WORD LIST 157
petulant ('pech·u ̆·la ̆nt) adj. peevish; unreasonably or easily irritated or annoyed.
The pouting and sulking child could only be described as petulant.
philistine ('fil·i·steen) n. a smug, ignorant person; someone who is uncultured
and commonplace. Richards thinks he is cosmopolitan, but he’s really just a philistine.
phoenix ('fee·niks) n. 1. a person or thing of unmatched beauty or excellence.
- a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering
calamity or apparent annihilation (after the mythological bird that periodically
immolated itself and rose from the ashes as a new phoenix). The phoenix is often
used to symbolize something that is indomitable or immortal.
pillage ('pil·ij) v. to forcibly rob of goods, especially in time of war; to plunder.
The barbarians pillaged the village before destroying it with fire.
piquant ('pee·ka ̆nt) adj. 1. agreeably pungent, sharp or tart in taste. 2. pleasantly
stimulating or provocative. The spicy shrimp salad is wonderfully piquant.
pique (peek) v. 1. to wound (someone’s) pride, to offend. 2. to arouse or pro-
voke. The article really piqued my interest in wildlife preservation.
pith (pith) n. 1. the essential or central part; the heart or essence (of the matter,
idea, experience, etc.). 2. (in biology) the soft, spongelike central cylinder of
the stems of most flowering plants. Her brief, but concise, statement went right to
the pith of the argument and covered the most important issues.
pivotal ('piv·o ̆·ta ̆l) adj. being of vital importance, crucial. We are at a pivotal point
in the negotiations and must proceed very carefully; the wrong move now could ruin
everything.
placid ('plas·id) adj. calm and peaceful; free from disturbance or tumult. Lake
Placid is as calm and peaceful as its name suggests.
plaintive ('playn·tiv) adj. expressing sorrow; mournful, melancholy. Janice’s
plaintive voice made me decide to stay and comfort her longer.
platitude ('plat·i·tood) n. a trite or banal statement, especially one uttered as if it
were new. Matthew offered me several platitudes but no real advice.
plethora ('pleth·o ̆·ra ̆) n. an overabundance, extreme excess. There was a plethora
of food at the reception.
poignant ('poin·ya ̆nt) adj. 1. arousing emotion, deeply moving, touching. 2. keenly
distressing; piercing or incisive. They captured the poignant reunion on film.
polemical (po ̆·'lem·ik·a ̆l) adj. controversial, argumentative. The analyst presented
a highly polemical view of the economic situation.