v. fall straight down; plunge; decline suddenly and steeply
E.g. Stock prices plummet as Wall Street reacts to the crisis in the economy.
v. take goods of by force, or without right; spoil; sack; strip; rob
E.g. In the name of class, creed and religion we plunder one another with the most powerful weapons available.
v. be balanced or held in suspension; hover; carry or hold in equilibrium; balance
E.g. When I saw him lift and poise the book and stand in act to hurl it, I instinctively started aside with a cry of alarm.
n. fine granular substance produced in flowers; fine bran or flour
E.g. The image at the beginning of this post is a picture of pollen from a holly plant.
n. dignified or magnificent display; splendor
E.g. I do not think it is the role of councilors to indulge in pomp and circumstance: we have been elected to do, not to show.
n. omen; forewarning; something that portends an event about to occur, especially unfortunate or evil event
E.g. He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil.
n. person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant to impress others
E.g. Some thought Salvador Dali was a brilliant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur.
v. speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly; talk artlessly and childishly
E.g. Baby John used to prattle on and on about the cats and his ball and the Cookie Monster.
n. introductory statement; introductory paragraph or division of discourse or writing
E.g. In the preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth.
n. cliff; overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock; dangerous position
E.g. Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.
a. rash; moving rapidly and heedlessly; speeding headlong; occurring suddenly
E.g. Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot, I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipitate fashion.
a. advanced in development; appearing or developing early
E.g. Listening to the grown-up way the child discussed serious topics, we couldn't help remarking how precocious she was.
n. state of being predisposed; tendency or inclination
E.g. The players come to your game with a certain predisposition, it's nice to respect that.
v. appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others; gain possession of by prior right or opportunity
E.g. Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue, the candidate set out her own plan to revitalize the public schools.
n. something spoken as introductory to a discourse, or written as introductory to a book or essay
E.g. The preface of this diary recounted her life in brief.
n. introduction; forerunner; preliminary or preface
E.g. I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks.
n. something that is required in advance; necessity; required as a prior condition
E.g. A prerequisite is a requirement that must be satisfied before taking a specific course.
v. be set, or to sit, in the place of authority; occupy the place of president, chairman, moderator, director; direct, control, and regulate, as chief officer
E.g. Some people believe that the Fates preside over man's destiny.
n. excuse; something serving to conceal plans; fictitious reason
E.g. He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt.
a. most frequent; widespread; predominant
E.g. The prevailing opinion was that a trade war could be averted.
a. very precise and formal; exceedingly proper
E.g. Many people commented on the contrast between the prim attire of the young lady and the inappropriate clothing worn by her escort.
n. animal order including monkeys and apes and human beings; senior clergyman
E.g. The primate is elected by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada through a process in which the bishops offer five nominations to the clergy and lay members of synod who then choose one name.
a. of or relating to a prince; regal; royal; of highest rank or authority; grand; august; munificent; magnificent
E.g. Despite their reputation for reaping princely sums that seem to rise year after year, CEOs took a pay cut in 2009, and a big one at that.
n. act of proceeding, moving on, advancing, or issuing; regular, orderly, or ceremonious progress; continuous course
E.g. When the procession came opposite to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said severely "Who is this?"
n. inclination; natural tendency; readiness; facility of learning
E.g. Watching the two-year-old boy voluntarily put away his toys, I was amazed by his proclivity for neatness.
v. postpone or delay needlessly; put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness
E.g. Looking at four years of receipts he still had to sort through, Bob was truly sorry to procrastinate for so long and not finished filing his taxes long ago.
a. impressively great in size, force, or extent; enormous
E.g. Watching the weight lifter heave the barbell to shoulder height and then boost it overhead, we marveled at his prodigious strength.
a. skilled; expert; having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude
E.g. He is a proficient engineer.
n. one derived from another; offspring or descendant; result of creative effort, as product
E.g. He was proud of his progeny in general, but regarded George as the most promising of all his children.
n. weapon that is thrown or projected; self-propelled missile, such as rocket; fired, thrown, or otherwise propelled object, such as bullet
E.g. The soldier has always hurled projectile at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explosive shells.
a. producing offspring or fruit in great abundance; fertile
E.g. My editors must assume I'm a prolific writer: they expect me to revise six books this year!.
v. walk for pleasure, display, or exercise
E.g. He used to promenade along the beach with his wife.
a. having casual sexual relations frequently with different partners; irregular, casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
E.g. In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris.
n. natural inclination; tendency or preference; predilection
E.g. Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others.
n. fitness; correct conduct; quality of being proper; appropriateness
E.g. Miss Manners counsels her readers so that they may behave with due propriety in any social situation and not embarrass themselves.
a. dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact; factual
E.g. Though the ad writers came up with an original way to publicize the product, the head office rejected it for a more prosaic, ordinary slogan.
n. summary, plan, or scheme of something proposed, affording a prospect of its nature
E.g. It may not be perjury, but selling stock to private investors with a prospectus like that is fraud.
n. stipulated condition; act of supplying or fitting out; something provided
E.g. For young people entering the workforce in a bad economy, this provision is a critical safety net.
a. temporary; provided for present need only
E.g. Polanski is in provisional detention in Switzerland.
n. sacred song; poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God
E.g. You can find this psalm in the Bible.