Words starting with P

905 words from the Lexfall vocabulary, each with a definition and an example sentence.

P&I club A mutual association of shipowners providing protection and indemnity cover against...
P/F ratio The ratio of arterial oxygen tension to the fraction of inspired oxygen, used to grade...
p-hacking The manipulation of analysis choices until a result crosses the threshold of statistical...
p-value The probability of observing a result at least as extreme as the one measured, assuming...
pacemaker A small implanted device that sends electrical impulses to regulate a slow or irregular...
pacesetter The firm whose performance others in the industry strive to match.
pachymetry Measurement of corneal thickness.
pacing The strategy of balancing activity and rest to manage limited energy or fatigue.
pack-year A unit quantifying lifetime tobacco exposure, equal to smoking twenty cigarettes a day...
package deal An agreement in which several items are negotiated together as a single bundle rather...
pacta sunt servanda The principle that agreements must be kept and are binding on the parties who make them.
paid media Marketing exposure purchased through channels such as search ads, display and sponsored...
pain point A specific problem or frustration a prospect experiences that your product can solve.
pain, suffering and loss of amenity The head of general damages compensating for physical pain, mental distress and reduced...
painstaking Done with or requiring careful, thorough and laborious effort.
palatability The degree to which a food or supplement is pleasant to taste and therefore likely to be...
palatable Pleasant enough to eat or drink; acceptable to the taste.
palate A person's capacity to appreciate and distinguish flavours; the sense of taste.
palilalia The involuntary repetition of one's own words or phrases, often with increasing speed.
palimpsest Something reused yet still bearing traces of before.
pallet A flat portable platform on which goods are stacked and moved as a single unit by...
palletisation The stacking and securing of goods onto pallets to allow them to be handled and moved as...
palliate To relieve symptoms without curing the cause.
palliation Treatment aimed at relieving symptoms rather than curing the underlying disease.
palliative Easing symptoms without curing the cause.
palliative care Specialist care focused on relieving suffering and supporting patients with a serious or...
pallor An abnormal paleness of the skin or mucous membranes noted on examination.
palpable Able to be felt by touch during a physical examination.
palpable and overriding error A factual mistake so obvious and consequential as to justify appellate interference with...
palpate To examine a part of the body by feeling it with the hands.
palpation Examining the body by feeling with the hands.
palpitations An awareness of one's own heartbeat, often described as racing, pounding or skipping.
palter To act insincerely or equivocate, especially to mislead by trifling with the truth.
panacea A supposed cure for all problems.
panache Flamboyant confidence and stylish skill in performance or manner.
pancolitis Inflammation extending throughout the entire colon, a severe distribution of ulcerative...
pancreas The gland behind the stomach that produces insulin and digestive enzymes.
pancreatitis Inflammation of the pancreas, most often triggered by gallstones or alcohol, causing...
pancytopenia A simultaneous reduction in all three cellular blood lineages: red cells, white cells and...
pandemic A disease prevalent across a country or the world.
pander to To indulge or gratify someone's desires, weaknesses or prejudices, especially...
panegyric A public speech or piece of writing in elaborate praise of someone or something.
panic attack A sudden surge of intense fear with physical symptoms such as palpitations,...
panicle A loose, branching cluster of flowers along a central stem.
pannage The right to graze pigs on acorns and mast in another's woodland.
panniculitis Inflammation of the subcutaneous fat, presenting as tender, deep-seated nodules.
pannus An abnormal layer of inflammatory granulation tissue that invades and erodes cartilage...
panoply A complete, impressive, or wide-ranging array or display of something.
panpsychism The view that consciousness or mind is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of all matter.
papilla The conical apex of a renal pyramid, through which urine drains into a minor calyx.
papilloedema Swelling of the optic disc seen on eye examination, indicating raised pressure within the...
papule A small, solid, palpable elevation of the skin measuring less than one centimetre in...
par The nominal face value of a security, as opposed to its market price.
par for the course Exactly what one would expect to happen, especially something unwelcome that is entirely...
par value The nominal face value assigned to a share or bond.
paracentesis The needle aspiration of fluid from a body cavity, particularly drainage of ascitic fluid...
paradigm A framework of concepts and practices that defines a discipline at a given time.
paradox A statement that seems contradictory yet may be true.
paraesthesia An abnormal tingling or prickling sensation, sometimes elicited when a needle contacts a...
paragon A person or thing regarded as a perfect model of a particular quality.
parakeratosis Retention of nuclei in the cells of the stratum corneum, reflecting accelerated or...
parallel import A genuine product imported and sold outside the manufacturer's official distribution...
parallel imports Genuine branded goods imported and sold in a market without the rights holder's consent,...
parallel run Operating the old and new systems side by side to prove the new one before the old is...
parametric insurance Cover that pays a preset amount once a measured trigger is met, regardless of the actual...
paramount More important than anything else; supreme.
paramount consideration The overriding factor that must take priority above all others, namely the child's...
paramour A lover, especially the illicit partner of a married person.
paraneoplastic Describing a remote effect of a tumour on the nervous system, mediated by immune or...
paranoia An intense, unfounded distrust or suspicion that others intend harm.
paraparesis Partial weakness affecting both lower limbs.
paraphasia The unintended substitution of one word or sound for another in fluent speech.
paraphrase To restate what someone has said using different words to check you have understood...
paraphrasing Restating what the patient has said in your own words to check understanding and show you...
paraplegia Complete paralysis of both lower limbs.
paraprotein A monoclonal immunoglobulin produced in excess by a clonal expansion of plasma cells.
parasitaemia The presence and density of parasites, especially malarial forms, in the blood.
parasitic damages Additional losses recoverable only because they attach to an independently actionable...
parasocial Marked by one-sided intimacy with someone who does not know you exist.
parasomnia Any of a group of abnormal behaviours or experiences that occur during sleep or the...
parasuicide A non-fatal act of self-injury or self-poisoning that resembles suicide but is carried...
parasympathomimetic Producing effects that mimic stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
paravertebral Situated alongside the vertebral column, especially the space where spinal nerves can be...
pardon An official act remitting the penalty for a crime and, sometimes, the conviction itself.
pare To reduce something gradually by removing what is inessential.
pareidolia The tendency to perceive meaningful images, especially faces, in random or ambiguous...
parenchyma The functional tissue of an organ; in the lung, the alveoli responsible for gas exchange.
parental responsibility The legal rights, duties and authority a parent has in relation to a child and the...
parenteral Relating to nutrition or medication given into the bloodstream rather than through the...
paresis Partial weakness of a muscle or group of muscles, short of complete paralysis.
pari passu Ranking equally and without preference among competing claims.
pariah A person or group despised and rejected by society.
parity The number of pregnancies a woman has carried to a viable gestational age.
parking lot A list where off-topic points are noted to be addressed after the current agenda is...
