by Bobbi Bly
The problem with PREDESTINATION is that whatever happens, you can say that it was meant to be, and no one can prove you wrong.
premonitory (PREH-mahn-ih-tor-ee), adjective
Strongly indicative of or intuiting that something is going to happen.
The Harrisons sold their stock in that company because they had a PREMONITORY vision that the company would soon go bankrupt.
prestidigitation (PRESS-tih-dih-ji-TAY-shun), noun
The performance of sleight-of-hand magic tricks.
The New Year’s Eve gala at the Worthingtons included sumptuous meals, a full orchestra, and even a practitioner of PRESTIDIGITATION who amazed the children with her performance.
preternatural (pree-tur-NACH-err-uhl), adjective
Both supernatural and preternatural describe things that are out of the norm. But supernatural implies forces beyond understanding, while preternatural simply means abnormal or unnatural.
“I rested my knee against the cabinet for leverage and pulled hard, calling on PRETERNATURAL strength.” – Mario Acevedo, American fantasy author
prima facie (pree-ma-FAY-shuh), adjective, adverb
Something accepted upon the face of the evidence until further examination proves or disproves it.
We have PRIMA FACIE evidence that it was Evelyn who fed those lies to the society page gossip columnists.
primordial (pry-MORE-dee-ul), adjective
Relating to the beginning of time or the early periods of Earth’s developments.
The Summerfelds’ fortune has been in the family for so long that many of us joke that it has PRIMORDIAL origins.
proctor (PROHK-ter), noun
One who manages or supervises another person’s activities and affairs.
A life of luxury would be so exhausting if it weren’t for the many PROCTORS who take care of our mundane activities.
procure (pro-KYORE), verb
To seek and eventually gain ownership of something.
My book dealer recently PROCURED, at considerable expense, a first edition of Great Expectations for our library.
profligate (PROF-lih-gayt), adjective
Extravagant; wasteful; activity, expenditures, or indulgences beyond that which any reasonable person would desire.
“The official account of the Church’s development viewed alternative voices as expressing the views of a misguided minority, craven followers of contemporary culture, PROFLIGATE sinners, or worse.” – Harold Attridge, Dean of Yale University Divinity School
pro forma (pro-FOR-mah), adverb, adjective, noun
Standard; following a commonly accepted format or process.
“Don’t worry about reading the fine print,” the manager told the young singer as he shoved the contract in front of him and put a pen in his hand. “It’s just PRO FORMA.”
proletariat (pro-leh-TARE-ee-uht), noun
A class of society whose members earn their living solely by the exchange of their labor for money.
Your average dentist thinks he is upper class, but in reality, he is just another member of the PROLETARIAT.
prolixity (pro-LICK-sih-tee), noun
Refers to a speech or piece of writing that is deliberately wordy and long-winded due to an ornate or formal style.
“The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to PROLIXITY, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen.” – Colette, French novelist
promulgate (PRAH-mull-gate), verb
To elevate a behavior or action—or the prohibition of a particular behavior or action—to the status of a law, rule, or regulation through public decree.
The Department of Public Works PROMULGATED mandatory recycling of all paper waste in Bergen County.
propagate (PRAH-pah-gayt), verb
To grow, breed, or cause to multiply and flourish.
“The fiction of happiness is PROPAGATED by every tongue.” – Samuel Johnson, British moralist and poet
propensity (pro-PEN-sih-tee), noun
A tendency to behave in a certain way.
Despite her vehement denials, Virginia has shown us a PROPENSITY toward pomposity.
propriety (pro-PRY-ah-tee), noun
Behaving in a way that conforms to the manners and morals of polite society.
“PROPRIETY is the least of all laws, and the most observed.” – François de La Rochefoucauld, French author
propitiate (pro-PISH-ee-ate), verb
To win over; to gain the approval and admiration of.
“The life that went on in [many of the street’s houses] seemed to me made up of evasions and negations; shifts to save cooking, to save washing and cleaning, devices to PROPITIATE the tongue of gossip.” – Willa Cather, American author
proscribe (pro-SCRIBE), transitive verb
To forbid or prohibit; frequently confused with the word “prescribe.”
State law PROSCRIBES the keeping of wild animals as house pets.
proxy (PRAHK-see), noun
The authority, typically in writing, to represent someone else or manage their affairs; a person authorized to act on the behalf of others.
While his mother was ill, Larry acted as her PROXY and made hospitalization decisions on her behalf.
puerile (PYOO-er-ill), adjective
Immature, babyish, infantile.
“An admiral whose PUERILE vanity has betrayed him into a testimonial … [is] sufficient to lure the hopeful patient to his purchase.” – Samuel Hopkins Adams, American journalist
pugnacious (pug-NAY-shus), adjective
Some who always wants to argue and debate every last thing.
Teenagers are PUGNACIOUS by nature: if I say “no,” he invariably asks “why.”
purport (per-PORT), verb
Claiming to be something you are not; pretending to do something you aren’t in fact doing.
