Page 190 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

17_571656 ch13.qxd 11/10/04 12:39 PM Page 181
181
P – Q: SAT Words
phenomenon (fe NAHM in ahn) n. 1. any event, occurrence, or happening that
can be determined by the senses and scientifically explained; 2. any of the forego-
ing, explainable or otherwise
• The phenomenon of a total eclipse of the sun is readily explainable with a
little knowledge of astronomy.
• It is not so easy to dismiss all the reports of the phenomenon of alien abduc-
tion by people in many different parts of the world.
[phenomena pl.]
philanthropic (fil in THRAH pik) adj. charitable; giving; benign; humanitari-
an; having a desire to help mankind
• Many of the great robber barrons of the late nineteenth and early twenti-
eth centuries are known today for the philanthropic works of the founda-
tions named for them.
• Two such philanthropic organizations are the Carnegie and the Rockefeller
foundations.
philosophy (fil AHS uh fee) n. 1. theoretical or logical analysis of the principles
underlying thought, knowledge, conduct, and the nature of the universe—made up
of ethics, logic, esthetics, epistimology, metaphysics, etc.; 2. the general or specific
principles governing human character and morals
• Many different aspects of philosophy concerned the deep thinkers of the
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.
• The philosophy of medical ethicists is ever more taxed in the twenty-first
century.
• Because logic is a branch of philosophy, it should be no surprise that French
philosopher René Descartes gave us the Cartesian coordinates system of
naming points by coordinates.
[philosophic adj., philosophically adv.]
phlegmatic (flig MA tik) adj. difficult to rouse to action because of sluggish-
ness, dullness, apathy, coolness, calmness, or stolidity
• The United States was very phlegmatic in its response to both European
wars of the last century.
• The United States was far from phlegmatic in getting involved with Iraq in
2003.
[-ally adv.] [Syn. impassive]
physicist (FIZ is ist) n. a scientist dealing with the interaction of matter and
energy (physics) whose parts are mechanics, optics, heat, light, and most recently
quantum physics
•A physicist deals with lenses and the laws of refraction and reflection.
• Newton’s laws of motion are the province of the physicist.
•A physicist does not exactly deal with rocket science—er, wait a second;
that’s exactly what a physicist might deal with.