Parkinson's disease A progressive neurological disorder characterised by tremor, rigidity and slowness of...
parkinsonism A syndrome of tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement that may be caused by disease or,...
parley A conference between opposing sides to discuss terms, especially of a dispute.
parliamentary sovereignty The principle that Parliament may make or unmake any law and that no other body may...
parochial Having a narrow outlook confined to one's own small locality.
parochialism A limited outlook concerned only with one's own team or immediate surroundings.
parody A work that imitates and evokes an existing work for humorous or critical effect,...
parol evidence rule The principle barring extrinsic evidence to contradict or vary the terms of a fully...
parole Conditional release of a prisoner before the full term.
parolee A foreign national permitted to enter or remain temporarily on humanitarian or...
paronomasia Wordplay that exploits words alike in sound but different in meaning; punning.
paronychia Inflammation of the soft tissue fold surrounding a fingernail or toenail.
parosmia A qualitative distortion of smell in which odours are perceived differently from normal.
paroxysmal Occurring in sudden, recurrent attacks or episodes.
parricide The killing of a parent or other near relative.
parsimonious Very unwilling to spend; excessively frugal.
parsimony The principle of preferring the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions.
part 20 claim A claim brought by a defendant against a third party or a co-defendant within existing...
Part 36 offer A formal offer to settle made under the rules that carries automatic costs consequences...
partial award An award that finally determines some but not all of the issues in the arbitration,...
partial exemption The apportionment of input tax where a business makes both taxable and exempt supplies,...
partial weight-bearing A restriction allowing only a limited portion of body weight to be placed through an...
participation The share of a syndicated loan that an individual lender takes and funds as its portion...
participation exemption A regime exempting dividends and gains on qualifying shareholdings from corporate tax to...
particular average A partial loss of, or damage to, a ship or cargo that is borne solely by the owner of the...
particularise To set out the specific facts or details relied on in a pleading.
particulars The specific factual detail a party must supply to clarify and delimit the case pleaded.
particulars of claim The statement of case setting out the facts on which the claimant relies and the remedy...
particulars of which are as follows A phrase introducing an itemised list of the details supporting an allegation.
partisan Strongly and often blindly loyal to one side.
parturition The process of giving birth or expelling offspring from the uterus.
party-appointed arbitrator An arbitrator nominated by one party, who must nonetheless remain independent and...
party wall A wall shared by two adjoining properties and subject to rights and duties on both sides.
parvenu A person who has recently acquired wealth or status but lacks the manners associated with...
pasquinade An anonymous satire or lampoon posted in a public place.
pass a catheter To insert a catheter along the urethra into the bladder.
pass blood per rectum To have blood emerge from the back passage, whether mixed with stool or separate from it.
pass-through An entity whose income is taxed in the hands of its owners rather than at entity level.
pass urine To urinate, often recorded when monitoring a patient's output.
passing off The common-law wrong of misrepresenting one's goods or services as another's to trade on...
passing-on defence A defendant's argument in a cartel damages claim that the claimant passed the overcharge...
passing rent The rent currently payable under a lease at a given date.
passive leg raise A reversible bedside manoeuvre that transiently increases venous return to test for fluid...
passporting The mechanism enabling a firm authorised in one Member State to provide services...
past consideration An act done before a promise is made, which generally cannot support that promise.
past medical history A record of the patient's previous illnesses, operations and significant health problems.
pastiche A work that openly imitates the style of another artist or period, often as homage.
patch A flat area of discoloured skin larger than one centimetre, essentially a macule that...
patency The condition of being open and unobstructed, especially of an airway or vessel.
patent Open and unobstructed, said of a vessel, duct or airway on imaging.
patent claim The numbered statement in a patent that legally defines the scope of the protection...
patent pending A notice indicating that a patent application has been filed but not yet granted.
patent specification The full written description of an invention filed with the claims, enabling a skilled...
patent thicket A dense, overlapping web of patents a newcomer must license or design around to...
patentability The quality of satisfying the statutory conditions for a valid patent, chiefly novelty,...
patentable Meeting the legal conditions to be granted a patent, notably novelty, inventive step, and...
patentee The person or entity in whom a granted patent is vested as proprietor.
paternalism The practice of restricting a patient's freedom for their supposed own good, overriding...
paternalistic Making decisions for patients on their behalf, based on the assumption that the clinician...
paternity The author's moral right to be identified as the creator of a work.
path dependency The way earlier choices constrain a firm's later options, locking it onto a trajectory...
pathogenesis The manner in which a disease develops.
pathogenicity The inherent ability of a microorganism to cause disease in a host.
pathognomonic So characteristic of a particular disease as to be diagnostic on its own.
pathological Describing an arbitration clause so defectively drafted that it impedes or defeats...
pathological fracture A fracture that occurs in bone weakened by underlying disease such as cancer or...
pathos A quality that evokes pity or sadness.
patient-controlled analgesia A system that lets the patient self-administer preset small doses of intravenous opioid...
patina A soft sheen or film that age and use lend to a surface.
patriarchy A social system in which men hold most of the power and authority.
patrician Belonging to or characteristic of a hereditary aristocracy of refined, high-born people.
patrimony Property or heritage inherited from one's father or ancestors.
patronage The custom or business that customers give to a supplier.
patronizing Treating someone as though they were less intelligent or capable, in a way that seems...
paucity The presence of something in insufficient quantity, often used to justify new research.
pay band A defined salary range attached to a particular grade or level of role.
pay compression The situation where newer or junior staff earn nearly as much as longer-serving or senior...
pay in lieu of notice A payment made to an employee instead of requiring them to work out their notice period.
pay-per-click An advertising model in which the advertiser pays only when someone clicks the ad.
pay rise An increase in an employee's salary.
pay-to-play Describing terms that penalise existing investors who decline to fund a later round.
payable An amount owed by a business to its suppliers for goods or services received on credit.
payee The person or party to whom a payment is made.
payer The person or party who makes a payment.
payment-in-kind A financing feature under which interest accrues and is added to the loan principal...
payment into court The lodging of a disputed sum with the court, historically as a protected settlement...
payoff The amount a derivative pays its holder at settlement as a function of the underlying's...
payout The proportion of earnings distributed to shareholders as dividends.
payroll The list of an organisation's employees and the total wages it pays, or the process of...
peak flow The maximum speed at which a person can exhale, used to monitor asthma control.
peal A loud, resonant ringing of bells or a burst of sound.
peccadillo A small, relatively trivial fault or sin.
pecking order theory The theory that firms prefer to finance investment first from retained earnings, then...
peckish Slightly hungry.
