Meaning
Usage

soothing

Example: The chemistry professor’s pacific demeanor helped the class remain calm after the experiment exploded. 

a range of colors or qualities

Example: The palette of colors utilized in the painting was equaled only by the range of intense emotions the piece evoked.

lacking color

Example: Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy’s pallid complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.

an example that is a perfect pattern or model

Example: Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.

a model of excellence or perfection

Example: The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.

an outcast

Example: Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.

frugality, stinginess

Example: Many relatives believed that my aunt’s wealth resulted from her parsimony. 

readily seen or understood, clear

Example: The reason for Jim’s abdominal pain was made patent after the doctor performed a sonogram. 

an emotion of sympathy

Example: Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.

derogatory, uncomplimentary

Example: The evening’s headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader. 

a tendency, partiality, preference

Example: Jill’s dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.

next to last

Example: Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.

disloyal, unfaithful

Example: After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.

to spread throughout, saturate

Example: Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog’s odor had permeated the furniture’s upholstery.

to confuse

Example: Brad was perplexed by his girlfriend’s suddenly distant manner.

flippant, bold

Example: My parents forgave Sandra’s pert humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.

a careful examination, review

Example: The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month perusal of the movie script.

rudeness, irritability

Example: The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child’s petulance.

uninterested, unresponsive

Example: Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal’s phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.

the highest point

Example: Book reviewers declared that the author’s new novel was extraordinary and probably the pinnacle of Western literature.