Descriptionary

presumptuous adj. (pri ZUMP choo us) bold in assuming and taking too much for granted. Frank, as usual, swaggered up to collect first prize even before the winner's name was announced; he's so presumptu­ous, we all want to vomit.

pretense n. (PREE tens) a false front, put-on, or affection. Under the pretense of "having a job to do," the female reporter marched boldly into the men's locker room and confronted the naked players.

pretentious adj. (pri TEN shus) affected, fake; putting up a grand but false image of oneself. Joe often behaves like an intellectual, but most people realize he is being pretentious when he misuses big words.

prima donna n. (PREE muh DON uh) an egotis­tical, moody, whining brat. (Also, the lead female vocalist in an opera.) We were warned not to cast one particular actress in the production because she had a reputation as a prima donna.

primordial adj. (pri MOR dee ul) primitive; prehis­toric. Capturing and protecting territory is a primor­dial urge.

pristine adj. (pris TEEN) unpolluted; untouched; pure. The mountain lakeshore was off-limits to devel­opment and was therefore pristine.

prodigious adj. (pruh DIJ us) huge, powerful; impressive. Flying around the world in a hot-air bal­loon is a prodigious undertaking.

prodigy n. (PROD i jee) a child with extraordi­nary talent or intelligence. The five-year-old guitar prodigy played Jimi Hendrix licks with astonishing proficiency.

profane adj. (pro FAYN) disrespectful and irrever­ent, especially regarding religious matters. Your scoff­ing remarks about my religion are profane, but I'll always defend your right to free speech.

proficient adj. (pro FISH unt) competent, skillful. Sally has become a proficient gardener; her tomato plants often grow more than six feet high.

profligate adj. (PROF luh git) extremely wasteful; extravagant. The winner of the lottery was so prof­ligate, he managed to spend all of his winnings in a single year.

profound adj. (pro FOUND) of great depth or import. Her theory that more than one god existed in the universe was profound.

profuse adj. (pro FYOOS) pouring out with great volume. The only way to stop profuse bleeding is to bandage and apply pressure.

profusion n. (pro FYOO zshun) a great pouring forth; a great amount. When we entered the swamp we were met with a profusion of mosquitoes.

proletariat n. (PROH li TAIR ee ut) the working class; industrial laborers collectively. The proletariat protested their minimum wages while the company's executives earned millions.