peculation The embezzlement or misappropriation of public money or property entrusted to one's care.
pecuniary Relating to or consisting of monetary loss.
pedagogy The method and practice of teaching.
pedantic Overly concerned with minor details or formal rules, especially in learning.
pedigree A verifiable record tracing a product through every step of the supply chain.
pedunculated Describing a lesion that is attached to the skin by a narrow stalk.
peeking The practice of repeatedly checking experiment results before the planned end and...
pegging Tracing a specific supply order back to the exact demand it was generated to fulfill.
pellucid Transparently clear; very easy to understand.
pemphigoid An autoimmune subepidermal blistering disorder, typically of the elderly, with tense,...
pemphigus A group of autoimmune blistering diseases in which antibodies against desmosomal proteins...
penal Relating to punishment or to the system of penalties for crime.
penal notice A warning endorsed on a court order that disobedience is a contempt punishable by...
penalty A monetary sanction imposed for a breach of tax obligations.
penalty clause A term imposing a payment out of all proportion to any legitimate interest in...
penalty doctrine The rule striking down a stipulated remedy that is extravagant compared with any...
penchant A strong liking or habitual fondness for something.
pending Awaiting a result, decision or action that has not yet been completed.
pending investigations Tests or results that have been requested but are not yet back and need following up...
penetrating trauma Injury in which an object pierces the skin and enters the body.
penetration The entry of material into the laryngeal vestibule without passing below the vocal folds.
penitent Feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong.
penology The study of the punishment of crime and the management of prisons.
pension sharing order A court order that transfers a percentage of one spouse's pension into a pension...
pensive Engaged in deep, often melancholy, thought.
pentimento A trace of an earlier composition showing through the surface of a painting.
penumbra A region of partial shadow; figuratively, a peripheral, indeterminate, or ambiguous area.
penurious Extremely poor, or unwilling to spend money to the point of meanness.
penury Extreme poverty; destitution.
peppercorn A nominal payment reserved as rent or consideration to render an agreement legally...
peppercorn rent A token rent of nominal value used to keep a tenancy legally valid.
peptic ulcer A break in the lining of the stomach or duodenum caused by acid, often linked to H....
per curiam Issued by the court collectively rather than under any single judge's name.
per incuriam Decided in ignorance of a binding authority or statute, and so lacking precedential...
per our conversation A formal reference back to a prior discussion when confirming or following up in writing.
per rectal examination A digital examination of the rectum used to assess for masses, tenderness, or the colour...
per stirpes Distributed so that each branch of a family takes the share its deceased ancestor would...
perambulate To walk about or stroll from place to place at leisure.
percentile A value below which a given percentage of observations fall, used to describe a...
perceptual map A chart plotting how consumers position competing brands along key attributes.
percussion Tapping a body surface with the fingers to judge the density of the tissue beneath from...
percutaneous coronary intervention A minimally invasive procedure that opens a narrowed coronary artery using a balloon and...
peregrinate To travel or wander from place to place, especially on foot.
peregrination A long and often meandering journey, especially one made on foot.
peregrine Coming from abroad; wandering or migratory.
peremptory Insisting on immediate obedience and allowing no refusal or discussion.
peremptory challenge A party's right to reject a prospective juror without stating a reason.
perennial Lasting or recurring year after year.
perfervid Intensely and excessively ardent, earnest, or enthusiastic.
perfidious Deceitful and treacherous, betraying trust or allegiance.
perfidy Deceitfulness and treacherous breach of trust.
performance improvement plan A formal, time-bound plan setting out the standards an underperforming employee must meet...
performance review A formal assessment of an employee's work against agreed objectives over a set period.
performance status A standardised measure of how well a patient can carry out daily activities, used to...
perfunctory Carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection, as a routine duty rather than with...
perfusion The passage of blood or fluid through tissue.
peri-arrest Describing a patient whose condition is so unstable that cardiac arrest is imminent...
periapical Relating to the tissue immediately surrounding the tip of a tooth root.
pericardiocentesis Needle aspiration of fluid from the sac surrounding the heart.
pericarditis Inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac enveloping the heart.
pericoronitis Inflammation of the soft tissue overlying a partially erupted tooth, most commonly a...
peril Serious and immediate risk of harm or injury.
perilymph The fluid occupying the space between the bony and membranous labyrinths of the inner ear.
perimetry The systematic measurement and mapping of the visual field.
perineal tear A laceration of the perineal tissue occurring during vaginal birth, graded from first to...
perinephric Situated around or surrounding the kidney.
perineum The area of tissue between the vaginal opening and the anus, which stretches during birth.
perineural Surrounding or spreading along the course of a nerve.
periodical payments Regular sums payable under a court order, typically as ongoing maintenance for a spouse...
periodical payments order An award directing damages for future loss to be paid as an index-linked income stream...
periodontal pocket An abnormally deepened gingival sulcus caused by the destruction of supporting tissue in...
periodontitis A destructive inflammatory disease of the tooth-supporting tissues causing irreversible...
periodontium The collective tissues that surround and support a tooth, including gum, ligament and...
perioperative Relating to the period encompassing the time immediately before, during and after a...
periosteal reaction New bone formation at the periosteum in response to injury, infection or tumour.
periosteum The tough vascular connective-tissue membrane covering the outer surface of bone except...
periostitis Inflammation of the periosteum, the fibrous membrane covering the outer surface of bone.
peripatetic Travelling from place to place, especially in the course of one's work.
peripeteia A sudden reversal of fortune or circumstances, especially in a tragedy.
peripheral Of secondary importance to a company's central strategy or operations.
periphrasis The use of indirect and roundabout phrasing instead of a plain expression.
perishable Liable to spoil or decay quickly and so requiring careful, timely handling.
peristalsis The wave-like muscular contractions that move food and waste through the digestive tract.
peritoneal dialysis A form of dialysis that uses the lining of the abdomen as a membrane to filter the blood.
peritonitis Inflammation of the peritoneum, producing guarding, rigidity and rebound tenderness.
perjure To wilfully give false testimony while under oath.
perjurer A person who lies under oath.
perjury The offence of lying under oath.
permanent establishment A fixed place of business through which a foreign enterprise's activities are wholly or...
permeate To spread throughout something, reaching every part.
permission stage The preliminary filter at which a judge decides whether a judicial review claim is...
permissionless Open to participation or building without needing approval from a gatekeeper.
permutation One of several possible ways in which a set of elements can be arranged or combined.
permute To rearrange the elements of a set into a different order or combination.
pernicious Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or barely noticeable way.
peroration The concluding, often impassioned, part of a speech.
perpetrate To carry out or commit a crime or wrongful act.
perpetrator The person who actually commits a crime or carries out a wrongful act.
perpetual Describing a security that carries no fixed maturity date.