“Doris Lessing PURPORTS to remember in the most minute detail the moth-eaten party dresses she pulled, at age thirteen, from her mother’s trunk.” – Tim Parks, British novelist
pusillanimous (pyoo-suh-LAN-ih-muss), adjective
Being mild or timid by nature; a shrinking violet; a person who seeks to avoid conflict, challenge, and danger.
Frank L. Baum’s most PUSILLANIMOUS fictional creation is the Cowardly Lion of Oz.
pyre (PIE-err), noun
A pile of wood and twigs, lit on fire to burn bodies during funerals.
Suzette was so devastated when her fiancé ran off with another socialite that she took his belongings and burned them on a metaphorical funeral PYRE.
pyrrhic (PIR-ick), adjective
A prize or victory won at the cost of an effort that exceeds its value.
Spending $20 at the carnival game to win his child a stuffed animal worth $5 was a PYRRHIC victory at best.
“O the orator’s joys! / To inflate
the chest, to roll the thunder of the
voice out from the ribs and throat,
/ To make the people rage, weep,
hate, desire, with yourself, / To lead
America—to QUELL America with
a great tongue.”
Walt Whitman, American poet
and humanist
Q
quaff (KWAF), verb
To drink with gusto and in large volume.
“We QUAFF the cup of life with eager haste without draining it, instead of which it only overflows the brim.” – William Hazlitt, English literary critic and philosopher
quagmire (KWAG-myer), noun
A thorny problem for which there is no ready solution; a messy situation from which there is no expeditious means of escape.
“Your home is regarded as a model home, your life as a model life. But all this splendor, and you along with it … it’s just as though it were built upon a shifting QUAGMIRE.” – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright
qualm (KWAHM), noun
A sudden feeling of uneasines
s, often linked to a pang in one’s conscience.
Of course we feel no QUALMS about wanting the finest things in life; that is the legacy our forefathers bequeathed to us.
quandary (KWON-duh-ree), noun
A state of uncertainty about one’s next move.
Estelle realized that her unrestrained comments to the society pages had left the rest of us quite upset, and she was in a QUANDARY as to how to repair the situation.
quash (KWAHSH), verb
To repress or subdue completely.
She quickly QUASHED the rebellion of the other members of the PTO by reminding them of the superiority of her social contacts.
quaver (KWAY-ver), verb
To tremble and shake from fear, excitement, etc.
Eloise positively QUAVERED as she made her debut at her coming out party.
quean (KWEEN), noun
A disreputable woman; a prostitute.
Esmerelda can act like such a QUEAN when her boyfriends do not automatically give her the luxury items she requires.
quell (KWELL), verb
To suppress or extinguish; or, to quiet one’s own or another’s anxieties.
“O the orator’s joys! / To inflate the chest, to roll the thunder of the voice out from the ribs and throat, / To make the people rage, weep, hate, desire, with yourself, / To lead America—to QUELL America with a great tongue.” – Walt Whitman, American poet and humanist
querulous (KWER-eh-luss), adjective
Describes a person who continually whines and complains about practically everything.
Their QUERULOUS manner with the waiter made them unpleasant and embarrassing dinner companions.
quibble (KWIB-ul), noun
To argue over a minor matter; to voice a niggling objection.
If you are not 100 percent satisfied, your money will promptly be refunded without question or QUIBBLE.
quid pro quo (KWID-pro-kwo), noun
A fair exchange of assets or services; a favor given in return for something of equal value.
In a QUID PRO QUO, Stephen helped Alex with his math homework, while Alex did Stephen’s chores.
quiescent (kwee-ESS-ehnt), adjective
Being at rest, inactive, or motionless.
“There is a brief time for sex, and a long time when sex is out of place. But when it is out of place as an activity there still should be the large and quiet space in the consciousness where it lives QUIESCENT.” – D. H. Lawrence, British author
quietus (kwy-EET-uhs), noun
Something that ends or settles a situation.
“For who would bare the whips and scorns of time, / Th’oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, / The pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay, / The insolence of office, and the spurns / That patient merit of th’unworthy takes, / When he himself might his QUIETUS make / With a bare bodkin?” – William Shakespeare
quintessential (KWIN-tuh-sen-shul), adjective
The most perfect or typical example of its category or kind.
“Craving that old sweet oneness yet dreading engulfment, wishing to be our mother’s and yet be our own, we stormily swing from mood to mood, advancing and retreating—the QUINTESSENTIAL model of two-mindedness.” – Judith Viorst, American author and psychoanalyst
quirk (KWIHRK), noun
A peculiarity of one’s personality or manner.
One of the most omnipresent QUIRKS of the nouveau riche is that they still ask the price of a luxury item, rather than simply offering to purchase it.
quisling (KWIZ-ling), noun
A traitor; a person who conspires with the enemy.
The leader of Norway’s National Unity movement was executed for being a QUISLING in 1945.
quixotic (kwik-SOT-ick), adjective
A person or team pursuing a seemingly unreachable or at least extremely ambitious and difficult goal—one considered by many to be either idealist, impractical, or both.
