Ornate

(adj.) elaborate; lavish; decorated

1. The courthouse was framed by ornate friezes.

Orthodox

(adj.) traditional; accepted

1. The gifted child's parents concluded that orthodox methods of education would not do their son any good, so they decided to teach him at home.

Oscillate

(v.) to move back and forth; to have a wavering opinion

1. The oscillating sprinkler system covered the entire lawn.
2. The couple often oscillates between going out and staying home.

Ossify

(v.) to turn to bone; to harden

1. Over time, the plant matter has ossified.
2. The tablet will ossify when left in the sun.

Ostensible

(adj.) apparent

1. The ostensible reason for choosing the girl was for her beauty.

Ostentatious

(adj.) being showy

1. Sure he'd won the lottery, but coming to work in a stretch limo seemed a bit ostentatious.

Ostracize

(v.) to exclude

1. The students tend to ostracize the children they dislike from their games.

Oust

(v.) drive out; eject

1. The dictator was ousted in a coup d'état

Paean

(n.) a song of praise or triumph

1. A paean was written in honor of the victorious warrior.

Pagan

(adj.) polytheistic

1. Moses, distraught over some of his people's continuing pagan ways, smashed the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.

Painstaking

(adj.) thorough, careful, precise

1. Helga's painstaking research paid off with a top grade on her essay.

Palatial

(adj.) large and ornate, like a palace

1. The new palatial home contained two pools and an indoor track for jogging.

Palindrome

(n.) a word or phrase which reads the same backwards and forwards

1. Bob, "Dad," and "Madam" are examples of palindromes.

Palliate

(v.) to alleviate or ease pain but not cure; to make appear less serious

1. The medication will help palliate the pain.
2. The lawyer attempted to palliate the offense to the jury. 

Pallid

(adj.) pale in color

1. The visitor left the hospital room with a pallid face.

Pallor

(n.) lack of facial color

1. The more vivid the testimony grew, the more the witness seemed to take on a ghostly pallor.

Palpable

(adj.) touchable; clear, obvious

1. The palpable decision was to discontinue the use of drugs.
2. On a flight that had included a sudden 5,000-foot drop, the passengers' relief upon landing was palpable.

Panegyric

(n.) high praise

1. Upon his retirement, he received a great panegyric from many of his associates.
2. His panegyric to his opponent stood in sharp contrast to the harsh tenor of the campaign.

Paradigm

(n.) model, prototype; pattern

1. The machine could no longer be produced after the paradigm was destroyed.
2. The Massachusetts gubernatorial race was considered a paradigm of campaign civility.

Paradox

(n.) a tenet seemingly contradictory or false, but actually true

1. The paradox seemed so unlikely though it was true.
2. At first blush, the company's results were a paradox: Sales were down, yet profits were up.

Parapet

(n.) a wall for protection; a low wall or railing

1. The parapet protected the kingdom from the raging army.
2. The parapet kept the child from falling into the river.

Paraphernalia

(n.) equipment; accessories

1. She looked guilty since the drug paraphernalia was found in her apartment.

Pariah

(n.) an outcast

1. The pariah of the group sat by himself under the tree.

Parity

(n.) state of being the same in power, value, or rank

1. When the younger brother was promoted to co-president with the elder son, it established parity between the two.

Parley

(v.) to speak with another; to discourse

1. I will parley the information to the appropriate person.

Parochial

(adj.) religious; narrow-minded

1. Devout Christians, the Chesterfields enrolled their children in a parochial school.
2. Governor Kean urged Republicans to rise above parochial interests and be the party of inclusion.

Parody

(n.) a piece of work imitating another in a satirical manner; a poor imitation

1. The play was a parody of the Prince and Princess's marital difficulties.
2. Ugh! This is a parody of a fashionable dress!

Parry

(v.) to avoid; to ward off

1. I dislike talking to the woman so I will attempt to parry her by ducking around the corner.

Parse

(v.) to separate (a sentence) into parts and describe the function of each

1. An English teacher may ask a student to parse a sentence.

Parsimonious

(adj.) very frugal; unwilling to spend

1. The owner was so parsimonious he refused to purchase new curtains when the old ones fell off the window.
2. The parsimonious individual argued that twenty-five cents was much too expensive for a pack of gum.

Parsimony

(n.) to be unreasonably careful when spending

1. The parsimony of the wealthy woman was uncalled for.

Partisan

(n.; adj.) supporter; follower; biased; one-sided

1. The union president is a partisan of minimum-wage legislation.
2. A partisan for the incumbent mayor will not support the challenger.

Passive

(adj.) submissive; unassertive

1. He is so passive that others walk all over him.

Paucity

(n.) scarcity

1. The described feast was actually a buffet with a paucity of food.

Pavilion

(n.) a large tent or covered area, usually used for entertainment

1. The wedding pavilion was not only beautifully decorated, but also served as welcome protection from a sudden downpour.

Peccadillo

(n.) a slight fault or offense

1. The child was embarrassed when he was caught committing the peccadillo of eating chocolate before dinner.

Pecuniary

(adj.) pertaining to money

1. The retiring employee was delighted when he received a pecuniary gift.

Pedagogue

(n.) a teacher

1. Seeing the way she worked with children there was no doubt she was a true pedagogue.

Pedantic

(adj.) emphasizing minutiae or form in scholarship or teaching

1. Professor Jones's lectures were so pedantic that his students sometimes had a tough time understanding the big picture.
2. It is important to understand pedantic terminology before beginning a lecture.

Pedestrian

(adj.) mediocre; ordinary

1. We expected the meal to be exceptional, but it was just pedestrian.

Pejorative

(adj.) making things worse

1. The pejorative comment deepened the dislike between the two families.

Pellucid

(adj.) transparent

1. The pellucid material was not an adequate shield from the sun.

Penchant

(n.) a liking for

1. I have a penchant for all flavors of ice cream.

Penitent

(adj.) feeling sorry for what one has done

1. The burglar expressed his penitent feelings during his confession.

Pensive

(adj.) reflective; contemplative

1. She was in a pensive mood, just wanting to be alone to think.
2. My hours alone are often more pensive than the time I spend with friends.
3. The pensive mood was broken by a witty joke.

Penurious

(adj.) stingy, miserly

1. The penurious man had millions of dollars, but lived in a cottage to save money.
2. Charles Dickens' Scrooge is the most penurious character in any of his tales.

Perceptive

(adj.) full of insight; aware

1. The perceptive detective discovered that the murder weapon was hidden in a safe under the floor.

Percussion

(n.) striking one object against another

1. The loud percussion of the hunter's gunshot startled the birds.

Perdition

(n.) ruination

1. The perdition of the building was caused by the strong quake.

Peremptory

(adj.) barring future action; that cannot be denied, changed, etc.

1. The peremptory means of defense was satisfactory to keep out the intruders.
2. The wildcat strike was a peremptory move on the part of the workers.