give off a foul odor, become gangrenous (verb)

Paleontology

study of past geological eras through fossil remains (noun)

Pallid

lacking color or liveliness (adj)

Pathological

departing from normal condition (adj)

Patois

regional dialect; nonstandard; jargon (noun)

Penury

extreme poverty (noun)

Peregrination

a wandering from place to place (noun)

Perfidious

faithless; disloyal; untrustworthy (adj)

Perigee

point in a orbit that is closest to Earth (noun)