perpetual injunction A final injunction granted at trial that permanently restrains or compels conduct.
perpetuity An interest in property that is void because it may vest too remotely in the future.
perquisite A benefit or privilege attached to a job in addition to normal pay.
persecution Serious and systematic ill-treatment of a person on account of their identity or beliefs.
persecutory delusion A delusion that one is being conspired against, spied on, harassed or harmed.
perseveration The uncontrollable repetition of a word, phrase or action beyond what is relevant.
persiflage Light, teasing banter or frivolous mockery delivered in a good-natured way.
persistence The quality of continuing to pursue a prospect despite repeated setbacks.
persistency The rate at which policyholders keep their policies in force rather than lapsing them.
person specification A document listing the essential and desirable skills, experience, and attributes a...
persona A fictional, research-based profile representing a target customer segment.
persona non grata A diplomat or person declared unacceptable or unwelcome by a host government and required...
personal data Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
personal data breach A breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration,...
personal injury Physical or psychological harm suffered by a person as a result of another's wrongful act.
personal protective equipment Gowns, gloves, masks and eye protection worn to shield staff from exposure to infectious...
personalisation The tailoring of content, offers or experiences to an individual's characteristics or...
perspicacious Having keen insight; quick to understand.
perspicacity Keenness of insight and understanding; the ability to notice and judge accurately.
perspicuous Clearly expressed and easy to understand.
pertain To be relevant or related to a particular subject.
pertinacious Stubbornly and doggedly persistent in holding to a purpose or opinion.
pertinacity Stubborn persistence in holding to a course, purpose or opinion.
pertinent Directly relevant to the matter under discussion.
pervasive Spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.
pervasive low mood A sad mood that is present most of the day, nearly every day, and is largely unresponsive...
petechiae Pinpoint, non-blanching haemorrhagic macules less than two millimetres in diameter...
petitioner The spouse who starts divorce proceedings by filing the initial application.
petrichor The earthy scent of rain on dry ground.
petrodollar A US dollar earned by a country through the sale of petroleum exports.
petulant Childishly sulky or bad-tempered over trifles.
phacoemulsification The standard cataract operation in which ultrasound breaks up the cloudy lens so it can...
phaeochromocytoma A catecholamine-secreting tumour of the adrenal medulla.
phalanx Any of the small bones that make up the toes.
pharmacodynamics The study of the biochemical and physiological effects a drug exerts on the body and its...
pharmacogenomics The study of how an individual's genome influences their response to drugs.
pharmacokinetics The study of how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises and eliminates a drug over...
pharmacovigilance The science and practice of detecting, assessing and preventing adverse effects of...
pharmacy medicine A medicine that may be sold only from a pharmacy under the supervision of a pharmacist,...
pharyngitis Inflammation of the pharynx, producing a sore throat.
Phase I The initial stage of merger review in which the authority decides whether a concentration...
Phase II The in-depth second stage of merger review opened where a concentration raises serious...
phased approach A delivery strategy that breaks a project into sequential stages rather than releasing...
phasing The division of a project into distinct sequential stages, each with its own gate or...
phenomenology The philosophical study of experience and consciousness as they present themselves to the...
philander To engage in casual love affairs, typically while committed to someone else.
philanthropic Devoted to the selfless promotion of others' welfare.
philippic A bitter verbal attack or denunciation.
philistine A person hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
Phillips curve The inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation posited by macroeconomic...
phlebotomy The practice of drawing blood from patients for testing or donation.
phlegmatic Calm and unemotional in temperament.
phoenixing Buying an insolvent company's business cheaply and continuing it through a new entity...
phoenixism The practice of dissolving an insolvent company and reviving its business through a new...
phonation The production of voiced sound through vibration of the vocal folds.
phoneme The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a language.
phonophobia An abnormal intolerance of or aversion to sound.
photophobia An abnormal sensitivity to light that causes discomfort, common in migraine and...
photopsia The perception of flashes of light in the absence of an external light source, often...
photosensitivity An abnormal cutaneous reaction to ultraviolet or visible light.
phototherapy Treatment of neonatal jaundice using blue light to break down bilirubin in the skin.
physiotherapy Treatment that restores movement and function through exercise and manual techniques.
physis The cartilaginous growth plate near the end of a growing long bone where longitudinal...
picaresque Describing an episodic narrative about the adventures of a roguish but appealing low-born...
pick your brains To informally ask someone knowledgeable for their advice or ideas.
picketing The stationing of striking workers outside a workplace to protest and discourage others...
piebald Having irregular patches of two colours, typically black and white.
piece rate A system of payment based on the number of units produced rather than hours worked.
pied-à-terre A small residence kept for occasional use, usually in a city away from one's main home.
pierce the corporate veil To disregard a company's separate legal personality and hold those behind it personally...
piercing the corporate veil Holding shareholders personally liable by disregarding the company's separate legal...
piety Dutiful devotion and reverence, especially toward God, family, or duty.
pigeonhole To confine someone narrowly to a single category or role.
Pigouvian Denoting a tax designed to correct a negative externality.
pilferage The theft of goods in small quantities, especially in transit or storage.
pinch A grip in which the thumb opposes one or more fingers to hold a small object.
ping To send someone a quick message to get their attention or a fast reply.
pinguecula A benign yellowish conjunctival deposit adjacent to the cornea that does not cross the...
pinna The visible external cartilaginous part of the ear that collects and funnels sound.
pipeline The set of prospective deals a salesperson is working, tracked by stage from first...
pipeline coverage The ratio of open opportunity value to the quota that pipeline must ultimately produce.
piquant Having a pleasantly sharp, spicy, or stimulating taste.
pique A feeling of irritation or resentment from wounded pride.
piracy The unauthorised copying and distribution of copyright-protected works, typically on a...
pirouette To perform a rapid spin of the body on the point of one foot.
piscary The right to fish in waters belonging to another.
piscivorous Feeding chiefly on fish.
pitch A concise, persuasive presentation of a product's value aimed at winning the buyer's...
pithy Expressing an idea concisely and forcefully.
pitting oedema Tissue swelling that leaves a temporary indentation when firm pressure is applied.
pityriasis Any of several skin conditions marked by fine, bran-like scaling.
pivot To change business strategy fundamentally.
placate To make someone less angry or hostile by doing or saying something.
placatory Intended to calm anger and win over an opponent.
placebo An inert treatment given as if it were an active drug.
placemaking The practice of designing public spaces to foster activity, character, and a sense of...
placeman A person appointed to a public post as a reward for loyalty rather than for merit.
placement The sale of new securities directly to selected investors rather than the wider market.
placenta The organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy to supply the fetus with oxygen...
plagiarism The passing off of another's work or ideas as one's own, which may also infringe...
