Definitions of
sound-alike words: P, Part 1
- packed
- crowded together, as in: The airport was packed with people trying to get home for vacation.
- pact
- agreement, as in: The two countries signed a mutual non-aggression pact.
- pail
- bucket with a handle, as in: The child filled his pail with sand at the seashore.
- pale
- lacking color, as in: When she heard the news, her
cheeks turned pale.
- pain
- suffering, as in: He took a nap, and when he awoke the pain of his headache was gone.
- pane
- sheet of glass set in a window, as in: We had to buy a new pane of glass for the front window because the kids were playing ball in the house.
- pair
- two of a kind, as in: I need a new pair of shoes.
- pare
- trim the outer layer of, as in: Do you pare an apple when you eat it, or do you like it unpeeled?
- pear
- bell-shaped fruit, as in: She had a juicy pear for her lunch.
- parameter
- a variable or a factor, as in: The following parameters serve as guidelines for decison-making by the school site councils.
- perimeter
- the outer boundary, as in: He measured the perimeter of his property and bought enough fencing material to go around it.
- partition
- a divider, as in: They used bookshelves as a partition in the large living room.
- petition
- formal request, as in: She signed the petition to change the zoning law.
- partially
- to some extent, as in: The dog was partially blind in one eye.
- partly
- in some parts, as in: The movie was partly based on fact, but the rest was fiction.
- passed
- moved or proceeded, as in: The parade passed in front of the reviewers' stand.
- past
- having occurred in a time before now, as in: In the past, the pace of life seemed slower.
- patience
- ability to wait without complaining, as in: Teaching children requires a lot of patience .
- patients
- people undergoing medical care, as in: The doctor
visits her patients in the hospital every morning.
- peace
- absence of war or troubles, as in: She works hard to make her home a place of rest and peace for her family.
- piece
- separate part of a whole, as in: May I have the last piece of pie?
- peak
- highest point, as in: They reached the peak of the mountain by midday.
- peek
- a quick look, as in: Peek
in on the baby and see if she's still asleep, please.
- pique
- feeling of sharp anger or resentment, as in: She
canceled the party in a fit of pique.
- stimulate interest or curiosity, as in: If you want visitors to read the words on your website, you have to pique their interest in some
manner.
- peal
- loud, prolonged sound, as in: The peal of the bells at midnight woke everyone in town.
- peel
- outer covering of a fruit or vegetable, as in: Where can I put my banana peel?
- pedal
- use a foot-operated lever, as in: As I get older,
it's getting harder to pedal my bicycle up the hill.
- peddle
- go from place to place selling, as in: The farmer
came to town to peddle his surplus tomatoes.
- peer
- an equal, as in: When it comes to playing the violin, he has no peer.
- pier
- landing place for ships, as in: We waved from the pier as the cruise ship sailed.
- penultimate
- next to last, as in: Y is the penultimate letter of the alphabet. According to the Random House Dictionary of 1966, penultimate means almost last, a contraction of the Latin phrase paene ultima. According to my old, old Roget's Thesaurus (1960), penultimate can mean last but one or last but two. However, in grammar, the ultima is the last syllable in a word, and the penult or penultima is specifically the second to last syllable. I don't know if, in grammar, there is a name for specifically the third to last syllable. (Thanks to a Sharpe reader for bringing this to my attention.)
- ultimate
- last or final, as in: The ultimate cost of the project will be over one million dollars.
- percent,
also per cent
- per one hundred, as in: The unemployment rate went
down one percent.
- percentage
- proportion in regard to the whole, as in: Only a
small percentage of the people voted for a raise in taxes.
- perfect
- free from defects or complete, as in: The sweater is a perfect fit.
- prefect
- high-ranking official, as in: He made an appointment to interview the prefect about the new policy.
- perpetrate
- perform or commit, as in: Only a depraved person could perpetrate such a horrible crime.
- perpetuate
- preserve forever, as in: The statue will perpetuate the memory of our hero.
- perquisite
- special privilege accorded a position or office, as in: A luxury car is a perquisite reserved for top executives of that company.
- prerequisite
- something required in advance, as in: The Principles of Business class is a prerequisite for Marketing 22.
- persecute
- oppress or harass, as in: It is unlawful in the U. S. to persecute someone for his or her religious beliefs.
- prosecute
- conduct legal proceedings against, as in: This store will prosecute anyone caught shoplifting.
- personal
- private, as in: She didn't want to discuss her personal affairs in such a public place.
- personnel
- Human Resources Department of a company, as in: Please take your resume to the Personnel Department.
- perspective
- point of view, as in: From his perspective, it looks unfair.
- prospective
- expected or future, as in: The prospective buyer went to the company's Web site to learn about the
new product.
- peruse
- read all the way through carefully, as in: The head of our department set aside time to peruse the report before making a decision.
- pursue
- chase or follow for a specific purpose, as in: You
must be willing to pursue your goal despite setbacks if you want to succeed.
- faze
- scare or worry, as in: The flash-flood warnings
didn't seem to faze him at all.
- phase
- aspect or stage of development, as in: Two-year-olds go through a rebellious phase.
This list of definitions can't replace your dictionary. Rather
than discussing every possible meaning of the words on this list,
I try to show how one word differs from another in a group of words that sound or
look very much alike.
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