Page 326 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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O – P: GRE Words
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plethora (PLE thir uh) n. an overabundance or excess; the state of being too full
•A plethora of suds filled the tub to overflowing.
•A plethora of customers tried to get World Series tickets, and most of them
had to be turned away.
pluck (PLUHK) n. courage to meet difficulties or danger; fortitude —vt. to pull
out or pick (feathers, hairs, and so on)
• Lieutenant Rigers had the pluck to lead his platoon into battle at the head
of the column.
• Eugine showed his pluck by continuing to hunt for survivors in 20-foot
surf.
• Butchers used to pluck chickens by hand, but today a machine does it better.
[-ed, -ing] [Syn. fortitude]
plummet (PLUH mit) vi. to plunge; to fall straight downward
• When the skydiver jumped from the plane, he plummeted some 2,000 feet
before his parachute opened.
• An airplane’s wings provide lift that keeps it from plummeting to the
ground.
• A high diver plummets from the board until the water breaks his or her fall.
[-ed, -ing] [Syn. plunge]
plutocratic (PLOO toh KRAT ik) adj. of the wealthy, especially those whose
wealth carries with it great power and influence (Plutocracy is government by the
wealthy.)
• Many plutocratic families had acquired their wealth by the 1920s.
• Among America’s plutocratic family names are Carnegie, Ford, Kennedy,
and Rockefeller.
[-ally adv., plutocracy, plutocrat n.]
polarity (puh LAR i tee) adj. 1. having the tendency to align along the lines of
the earth’s magnetic field; 2. having a magnetic attraction; 3. the condition of
being divided into two opposing groups; 4. the tendency to have a strong positive
or negative attitude toward some reference point (like the positive and negative
electrodes of a battery)
• The polarity of a magnet can be determined by the way its poles line up
when allowed to swing freely.
• Magnetic polarity can also be determined by approaching one end with a
magnet of known polarity.
• Republicans in the House often show their polarity by voting as a block
against bills the Democrats support, and vice versa.
• In a closed DC circuit, electrons flow from the cathode (the end with nega-
tive polarity) toward the anode.
[polarities pl.] [Syn. alignment]