plaintiff The party who brings a civil case to court.
plangent Loud, resonant and mournful in sound.
planning gain The public benefits or contributions a developer provides in return for planning...
planning permission Consent from the local planning authority required before carrying out most development...
planogram A diagram specifying the placement of products on retail shelves to optimise sales.
plantar Relating to the sole of the foot.
plantarflexion The movement that points the foot and toes downward, away from the shin.
plaque A soft, sticky biofilm of bacteria that forms continuously on tooth surfaces and gum...
plasmacytoma A discrete tumour composed of malignant plasma cells.
plasmapheresis The therapeutic removal of plasma, and its pathological constituents, with replacement by...
plasminogen The inactive precursor of plasmin, the enzyme that degrades fibrin during fibrinolysis.
plateau pressure The airway pressure measured during an end-inspiratory pause that reflects alveolar...
platformisation The transformation of a product or market into a platform that others build upon.
platitude A remark or statement that is dull and obvious, used as though it were fresh or profound.
platonic Denoting a close but non-sexual affection between two people.
platypnoea Breathlessness that worsens on sitting or standing and eases on lying down.
plaudit An expression of praise or approval.
plausibility The quality of appearing reasonable or credible given the available evidence.
plausible Seeming reasonable or probable based on the available information.
plausible deniability The capacity to deny knowledge of or responsibility for an action because no evidence...
play devil's advocate To argue an opposing position for the sake of testing an idea rather than out of genuine...
play hardball To negotiate in a tough, aggressive way and refuse to make easy concessions.
playbook A documented set of standard plays or procedures for handling recurring situations.
player-coach A manager who both leads a team and carries a hands-on share of the frontline work.
plea A defendant's formal answer of guilty or not guilty to a charge.
plea in mitigation The submissions made by the defence after conviction urging the court to pass a lenient...
plead guilty To formally admit in court that one committed the offence charged.
please advise A formal email closing that asks the recipient to give guidance or a decision.
please find enclosed A set phrase used to draw attention to documents accompanying the letter.
plebiscite A direct vote by all eligible members of an electorate on an important public question.
pledge The delivery of an asset to a creditor as security for a debt, with ownership remaining...
plenary Full, complete, and unqualified, especially of powers or an assembly.
plenipotentiary An envoy or diplomat invested with the full power to act independently on behalf of their...
pleomorphism Variability in the size and shape of cells or their nuclei, a feature of malignancy.
plethora An excessive abundance of something.
plethysmography A technique that measures changes in volume, used to determine lung volumes not...
pleura The thin double-layered membrane that lines the thoracic cavity and envelops each lung.
pleural effusion An abnormal accumulation of fluid within the pleural space.
pleurisy Inflammation of the pleura, producing sharp chest pain that worsens with breathing.
pleuritic Describing sharp chest pain that is aggravated by breathing, coughing or movement.
pleuritic chest pain Sharp chest pain that worsens on inspiration, coughing, or movement.
pleurodesis A procedure that fuses the pleural layers together to prevent recurrent effusion or...
plexopathy A pathological disorder of a nerve plexus such as the brachial or lumbosacral plexus.
plexus A network of intersecting nerves or vessels.
pliable Readily yielding to persuasion or pressure.
plosive A consonant produced by a complete closure of the vocal tract followed by a sudden...
plot ratio The ratio of a building's total floor area to the area of the site it occupies.
plowback The portion of earnings retained and reinvested rather than paid out as dividends.
ploy A cunning tactic designed to gain an advantage over the other side.
plurality The largest number of votes cast for one option, though short of an overall majority.
plutocracy Government or control of a society by the wealthy.
pluvial Of, relating to, or brought about by rain.
plyometrics Explosive exercises involving rapid stretching and contracting of muscle to build power.
pneumoconiosis Lung disease caused by the inhalation and retention of mineral or metallic dusts.
pneumonectomy The surgical removal of an entire lung.
pneumonia An infection that inflames the air sacs of the lungs.
pneumoperitoneum The presence of free gas within the peritoneal cavity, often signifying a perforated...
pneumothorax A collection of air in the pleural space that causes the lung to collapse.
poach To attract and recruit an employee away from a competitor.
pocket price The true revenue retained per unit after every discount, rebate, and allowance is...
poikilocytosis The presence of red blood cells of abnormal and varied shape on a blood film.
poikiloderma A combination of skin atrophy, mottled pigmentation and telangiectasia occurring together...
poison pill A defensive tactic that makes a hostile takeover prohibitively costly for the acquirer.
poka-yoke A design feature or fixture that makes an error physically impossible or instantly...
polemic A strong verbal or written attack on a view.
polemical Strongly critical or controversial in attacking an opinion or position.
political question doctrine The doctrine that certain issues are committed to the political branches and are...
poll A vote taken by counting the shares held by each member rather than by a show of hands.
polycentricity The quality of a problem whose many interlocking interests make it ill-suited to bipolar...
polycythaemia An abnormal increase in the red-cell mass, which may be primary (a myeloproliferative...
polydipsia Excessive and persistent thirst.
polymath A person of wide and varied learning.
polyneuropathy A disorder involving simultaneous dysfunction of many peripheral nerves.
polypectomy The endoscopic or surgical removal of a polyp, commonly by diathermy snare during...
polyphagia Excessive or insatiable hunger.
polypharmacy The concurrent use of multiple medications by a single patient, often raising the risk of...
polyphony Music combining several simultaneous independent melodic lines.
polyuria The passage of abnormally large volumes of urine.
pontic The artificial tooth of a fixed bridge that replaces a missing natural tooth.
pontificate To express one's opinions in a pompous and dogmatic way.
pooling The combining of patents from multiple holders into one portfolio licensed collectively.
pop you on A gentle, informal way to tell a patient you'll start a treatment.
populism A politics that pits ordinary people against a self-serving elite.
portentous Ominously foreshadowing something momentous, often calamitous.
portfolio The collection of investments held by an individual or institution.
portmanteau A word blending the sounds and meanings of two others, such as "brunch".
posit To put forward an idea or premise as a basis for argument or discussion.
positional Relating to bargaining in which each side digs into fixed demands rather than underlying...
positioning The distinct place a brand deliberately occupies in the customer's mind relative to...
positioning statement A concise internal description of a brand's target, category and point of difference.
positive end-expiratory pressure The residual airway pressure maintained at the end of expiration to keep alveoli open and...
positivism The view that genuine knowledge is confined to what can be verified by observation and...
posology The branch of pharmacology concerned with the determination of appropriate drug dosages.
possessory Relating to or arising from the fact of possession rather than documented ownership.
possessory title A class of registered title based on actual occupation where full documentary proof is...
