pacifist n. (PASS uh fist) a peace lover. A pacifist refuses to use violence to get his way; instead, he uses his wits and passive resistance.
palpable adj. (PAL puh bul) capable of being touched or perceived. The medium claimed that the ghosts attending her seance would be fully palpable.
panacea n. (pan uh SEE uh) a cure-all. Scientists have searched for a panacea for cancer for more than fifty years, to no avail.
panache n. (puh NASH) a dashing style. The model had great charisma and panache and attracted admiring stares wherever he went.
Pandora's box n. in mythology, the box containing human ills opened by the curious Pandora. In modern usage, anything opened or employed that may have the potential to cause human ills. Some experts warn that African jungles may contain a Pandora's box of deadly viruses just waiting to be sprung loose.
paper tiger n. a person or nation that may look dangerous and powerful but in reality is not. Third world tyrants like to bare their teeth to the rest of the world, but they're only paper tigers.
paradigm n. (PAIR uh dime) a model serving as a base for instruction. The Wall Street guru's investment strategy serves as an excellent paradigm for wealth building.
paradox n. (PAIR uh doks) a statement or observation that contradicts itself but is nevertheless true. Her wealth was a paradox; the more money she made, the less she enjoyed it.
paragon n. (PAIR uh gon) a model of excellence. Some consider Mother Teresa a paragon of virtue.
paranoia n. (pair uh NOY uh) the belief or delusion that one is being persecuted; acute and irrational distrust of others. Your paranoia has reached an extreme when you're certain the football players in a huddle are plotting to get you.
paraphrase vb. (PAIR uh frase) to restate something not verbatim but in an approximate or roughly accurate form; to summarize. I don't remember Kennedy's famous speech word for word, so I'll have to paraphrase.
parochial adj. (puh ROHK ee ul) narrow in experience, scope, or outlook; provincial. He had a parochial view of people and therefore mistrusted those of other races, ethnic groups, and sexual orientation.
parody n. (PAIR uh dee) a humorous or ridiculing imitation of a show, book, song, etc. The comedy troupe performed an irreverent parody of religious programming.
partisan adj. (PART uh sun) following the tenets or beliefs of one's political party; biased. Republicans and Democrats are expected to vote in a completely partisan manner, although one or two rogues may cross party lines.
pass the buck to cast blame or responsibility onto someone other than yourself. When it comes to accepting responsibility for the nation's economic woes, Republicans can be expected to pass the buck to the Democrats and vice versa.
pastoral adj. (PAS tuh rul) designating the peaceful- ness and simplicity of rural life; idyllic. Longing for the pastoral life, Jane bought some land and a flock of sheep and became a shepherd.
pathos n. (PAY thos) that which produces feelings of pity or poignancy; also, these feelings themselves. The movie was so steeped in pathos, most of the theatergoers left in tears.
patriarch n. (PAY treek ark) a male head or leader of a group. The tribal patriarch warned us not to cross into his territory again.
patronize vb. (PAY truh nize) to talk down to; to condescend or treat as one's inferior. Whenever I disagree with my professor, she puts on a superior expression and patronizes me.
paucity n. (PAW is tee) a lack; dearth. A paucity of money to pay bills will motivate most people to find work.
peccadillo n. (PEK uh DIL oh) a minor fault or offense. You can't criticize politicians for every little thing they've done wrong in their lives; we've all got our peccadilloes.
pecuniary adj. (pe KYOO nee air ee) of money; financial. The workers' concerns are purely pecuniary; they think they deserve higher pay.
pedantic adj. (puh DANT ik) nitpicking with factual matters; overprecise or scholarly to an extreme, showy, or unnecessary manner. Know-it-alls are frequently pedantic, much to everyone's annoyance.
pedestrian adj. (puh DES tree un) unimaginative or so ordinary as to be dull. You might have gotten the grammar right, but your story and characters are thoroughly pedestrian.
pejorative adj. (pi JOR uh tiv) belittling; negative.
Any more pejorative remarks like that to your sister and you'll go to bed early.
penchant n. (PEN chunt) a strong fondness for something. I have a penchant for chocolate swirl ice
penitent adj. (PEN i tunt) full of regret; sorry. The child was quite penitent after he was caught stealing cookies.
pensive adj. (PEN siv) deep in thought, particularly about sad things. My mother appeared so pensive, I was tempted to ask her what was so troubling.
perennial adj. (puh REN ee ul) continuous, perpetual, or returning again and again. The movie version of the Wizard of Oz is a perennial favorite.
perfunctory adj. (pur FUNK tuh ree) performed superficially or routinely. The border guard made a perfunctory inspection of our car and then let us go through.
peripheral adj. (pur IF ur ul) along the side or neighboring. Computers often require several peripheral components.
perjury n. (PURJ ur ee) lying under oath. Committing perjury in a court of law is illegal.
permeate vb. (PERM ee ayt) to penetrate, as a thick and strong odor. Seconds after he entered the room, his strong cologne would permeate the room and make people gag.
pernicious adj. (purn ISH us) harmful; deadly. The liberal sale of firearms in this city is highly pernicious.
perquisite n. (PUR kwi zit) a fringe benefit or special privilege that stems from working at a particular job. One of the perquisites of my job is a company car, which I'm allowed to drive at any time.