| pertussis |
an acute infectious respiratory disease particularly serious in children, marked by intense spasms of coughing and sometimes accompanied by a high-pitched sound as air in inhaled between coughs; whooping cough. |
| Peru |
a South American country on the Pacific coast between Ecuador and Chile. |
| peruke |
a wig such as those worn by men in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, often powdered, arranged in large rolls over the ears, and tied at the nape in a ribbon; periwig. |
| perusal |
the act or an instance of reading. [2 definitions] |
| peruse |
to read or examine attentively and in detail. |
| pervade |
to spread or be present everywhere in; permeate. |
| pervasive |
spreading or present everywhere or throughout. |
| perverse |
stubbornly opposed to what is expected or requested of one, or marked by or inclined toward such an attitude. [3 definitions] |
| perversion |
an act or instance of perverting, or the condition of being perverted. [2 definitions] |
| perversity |
the quality or condition, or an instance, of being perverse. |
| pervert |
to lead astray or corrupt. [5 definitions] |
| perverted |
being opposite to or different from what is considered right or proper; wicked; distorted. [2 definitions] |
| pervious |
subject to passage or entrance, as by water; permeable. [2 definitions] |
| Pesach |
see "Passover." |
| peseta |
a chief monetary unit, along with the franc, of Andorra, equaling one hundred centimos. [2 definitions] |
| pesewa |
the smaller monetary unit of Ghana. (Cf. cedi.) |
| pesky |
(informal) pestering or annoying. |
| peso |
the chief monetary unit of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Philippines, equaling one hundred centavos. [3 definitions] |
| pessary |
a device worn in the vagina to correct uterine displacement, or to prevent conception. [2 definitions] |
| pessimism |
the belief that events will turn out badly; tendency to expect the worst. (Cf. optimism.) [3 definitions] |
| pessimist |
one who usu. expects a bad outcome. (Cf. optimist.) [2 definitions] |