possibility of reverter The future interest a grantor automatically retains on conveying a determinable fee,...
post-anaesthesia care unit The dedicated area where patients are monitored as they recover from anaesthesia until...
post-dural puncture headache A characteristically postural headache caused by leakage of cerebrospinal fluid through a...
post-exposure prophylaxis A short course of medication started soon after a potential exposure to prevent infection...
post-merger integration The structured process of combining two companies' operations, systems, and cultures...
post-money valuation A company's valuation immediately after new investment, equal to the pre-money valuation...
post-mortem A structured analysis conducted after an event or project to identify what happened and...
post-operative nausea and vomiting Nausea, retching or vomiting occurring in the first day or so after anaesthesia and...
postal rule The rule that acceptance by post takes effect when the letter is posted, not when it is...
posterior acoustic enhancement The apparent increase in echoes seen deep to a fluid-filled structure on ultrasound,...
postictal Relating to the altered state of consciousness, confusion or drowsiness that follows a...
postmortem A medical examination of a corpse to determine the cause of death.
postnatal Relating to the period and care immediately following childbirth for the mother and baby.
postnatal depression A depressive illness that develops in a mother in the weeks and months after giving birth.
postnuptial agreement An agreement made after marriage regulating how assets will be divided in the event of a...
postoperative Occurring in the period following a surgical operation.
postpartum haemorrhage Excessive bleeding from the genital tract after birth, usually defined as blood loss over...
postponement The subordination of one creditor's claim behind another's in order of payment.
postprandial Occurring after a meal.
postulate To assume or assert the existence of something as a foundation for reasoning.
postural Relating to the position or alignment of the head and body.
posture The position in which someone holds their body, noted during observation.
posturing Behaviour intended to impress or intimidate rather than reflect a real position.
potency The amount of a drug required to produce a given effect, an expression of the dose needed...
potentate A ruler or other person who wields great, often absolute, power.
potentiate To increase the effect or potency of another agent.
potentiation The enhancement of one drug's effect by another that has little or no effect of its own.
pour cold water on To be discouraging about something, such as a plan or idea, and to dampen enthusiasm for...
pour-over Of a will provision that channels probate assets into an existing trust to be...
povidone A polymer combined with iodine to form a broad-spectrum surgical antiseptic.
power of appointment An authority to decide who shall take an interest in property.
praecipe A written instruction to the court clerk requesting issue of a writ or other formal step.
praeteritio A rhetorical device that draws attention to something precisely by professing to pass...
pragmatic Dealing with problems in a sensible, practical way rather than by theory.
pragmatics The use of language appropriately within a social context, including turn-taking and...
pragmatism A practical approach that judges ideas by their real-world results rather than theory.
praxis Practical action that puts theory to work, as opposed to abstract contemplation.
prayer for relief The concluding part of a pleading setting out the remedies sought from the court.
pre-action disclosure Disclosure of documents ordered before proceedings are issued to help a prospective...
pre-action protocol The set of steps parties are expected to follow, including a letter before claim, before...
pre-alert An advance warning from the ambulance service that a seriously ill or injured patient is...
pre-eclampsia A pregnancy complication marked by new-onset high blood pressure and protein in the urine...
pre-emption An existing shareholder's first right to buy new shares before they go to outsiders.
pre-emption rights The statutory or contractual right of existing shareholders to be offered new shares...
pre-let A lease agreed on a building before its construction is complete.
pre-money valuation A company's agreed valuation immediately before it receives new investment in a funding...
pre-oxygenation The administration of high-concentration oxygen before induction to replace alveolar...
pre-pack An insolvency sale negotiated in full beforehand and executed the moment the...
pre-seed The earliest external funding stage, raised before a formal seed round.
pre-sentence report A report prepared by the probation service to assist the court in deciding the...
pre-wire To align key decision-makers privately before a meeting so the outcome is effectively...
preamble An introductory statement at the beginning of a statute or agreement explaining its...
preassessment The evaluation of a patient's fitness for anaesthesia and surgery before the day of...
preboarding Engaging a new hire in the gap between signing and their first day to keep them committed...
precariat The social class of people whose lives are shaped by insecure, low-paid and irregular...
precarious Not securely held or in a dangerously uncertain position.
precarity The condition of insecure, unstable, and unprotected employment.
precatory Expressing a mere wish, hope, or moral exhortation rather than imposing a binding trust...
precedent An earlier ruling used as a guide for later cases.
precedent transaction analysis A valuation method that references the multiples paid in comparable past acquisitions to...
precipitant An event or factor that triggers or immediately precedes a change in mental state.
precipitate To cause an event or situation, typically a bad one, to happen suddenly or prematurely.
preclude To prevent or make impossible a particular option or outcome.
preclusion The barring of a party from relitigating a claim or issue already finally decided.
precocial Born or hatched already mobile, feathered or furred, and relatively independent.
predation The use of aggressive pricing or tactics to drive rivals out of a market.
predator A company that pursues another, typically hostilely, in a takeover.
predatory Aimed at destroying competitors, typically by pricing below cost until they are forced...
predatory pricing Pricing below cost by a dominant firm with the aim of eliminating competitors and later...
prediabetes A state in which blood glucose is higher than normal but below the diagnostic threshold...
predicament A difficult, unpleasant or embarrassing situation.
predicate To found or base a claim, argument or condition on a particular assumption.
predicated on Founded or based on a particular assumption or condition.
predication The reasonable basis of facts that justifies opening a fraud investigation.
predictor A variable used to forecast or explain an outcome.
predilection A preference or special liking for something.
preeminence The state of surpassing all others in a market or field.
preemption An existing shareholder's right to be offered new shares before they are offered to...
preemptive Taken in advance to thwart a competitor's expected move.
preference shares Shares that carry a priority right to a fixed dividend and to return of capital ahead of...
preferential Describing a category of unsecured claim, such as certain employee entitlements, that...
prehabilitation Exercise and preparation undertaken before surgery to improve fitness and outcomes.
prehension The action of grasping or seizing an object with the hand.
prejudicial Tending to cause unfair harm to a party, especially by outweighing an item's probative...
prejudicial effect The tendency of evidence to influence the tribunal unfairly, particularly by inviting...
preload The degree of ventricular stretch at end-diastole, determined by venous return.
premature Born before thirty-seven completed weeks of pregnancy.
prematurity The condition of being born before the completion of thirty-seven weeks of gestation.
premedication Drugs given before anaesthesia to allay anxiety or reduce secretions.
premeditate To plan or think out a crime beforehand.
premeditation The act of planning or deliberating upon an offence before carrying it out.
premium The sum a policyholder pays, usually periodically, in return for insurance cover.
premiumisation The strategy of moving a brand or category towards higher-priced, higher-margin offerings.
