7 VERB If someone parades , they walk about somewhere in order to be seen and admired. □ [V prep/adv] I love to put on a bathing suit and parade on the beach. □ [V prep/adv] They danced and paraded around.
8 VERB If you say that something parades as or is paraded as a good or important thing, you mean that some people say that it is good or important but you think it probably is not. □ [V n + as ] He paraded his cut in interest rates as a small victory. □ [V + as ] …all the fashions that parade as modern movements in art.
9 N‑COUNT If you talk about a parade of people or things, you mean that there is a series of them that seems never to end. □ [+ of ] When I ask Nick about his childhood, he remembers a parade of baby-sitters. □ [+ of ] …an endless parade of advertisements.
10 N‑COUNT A parade is a short row of shops, usually set back from the main street. [BRIT ]
11 N‑COUNT Parade is used as part of the name of a street. □ …Queens Hotel, Clarence Parade, Southsea.
12 → see also hit parade , identity parade
pa |rade ground (parade grounds ) N‑COUNT A parade ground is an area of ground where soldiers practise marching and have parades.
para|digm /pæ rəda I m/ (paradigms )
1 N‑VAR A paradigm is a model for something which explains it or shows how it can be produced. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …a new paradigm of production.
2 N‑COUNT A paradigm is a clear and typical example of something. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] He had become the paradigm of the successful man.
para|dig|mat|ic /pæ rəd I gmæ t I k/ ADJ You can describe something as paradigmatic if it acts as a model or example for something. [FORMAL ] □ Their great academic success was paraded as paradigmatic.
para|dise /pæ rəda I s/ (paradises )
1 N‑PROPER According to some religions, paradise is a wonderful place where people go after they die, if they have led good lives. □ The Koran describes paradise as a place containing a garden of delight.
2 N‑VAR You can refer to a place or situation that seems beautiful or perfect as paradise or a paradise . □ …one of the world's great natural paradises.
3 N‑COUNT You can use paradise to say that a place is very attractive to a particular kind of person and has everything they need for a particular activity. □ The Algarve is a golfer's paradise.
4 → see also fool's paradise
para|dox /pæ rədɒks/ (paradoxes )
1 N‑COUNT You describe a situation as a paradox when it involves two or more facts or qualities which seem to contradict each other. □ The paradox is that the region's most dynamic economies have the most primitive financial systems.
2 N‑VAR A paradox is a statement in which it seems that if one part of it is true, the other part of it cannot be true. □ Although I'm so successful I'm really rather a failure. That's a paradox, isn't it?
para|doxi|cal /pæ rədɒ ks I k ə l/ ADJ If something is paradoxical , it involves two facts or qualities which seem to contradict each other. □ Some sedatives produce the paradoxical effect of making the person more anxious. ● para|doxi|cal|ly /pæ rədɒ ks I kli/ ADV [usu ADV with cl/group, ADV with v] □ Paradoxically, acceptance of this apparent injustice is the beginning of empowerment.
par|af|fin /pæ rəf I n/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Paraffin is a strong-smelling liquid which is used as a fuel in heaters, lamps, and engines. [mainly BRIT ] □ …a paraffin lamp. in AM, use kerosene 2 N‑UNCOUNT Paraffin wax, or in American English paraffin , is a white wax obtained from petrol or coal. It is used to make candles and in beauty treatments.
para|glide /pæ rəgla I d/ (paraglides , paragliding , paraglided ) VERB If a person paraglides , they jump from an aircraft or off a hill or tall building while wearing a special parachute which allows them to control the way they float to the ground. □ [V prep] They planned to paraglide from Long Mountain. [Also V ] ● para|glid|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Hang gliding and paragliding are allowed from the top of Windy Hill.
para|glid|er /pæ rəgla I də r / (paragliders )
1 N‑COUNT A paraglider is a special type of parachute that you use for paragliding.
2 N‑COUNT A paraglider is a person who paraglides.
para|gon /pæ rəgɒn/ (paragons ) N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a paragon , you mean that they are perfect or have a lot of a good quality. □ [+ of ] We don't expect candidates to be paragons of virtue.
para|graph /pæ rəgrɑːf, -græf/ (paragraphs ) N‑COUNT A paragraph is a section of a piece of writing. A paragraph always begins on a new line and contains at least one sentence. □ The length of a paragraph depends on the information it conveys.
para|keet /pæ rəkiːt/ (parakeets ) also parrakeet N‑COUNT A parakeet is a type of small parrot which is brightly coloured and has a long tail.
para|le|gal /pæ rəliː g ə l/ (paralegals ) N‑COUNT A paralegal is someone who helps lawyers with their work but is not yet completely qualified as a lawyer. [AM ]
par|al|lax /pæ rəlæks/ (parallaxes ) N‑VAR Parallax is when an object appears to change its position because the person or instrument observing it has changed their position. [TECHNICAL ]
par|al|lel /pæ rəlel/ (parallels , parallelling , parallelled ) in AM, use paralleling , paralleled 1 N‑COUNT If something has a parallel , it is similar to something else, but exists or happens in a different place or at a different time. If it has no parallel or is without parallel , it is not similar to anything else. □ [+ to ] Readers familiar with English history will find a vague parallel to the suppression of the monasteries. □ It's an ecological disaster with no parallel anywhere else in the world.