Medium Frequency Word List: P-T - CAT

Word List: P

1. Pandemic:

• existing everywhere
• Example: Had somebody identified the pandemic virus in pigs before the outbreak, nobody would have been jumping up and down.

2. Parochial:

• narrowly restricted in outlook or scope
• Example: There is no more money for parochial school tuition.

3. Pathogen:

• any disease-producing agent
• Example: As with many commercial food products, the eggs used in the contaminated cookie dough were pasteurized, a process that kills pathogens.

4. Plethora:

• extreme excess
• Example: Each evening is packed with a plethora of shows presented by innumerable groups, ranging in size from medium to small scale.

5. Pluck:

• pull lightly but sharply
• Example: A five-story crane continuously plucking at 30 tons of salvaged clothing.

6. Precipitate:

• bring about abruptly
• Example: “But in California, it seems more often than not that gaming revenue is the precipitating factor.”

7. Proliferate:

• grow rapidly
• Example: Panetta said Washington was ready to help Libya's transition, including securing weaponry proliferating in the country and building professional security forces.

8. Propensity

• an inclination to do something
• Example: He is well known for the disagreeable propensity he has for beating his servants.

Word List: R

1. Raven:

• a large black bird with a straight bill and long tail
• Example: Stopping the Ravens has become frustrating because they do so many things well.

2. Regime:

• the governing authority of a political unit
• Example: North Korea worries about the U.S. interfering in the regime change there.

3. Retaliate:

• make a counterattack and return like for like
• Example: Gutierrez, who opposes the tariffs, said he’s concerned Chinese manufacturers may retaliate against U.S. companies, including his, by stopping purchases.

4. Rift:

• a narrow fissure in rock
• Example: Back in the spring I spent at least 100 happy hours slinging spells and making new Internet friends as I explored Rift’s fantasy kingdom.

5. Riot:

• a state of disorder involving group violence
• Example: The serious riots which took place in many parts of Great Britain, even London, made the aristocracy consider all opportunities of addressing the people dangerous.

Word List: S

1. Sabotage:

• a deliberate act of destruction or disruption
• Example: Western experts say tightening sanctions, technical hurdles and possible cyber sabotage have slowed Iran's atomic advances.

2. Sanitise:

• make sanitary by cleaning or sterilizing
• Example: The BBC's Duncan Kennedy, watching the programme, said it would be viewed by critics as very controlled and a little sanitised.

3. Scrubbed:

• made clean by scrubbing
• Example: The analysis covered expenses such as luggage charges and rebooking fees as well as operating data like scrubbed flights and the percentage of filled seats.

4. Smack:

• a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)
• Example: Merchants are now smack in the middle of the traditional spending lull between Black Friday weekend and the final days before Christmas.

5. Sought:

• that is looked for
• Example: At nineteen years of age, Rebecca Gould was sought and won in marriage by James Steward.

6. Splint:

• a thin piece of wood
• Example: When the housemaid had departed, he sat up in bed as completely as splints and bandages would permit, and prepared for breakfast.

7. Sprawling:

• spreading out in different directions
• Example: Mohammed, who did not want his last name used for fear of reprisal, said he witnessed many killings at the sprawling site.

8. Stave off:

• prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
• Example: By flooding the banking system with cheap money, policy makers are attempting to stave off a looming credit crunch by encouraging banks to maintain lending.

9. Strangled:

• held in check with difficulty
• Example: He raped her, strangled her and then left her body, the letter said.

10. Swallow:

• pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
• Example: Some of his paintings now show hollow-eyed North Korean girls and smiling, homeless children, known in the North as "fluttering swallows," surrounding Kim.

11. Swamp:

• low land that is seasonally flooded
• Example: The flooding washed away interstate highway lanes, swamped rail lines, flooded farmland and forced thousands of people from their homes.

Word List: T

1. Tract:

• an extended area of land
• Example: Friendly words were spoken, and tracts given to persons standing at their doors.

2. Truce:

• a state of peace agreed to between opponents
• Example: The artists arrived at a professional truce after Ms. Jones made peace with Mr. Ginzel’s having fathered a son while she was away in Rome.

3. Twitch:

• make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion
• Example: Mr. Zardari also had complained of "left arm numbness and twitching," it said.