premortem A planning exercise in which a team imagines a project has already failed and works...
prenuptial agreement An agreement made before marriage setting out how the couple's assets are to be divided...
preoperative Occurring in or relating to the period before a surgical operation.
preordained Arranged in advance as part of a single, predetermined series of transactions.
preoxygenation Administration of high-concentration oxygen before induction to build an alveolar...
prepackaged Describing a bankruptcy reorganization plan negotiated with creditors before the formal...
prepaid Paid in advance and carried forward until the related benefit is consumed.
prepay To pay an expense in advance of the period to which it relates.
prepayment An expense paid in advance and carried as an asset until the related benefit is consumed.
preponderance The greater weight of the evidence, constituting the ordinary civil standard of proof.
prepossessing Attractive or appealing in appearance, so as to create a favourable impression.
prerogative A special right or privilege belonging to a particular person or office.
prerogative power A residual power of the Crown exercised by the executive that does not derive from...
presage To foreshadow or give a warning of something about to happen.
presbycusis The progressive, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with ageing,...
presbyopia The age-related loss of the eye's ability to focus on near objects, due to stiffening of...
presbyphonia The age-related change in voice caused by atrophy and bowing of the vocal folds.
prescience The ability to foresee future developments or needs before they become evident to others.
prescient Having foresight; able to anticipate developments before they occur.
prescribe To formally order a medicine for a patient.
prescribed by law The requirement that any interference with a right have a clear and accessible legal...
prescribed part The ring-fenced slice of floating-charge realisations reserved by statute for unsecured...
prescribing by brand The deliberate specification of a particular manufacturer's product on a prescription so...
prescription The acquisition of a right, typically an easement, by long and uninterrupted use as of...
prescription-only medicine A medicine that may be supplied only against a valid prescription from an authorised...
prescriptive Stating specific rules or recommendations about what should be done, rather than merely...
present bias A systematic preference for smaller immediate payoffs over larger delayed ones.
present sense impression A statement describing an event made while the declarant perceives it or immediately...
present with Of a patient, to come in showing particular symptoms.
presentation The way a patient's condition or symptoms appear at the time of assessment.
presenteeism The practice of attending work while unwell or beyond required hours, often reducing...
presentiment An intuitive feeling that something, usually bad, is about to occur.
presenting Describing the symptom or complaint that has brought the patient to seek help on this...
presenting complaint The main symptom or problem, usually in the patient's own words, that has prompted them...
preside To hold the position of authority in a meeting or organisation.
presidency The office, rotating among the Member States, of chairing the Council of the European...
presiding arbitrator The arbitrator who chairs a three-member tribunal and manages the conduct of the...
pressing social need The standard of necessity that an interference with a Convention right must meet to be...
pressure area care The routine of inspecting, cleaning, and protecting skin over bony prominences to prevent...
pressure-relieving mattress A specialised air or foam mattress that redistributes body weight to prevent pressure...
pressure sore Skin damage caused by staying in one position too long.
pressure support ventilation A spontaneous ventilation mode in which each patient-triggered breath is augmented by a...
pressure-test To challenge a hypothesis, plan or number rigorously to see whether it holds up under...
pressure ulcer A localised area of skin and underlying tissue damage caused by sustained pressure over a...
pressured speech Speech that is rapid, urgent and difficult to interrupt, often seen in mania.
prestidigitation Manual dexterity in performing conjuring tricks; sleight of hand.
presumption An inference that the law requires or permits to be drawn until it is displaced by...
presumption of innocence The principle that a person accused of a crime is treated as innocent until proven guilty.
presumptive Based on reasonable assumption rather than confirmed evidence.
presyncope The sensation of an impending faint without actual loss of consciousness.
pretext An ostensible reason offered to conceal the true motive for an action.
prevailing wage The standard rate of pay for a job in a given area, often mandated on public contracts.
prevaricate To speak or act evasively in order to avoid telling the truth.
prevarication Evasive or misleading speech intended to avoid a direct answer.
preventive maintenance Routine servicing carried out on a schedule to stop equipment failing rather than fixing...
price discrimination Charging different buyers different prices for the same good to capture more surplus.
price-elastic Describing a good whose demand changes sharply in response to a change in its price.
price-maker A firm with enough market power to set its own price rather than accept the market's.
price point The specific price at which a product is offered, chosen to position it in the market.
price-taker A firm or individual too small to influence the market price and so obliged to accept it.
prima facie Sufficient at first sight to establish a fact unless rebutted.
primacy The principle that Union law takes precedence over conflicting rules of national law.
primary survey The initial systematic assessment of a trauma patient following the airway, breathing,...
primary tumour The original tumour at the site where the cancer first developed.
primigravida A woman who is pregnant for the first time.
priming The influence of a prior stimulus on later behaviour without conscious awareness.
priming lien A new security interest ranked ahead of existing secured creditors, usually to secure...
primogeniture The right of the firstborn, especially the eldest son, to inherit the entire estate.
primus inter pares A leader who is formally an equal among colleagues but holds a first, coordinating...
principal The original sum borrowed or invested, on which interest is calculated.
principled Acting in accordance with firmly held moral principles.
prion A misfolded, infectious protein particle that propagates by inducing normal proteins to...
prior art All information made public before a patent's filing date that is relevant to assessing...
prior inconsistent statement An earlier account by a witness that conflicts with their present testimony, deployed to...
prior to admission A phrase referring to the patient's situation or baseline before entering hospital.
prioritise To arrange tasks or patients in order of urgency or importance.
priority The right to rely on the filing date of an earlier application when assessing novelty of...
priority date The date from which the novelty and inventive step of an application are assessed,...
privacy notice A document by which a controller provides data subjects with the transparency information...
private equity Capital invested directly in private companies, typically to acquire, restructure, and...
privatisation The transfer of a company or asset from state to private ownership.
privilege A right to withhold certain evidence, such as communications with a lawyer.
privilege log An itemized schedule identifying withheld documents and stating the basis on which each...
privileged document A document that a party may withhold from inspection because it attracts legal privilege.
privity The direct contractual relationship that lets only the parties themselves sue on the...
privity of contract The doctrine that only the parties to a contract can sue or be sued on it, subject to...
prn Describing medication that is given as required rather than at fixed times.
pro bono Denoting legal work undertaken without charge for the public good.
pro hac vice By special leave granted to an out-of-jurisdiction lawyer for a single case.
pro rata Calculated in proportion to a relevant total, such as a share or a period of time.
pro-rata rights An investor's contractual right to invest in future rounds to maintain their existing...
proactive Acting in anticipation of a problem rather than only responding once it occurs.
proarrhythmic Having the capacity to induce a new or worsened arrhythmia.
