plumb ADJ. /垂直;铅锤;用铅锤量/checking perpendicularity; vertical. Before hanging wallpaper it is advisable to drop a plumb line from the ceiling as a guide. also N. andV.
plumage N. /鸟类的羽毛/feathers of a bird. Bird watchers identify different species of bird by their characteristic songs and distinctive plumage.
plummet V. /垂直落下/fall sharply. Stock prices plummeted as Wall Street reacted to the crisis in the economy.
plutocracy N. /富豪统治/society ruled by the wealthy. From the way the government caters to the rich, you might think our society is a plutocracy rather than a democracy.
podiatrist N. /足病医生/doctor who treats ailments of the feet. He consulted a podiatrist about his fallen arches.
podium N. /指挥台;检阅台/pedestal; raised platform. The audience applauded as the conductor made his way to the podium.
poignancy N. /强烈的;感人的;尖锐的/quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion. Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child, the social worker was touched by the poignancy of the scene. poignant, ADJ.
polarize V. /极化;分化;两极分化/split into opposite extremes or camps. The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps. polarization, N.
polemical ADJ. /辩论的，好辩的/aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious. Lexy was a master of polemical rhetoric; she should have worn a T-shirt with the slogan "Born to Debate."
politic ADJ. /精明的; 明智的; 诡计多端的;谨慎的/expedient; prudent; well advised. Even though he was disappointed by the size of the bonus he was offered, he did not think it politic to refuse it.
polygamist N. /多配偶/one who has more than one spouse at a time. He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him.
polyglot ADJ. /多语言/speaking several languages. New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immigrants who settle there.
pomposity N. /夸大，华丽;浮夸;自大/self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt. Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say, we had to laugh at his pomposity and general air of parading his own dignity. pompous, ADJ.
ponderous ADJ. /沉重的;笨重的;呆板的;冗长的/weighty; unwieldy. His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous.
pontifical ADJ. /教皇的;主教的/pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious. From his earliest days at the seminary, John seemed destined for a high pontifical office. However, he sounded so pompous when he pontificated that he never was chosen pontiff after all.
pore V. /沉思;考察;深思熟虑;小孔，细口/study industriously; ponder; scrutinize. Determined to become a physician, Beth spent hours poring over her anatomy text.
porous ADJ. /筛子似的/full of pores; like a sieve. Dancers like to wear porous clothing because it allows the ready passage of water and air.
portend V. /预示/foretell; presage. The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them.
portent N. /征兆/sign; omen; forewarning. He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil.
portly ADJ. /健壮的;肥胖的;魁梧的/stately; stout. The overweight gentleman was referred to as portly by the polite salesclerk.
poseur N. /装模作样的人;邯郸学步/person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others. Some thought Salvador Dali was a brilliant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur.
posterity N. /子孙;后裔/descendants; future generations. We hope to leave a better world to posterity.
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