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Vocabulary

19,295 words · meanings, pronunciation and origins · ranked by use

Letter
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Level
A1A2A2+B1B1+B2B2+C1C2
Part of speech
nounverbadjectiveadverbprepositionpronounphrase

179 words · showing 1–60

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  • paean/ˈpiː.ən/nounC2A song or speech of enthusiastic praise.
  • painter/ˈpeɪntə/nounA2+2 meaningsAn artist who works with brushes and colour.
  • palanquin/ˌpælənˈkin/nounC2A covered seat carried on poles by bearers.
  • palatable/ˈpæl.ə.tə.bəl/adjectiveC22 meaningsPleasant enough to eat.
  • palate/ˈpæl.ət/nounC22 meaningsA person's ability to judge flavours.
  • palau
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noun
C2
Pacific island nation famous for a lake full of harmless jellyfish.
  • palaver/pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/nounC2A tiresome fuss or long-winded business.
  • palfrey/ˈpɔːl.fɹi/nounC2A gentle riding horse for ordinary travel.
  • palisade/ˈpæl.ɪˌseɪ̯d/nounC2A fence of strong pointed stakes.
  • pallet/ˈpælɪt/nounB2+2 meaningsThe wooden platform loads are stacked on for forklifts.
  • palliate/ˈpælieɪt/verbC2To ease suffering without curing the cause.
  • palpitate/ˈpælpɪteɪt/verbC2To beat fast and irregularly.
  • panning/ˈpænɪŋ/nounC12 meaningsSwinging the camera sideways to follow movement.
  • pantograph/ˈpantəɡɹɑːf/nounC2The arm that takes current from the overhead wire.
  • parable/ˈpaɹəbəl/nounC2A short story told to teach a moral lesson.
  • paradigm/ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/nounC12 meaningsThe whole framework of thinking a field shares.
  • paradoxical/ˌpæɹəˈdɒksɪkəl/adjectiveC2Seeming to contradict itself and yet possibly true.
  • parameter/pəˈɹæm.ɪ.tə/nounC14 meaningsA value that is set in advance and that determines how a system, model or process behaves.
  • paramount/ˈpæɹəmaʊnt/adjectiveC2More important than everything else.
  • paramour/ˈpæɹəmʊə/nounC2A lover, especially a secret one.
  • parasitic/ˌpæɹ.əˈsɪt.ɪk/adjectiveC2Living off another creature and giving nothing back.
  • parlance/ˈpɑː.ləns/nounC2The particular way a group uses words.
  • parochial/pəˈɹəʊkɪəl/adjectiveC2Interested only in your own small corner of the world.
  • parquet/ˈpɑːkeɪ/nounC2Flooring made of small wooden blocks arranged in a pattern.
  • parsimonious/pɑː.sɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/adjectiveC2Extremely unwilling to spend or to give.
  • parsimony/ˈpɑːsɪməni/nounC2Great meanness with money or with words.
  • partiality/pɑɹʃiˈælɪti/nounC12 meaningsUnfair favouring of one side.
  • pas de deuxnounC2In ballet, a showpiece danced by a leading man and woman together, borrowed from French.
  • pastiche/pæˈstiːʃ/nounC2A work that deliberately imitates another's style.
  • patchy/ˈpæt͡ʃi/adjectiveC2Uneven, and good in some parts but not others.
  • pate/peɪt/nounC2The top of the head, especially a bald one.
  • patent/ˈpeɪtənt/nounC12 meaningsThe exclusive right to make and sell an invention.
  • patriarch/ˈpeɪtɹɪɑːk/nounC12 meaningsThe old man at the head of a family or tribe.
  • paucity/ˈpɒs.ɪ.ti/nounC2A disappointingly small amount of something.
  • pedagogy/ˈpɛdəˌɡɒd͡ʒi/nounC2The art and science of teaching itself.
  • pedantry/ˈpɛd.ən.tɹi/nounC2Excessive attention to rules and minor detail.
  • pedestal/ˈpɛdɪstəl/nounC2The base a statue stands on, or a place of high honour.
  • pediment/ˈpɛd.ɪ.mənt/nounC2The triangular piece above the columns of a classical front.
  • peerlessadjectiveC2Having no equal anywhere.
  • pennant/ˈpɛnənt/nounC12 meaningsA long narrow flag, often tapering to a point.
  • pennon/ˈpɛnən/nounC2A long narrow flag flown from a lance.
  • pension/ˈpɛnʃən/nounB2+4 meaningsMoney paid regularly to someone who has retired.
  • pension booknounC2The old booklet a state payment was drawn against.
  • penurious/pəˈnjʊə.ɹi.əs/adjectiveC2Very poor, or extremely mean with money.
  • penury/ˈpɛnjʊɹi/nounC2Extreme and grinding poverty.
  • per diem/pɚˈdi.əm/nounC2A fixed daily allowance while travelling for work.
  • perchance/ˌpɜːˈtʃɑːns/adverbC2Perhaps, in old or poetic use.
  • percolator/ˈpɜːkəleɪtə/nounC2A pot that brews coffee by cycling boiling water through the grounds.
  • peremptory/pəˈɹɛmptəɹi/adjectiveC2Giving an order that allows no argument.
  • perfidious/pɚˈfɪdi.əs/adjectiveC2Treacherous towards those who trusted you.
  • perforce/pəˈfɔːs/adverbC2Because there was no other choice.
  • permanent waynounC2The track and everything that carries it.
  • perspicacious/ˌpɜː.spɪˈkeɪ.ʃəs/adjectiveC2Quick to notice and understand what others miss.
  • perspire/pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/verbC2To sweat.
  • pert/pɜːt/adjectiveC2Cheeky in a lively and attractive way.
  • pervasive/pəˈveɪ.sɪv/adjectiveC2Spreading through every part of something.
  • perverse/pɚˈvɝs/adjectiveC22 meaningsDeliberately doing the opposite of what is wanted.
  • perversity/pə(ɹ)ˈvɜː(ɹ)sɪti/nounC2A wilful determination to do the opposite of what is wanted.
  • pestilential/ˌpɛstɪˈlɛnʃi.əl/adjectiveC2Carrying disease, or extremely annoying.
  • petrel/ˈpɛt.ɹəl/nounC2A small sea bird that flutters just above the waves.