Recently Added Articles Page #125

plebeian - vocabulary

adjectiveCommonplace, vulgar or coarse in nature; of or associated with the great masses of people; relating to or belonging to the ancient Roman plebs.nounA member of the common people; also a member of the ancient Roman plebs. The modern picture of...

poignant - vocabulary

adjectiveProfoundly touching or moving; strong in mental appeal; affecting the emotions. There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail.—Logan Pearsall Smith “Life and Human Nature” Afterthoughts (1931)...

portend - vocabulary

verbTo indicate in advance, especially by previous signs; to presage, foreshadow; to signify, mean. “Rise in Cases of West Nile May Portend an Epidemic” —Denise Grady New York Times Headline, July 26, 2007...

portent - vocabulary

nounAnything that indicates what is about to happen; a significant threat; a marvel or prodigy, something amazing. Self-parody is the first portent of age.—Larry McMurtry Some Can Whistle (1989)...

precarious - vocabulary

adjectiveDependent on circumstances beyond one’s control; lacking in stability or security; subject to change; based on unproved premises; perilous. A politician never forgets the precarious nature of elective life. We have never established a prac...

precedence, precedent, precedential - vocabulary

nounPrecedence: the fact or act of preceding, as in The first patent application receives precedence in Europe; priority in place, time, or rank because of superiority, as in The company relied on its precedence as the leading producer of computer ch...

preclude - vocabulary

verbTo prevent the occurrence or existence of something; to exclude from something. Anyone who has breast-fed knows two things for sure: The baby wants to be fed at the most inopportune times, in the most inopportune places, and the baby will prevail...

precocious - vocabulary

adjectiveUnusually mature or advanced in development, especially in mental aptitude; usually in reference to children. What might be taken for a precocious genius is the genius of childhood. When the child grows up, it disappears without a trace. It ...

precursor - vocabulary

nounA person or thing that precedes; a person, animal, or thing indicating the approach of something or someone, a harbinger. In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeed...

predilection - vocabulary

nounA tendency or inclination to think favorably about something, a preference, as in a predilection for Mozart. The parrot holds its food for prim consumption as daintily as any debutante, [with] a predilection for pot roast, hashed-brown potatoes, ...

premise - vocabulary

nounA proposition on which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn. In law, premises refers to land and buildings on the land.verbTo assume or state as a proposition in an argument. The utopian male concept which is the premise of ma...

prerogative - vocabulary

nounExclusive privilege or right, obtained or exercise because of rank or office, as in prerogatives of a member of Congress. Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possess...

prescience, prescient - vocabulary

nounPrescience: knowledge of events before they take place.adjectivePrescient: perceiving significance of events before they take place.Note: The first syllable is pronounced either pree- or presh-. He said, I’m just out of hospital, but I’m stil...

presumption, presumptuous - vocabulary

nounPresumption: that which may be logically assumed to be true until disproved; an assumption. In law, a fact assumed because of the proof of other facts; in patent law, for example, a patent enjoys a “presumption of validity” because it was iss...

prevaricate - vocabulary

verbTo use ambiguous or evasive language for the purpose of deceiving or diverting attention; to tell a falsehood; to lie. Lying is the same as alcoholism. Liars prevaricate even on their deathbeds.—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov Letter to the writer A.N....

principal, principle - vocabulary

nounPrincipal: the head of a school; also means “money” or “the balance on your mortgage.” As an adjective, principal means “main.”Principle: acts only as a noun. It means “rule” or “moral tenet.”Use this trick:A principal should ...

privity, privy - vocabulary

nounPrivity: knowledge shared with another or others regarding a private matter. In law, a relationship between or among parties, typically to a contract.Privy: an outhouse; a person having an interest in a legal transaction or legal relationship. As...

probity - vocabulary

nounVirtue or integrity tested and confirmed; honesty; the trait of having strong moral principles. Once regarded as the model of probity, Mayor Bradley, now 71 years old, is under investigation by the City Attorney's Office for possible conflict of ...

prodigious - vocabulary

adjectiveImmense, extraordinary in size; wonderful, marvelous. America makes prodigious mistakes, America has colossal faults, but one thing cannot be denied: America is always on the move. She may be going to Hell, of course, but at least she isn’...

prodigy - vocabulary

nounA person, especially a child, with remarkable gifts or qualities; a marvelous example; a wonder. Today’s pressures on middle-class children to grow up fast begin in early childhood. Chief among them is the pressure for early intellectual attain...

proffer - vocabulary

verbTo offer to another for acceptance.nounThe offer itself. During my employment of seven years or more in Washington after the war (1865–72) I regularly saved part of my wages: and, though the sum has now become about exhausted by my expenses of ...

profligacy, profligate - vocabulary

nounProfligacy: the trait of spending lavishly or extravagantly; unrestrained indulgence in sensual pleasure.adjectiveProfligate: characterized by wild spending or by engaging in sensual pleasure; as a noun, the person so characterized, a wastrel. Up...

profuse - vocabulary

adjectivePlentiful, copious, abundant; giving or spending freely, often to excess, as in profuse praise. The little flower which at this season stars our woods and roadsides with its profuse blooms, might attract even eyes as stern as theirs with its...

progeny - vocabulary

nounDescendant, offspring, child; something originating or resulting from something else. Preschoolers sound much brighter and more knowledgeable than they really are, which is why so many parents and grandparents are so sure their progeny are gifted...

prolific - vocabulary

adjectiveAbundantly producing offspring or fruit, as in a prolific orange tree; very productive, producing in large quantities. Debt is the prolific mother of folly and of crime.—Benjamin Disraeli Henrietta Temple...