“There is something QUIXOTIC in me about money, something meek and guilty. I want it and like it. But I cannot imagine insisting on it, pressing it out of people.” – Brenda Ueland, American author
quizzical (KWIHZ-ih-kuhl), adjective
Unusual or comical; or, puzzled.
The QUIZZICAL look on Amanda’s face, when David trailed a marriage-proposal banner behind his private plane, was absolutely priceless.
quondam (KWAHN-dumm), adjective
Former; at-one-time.
You should not hire the Wilkersons’ QUONDAM servant because she has been known to break many objets d’art.
quotidian (kwo-TID-ee-an), adjective
Familiar; commonplace; nothing out of the ordinary.
Despite closets full of the latest Parisian couture, Alison’s QUOTIDIAN complaint is that she has “nothing to wear.”
“The mind that’s conscious of its
RECTITUDE, / Laughs at the
lies of rumor.”
Ovid, Roman poet
R
raconteur (RAH-kon-tour), noun
Someone who enjoys telling stories, does so frequently, and is good at it.
“O’Hara writes as a poetic one-man band, shifting rapidly among his roles as RACONTEUR, sexual adventurer, European traveler …” – Edward Mendelson, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Colombia University
raillery (RAIL-err-ee), noun
Good-natured teasing.
“RAILLERY,” said Montesquieu, “is a way of speaking in favor of one’s wit at the expense of one’s better nature.”
raiment (RAY-muhnt), noun
Clothing or apparel of the finest quality.
When Priscilla entered the room attired in RAIMENT of pure gold, her guests gasped and more than one glass of wine was overturned on silken tablecloths.
raison d’être (RAY-zohn-deh-truh), noun
The core reason why something exists; its central purpose and mission in this world.
When Jane’s children went off to college, her RAISON D’ÊTRE disappeared, and she fell into a deep depression.
rambunctious (ram-BUHNGK-shuhss), adjective
Difficult to handle; wild and boisterous.
“The golden age, when RAMBUNCTIOUS spirits were regarded as the source of evil.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, nineteenth-century German philosopher
ramification (ram-uh-fuh-KAY-shun), noun
A natural consequence of an action or circumstance.
A RAMIFICATION of a prolonged stay in low or zero gravity would be loss of bone mass and lean muscle.
rancor (RAYN-core), noun
Conflict between individuals or groups, usually resulting from disagreement over an action or issue, and accompanied by ill will, bad feelings, and an escalation of the dispute over time.
“They no longer assume responsibility (as beat cops used to do) for averting RANCOR between antagonistic neighbors.” – Harlan Ellison, American author
rapacity (ruh-PAH-sih-tee), noun
Greed for wealth, power, fame, and success, even at the expense of others.
An unquenchable desire for the finer things in life is not RAPACITY, as some have suggested. It is, instead, a mark of higher birth.
rapprochement (rah-PROWCH-ment), noun
Re-establishment of friendly relations between nations following a period of hostility.
Lydia spoke at length about how RAPPROCHEMENT between the United States and some former Soviet nations has been a real boon to her family’s prestige and wealth.
rarefied (RARE-uh-fyed), adjective
Lofty; exalted; of high class or caliber.
Most copywriters don’t operate in the RAREFIED environment in which Clayton makes his millions.
ratiocinate (ray-shee-OSS-inn-ate), verb
To work toward the solution of a problem through logical thinking and reason.
Since the dawn of humanity, our best minds have failed to RATIOCINATE a method of proving God’s existence.
raze (RAYZ), verb
; To tear down or demolish.
We had to RAZE our Cape Cod home and rebuild it entirely, due to some structural damage to the home caused by high winds.
recalcitrant (rih-KAL-sih-trunt), adjective
Unwilling to cooperate voluntarily; hesitant to step forward and do what one is asked or told to do.
On the witness stand, the mobster was RECALCITRANT and uncommunicative.
recant (rih-KANT), verb
To withdraw or disavow formally.
“I cannot and will not RECANT anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.” – Martin Luther, the father of Protestantism
recapitulate (ree-kah-PIT-chew-late), verb
To repeat something, but in a more concise form.
“To RECAPITULATE: always be on time for my class,” the professor told his freshman class on the first day of the semester.
recession (ree-SESH-in), noun
A troubled economy characterized by a decline in gross domestic product for two consecutive quarters; a period during which unemployment is on the rise, inflation is increasing, and consumer confidence and spending power is eroded.
The looming RECESSION has even hurt some of our families, who have had to let go of second yachts and one or two homes.
reciprocity (res-uh-PROS-ih-tee), noun
Doing business with—or a favor for—someone, because they have done a favor for, or bought from, you.
Giving customers free gifts increases sales because of the principle of RECIPROCITY.
recompense (REE-kum-pense), verb, noun
To give someone cash or something else of value to make up for injury or inconvenience they suffered at your hands, either accidentally or deliberately.
“To be remembered after we are dead, is but poor RECOMPENSE for being treated with contempt while we are living.” – William Hazlitt, English literary critic and philosopher
recondite (REHK-un-dite), adjective
Beyond typical knowledge and understanding.
For most people, opera, polo, and fine wine remain RECONDITE subjects.