parboil (PAR boyl) vt.1. partially boil to cut down on final cooking time, usually
as a precursor to roasting; 2. to make uncomfortably hot; overheat
- Frozen vegetables are parboiledfor a minute or more before freezing—a
process known as blanching. - Saunas are excellent places for parboilingpeople.
[-ed, -ing]
parch(PARCH) vi.1. to expose to great heat; 2. to dry up from heat; make hot
and dry; 3. to make or be very thirsty - The peppers were parchedby their stint on the grate of the charcoal grill.
- Tomatoes are often parchedby sun-drying, which both wrinkles them up
and intensifies their flavor. - After two hours in the boat, Roxane was parchedand reached for a bottle of
iced tea.
[-ed, -ing]
parenthetical(PAR in THE ti kl) adj.1. contained in parentheses; 2. interjected
as explanatory or qualifying information; 3. using or containing parentheses - The source of the article was parenthetical.
- Hailee was a very talented artist, and the parentheticalinclusion of her age,
five, was just for the viewers’ information. - Often, as in the last sentence and in this one, parentheticalinformation is
enclosed between commas.
pariah(puh RY uh) n.1. an undesirable; one despised and rejected by others;
an outcast; 2. a member of the lowest social caste in India - The pariahsin India comprise a caste known as “the untouchables.”
- The soldiers returning home from the Vietnam War were treated as pariahs
by much of the American public.
parish(PA rish) n.1. an administrative district of many churches; 2. the mem-
bers of the congregation of any church; 3. in Louisiana, the equivalent of a county
in any other state - A British local government’s territory is often identical with the size of the
original church parish. - On any given Sunday, about half the members of the parishshow up for
church. - In Louisiana, the state is carved into local parishesthat are equivalent to
counties in all the other states.
174 Essential Vocabulary