probabilistic Relating to or governed by probability rather than yielding a single certain outcome.
probability weighting The tendency to overweight small probabilities and underweight large ones when making...
probate The legal proving and administering of a will.
probation A period of court supervision served in the community instead of, or after, custody.
probation period An initial spell of employment during which a new hire's suitability is assessed before...
probationary Relating to an initial trial period during which a new employee's suitability is assessed.
probationary period An initial period of employment during which the employee's suitability is assessed and...
probationer An employee working through an initial trial period before permanent appointment is...
probative Tending to prove or disprove a fact in issue.
probative value The degree to which an item of evidence tends to prove a fact genuinely in issue.
probatory Serving to test, prove, or establish a fact.
probing depth The distance in millimetres from the gingival margin to the base of the sulcus or pocket,...
probiotic A preparation of live micro-organisms intended to benefit the balance of gut bacteria.
probity Complete and confirmed integrity and uprightness of character.
problematise To treat something usually taken for granted as an issue requiring critical examination.
procedural impropriety A ground of judicial review where a decision-maker fails to observe required procedures...
procedural order A direction issued by the tribunal organising the conduct of the arbitration, such as...
proclivity A tendency or inclination towards a particular kind of behaviour, often an undesirable...
proctitis Inflammation of the rectal mucosa, often the earliest manifestation of ulcerative colitis.
procure To bring about the commission of an offence by another.
procurement The process of obtaining goods and services.
procyclical Tending to move in the same direction as the overall economy, thereby amplifying its...
prodigal Spending money or resources recklessly and wastefully.
prodigious Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.
prodrome An early symptom signalling the onset of a disease.
prodrug A pharmacologically inactive compound that is metabolised in the body into an active drug.
product-market fit The stage at which a startup's product satisfies strong market demand, evidenced by rapid...
productise To turn a bespoke service or capability into a standardised, sellable product.
productive Describing a cough that brings up sputum from the airways.
productive cough A cough that brings up sputum from the airways.
productivity The rate at which output is produced per unit of input, typically per hour of labour.
proffer To formally offer evidence or testimony for the court's acceptance.
proficiency A high degree of competence, skill or expertise in a particular area.
profiling Any automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects, in...
profit à prendre A right to enter another's land and take something of value from it, such as timber or...
profit pool The total profit available across all activities of a value chain, unevenly distributed...
profit shifting The relocation of taxable profits from high-tax to low-tax jurisdictions, typically...
profiteering The making of excessive profit by exploiting shortage or emergency.
profligacy Reckless, wasteful spending of money.
profligate Recklessly extravagant and wasteful, often in a morally dissolute way.
profound Very great, intense, or far-reaching in effect; showing deep insight.
prognosis The likely course or outcome of an illness.
programmatic Buying and placing ads automatically through real-time software auctions.
progression The growth or spread of cancer despite treatment.
progressive Of a tax, rising in rate as the taxable amount increases.
progressive discipline A graduated sequence of corrective steps, from warning to discharge, applied before...
progressive overload The principle of gradually increasing the demands placed on the body so that strength or...
progressivity The degree to which a tax system's rates rise with income.
prohibited steps order A court order preventing a parent from taking a specified action concerning a child...
prohibiting order A remedy in judicial review restraining a public body from acting or continuing to act...
prohibitive So high in cost or extent as to prevent something being done.
prohibitory Describing an injunction that restrains a party from doing or continuing a wrongful act.
project charter The founding document that formally authorises a project and sets out its objectives,...
projection The specific direction in which the X-ray beam passes through the body to form a view.
prokinetic Describing an agent or class of drug that stimulates movement through the digestive tract.
prolactinoma A benign prolactin-secreting adenoma of the anterior pituitary gland.
prolapse The slipping down of a body part from its normal position, as when the umbilical cord...
proletariat The class of wage-earning workers who own no means of production and live by selling...
proliferate To increase rapidly in number or spread widely.
proliferation Rapid reproduction and multiplication of cells.
prolix Tediously lengthy and wordy in speech or writing.
promisee The party to whom a promise is made and in whose favour the obligation runs.
promisor The party who makes a promise and thereby undertakes an obligation.
promissory Containing or amounting to a written promise to pay a specified sum.
promissory estoppel A doctrine preventing a party from going back on a promise relied upon by the other, even...
promontory A high point of land or rock projecting into the sea or a lowland.
promoter A person who undertakes to form a company and take the steps necessary to bring it into...
promulgate To put a law into effect by official proclamation.
pronation Rotation of the forearm so that the palm faces downward or backward.
prone Lying face down on the front of the body.
prone positioning Turning a ventilated patient face-down to improve ventilation-perfusion matching and...
prone to Likely to suffer from or do something, usually something undesirable.
pronouncement An authoritative statement issued by a standard-setting body.
propaganda Information, often biased, used systematically to promote a cause or viewpoint.
propensity A natural tendency or inclination to behave in a particular way.
propensity evidence Evidence of a person's disposition toward certain conduct, offered to suggest they acted...
propensity score A single estimated probability that a unit receives a treatment, used to balance groups...
prophetic Describing a worked example in a patent that was never actually performed but is...
prophylactic Intended to prevent disease or an unwanted outcome rather than to treat it.
prophylaxis Treatment given to prevent disease.
propitiate To win or regain the favour of someone by doing something that pleases them.
propofol A rapidly acting intravenous anaesthetic emulsion widely used for induction and...
proportionality The principle that an interference with a right must be no more than necessary to achieve...
proposal A formal document setting out the recommended solution, scope, and price for a prospect.
proposer The person who applies for an insurance policy by completing a proposal.
proposition An offer, or the core value a product promises.
propound To put forward a will, proposition or theory formally for acceptance or determination.
proprietary Sold under a manufacturer's registered brand name.
proprietary estoppel A doctrine that enforces a promise about land where someone has relied on it to their...
proprietor The registered owner of an intellectual property right, entitled to exploit and enforce...
propriety Conformity to accepted standards of behaviour.
proprioception The sense of the relative position and movement of one's own body parts, mediated by the...
proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation A stretching and strengthening technique using patterns of resisted movement and...
proptosis Abnormal forward protrusion of the eyeball from the orbit.
propulsion The driving force that moves the body forward, generated as the foot pushes off.
proration The proportional allocation of an amount across periods, parties, or units.
prorogation The formal ending of a parliamentary session without dissolving the legislature.
prorogue To discontinue a session of a legislature without dissolving it.
prosaic Ordinary and unimaginative; lacking poetic beauty.
proscribe To forbid or condemn something by law or authority.
proscribed Officially forbidden or banned, especially of an organisation whose membership bars a...
prosecution The process of pursuing an application through examination and correspondence until grant...
prosecution history estoppel The bar preventing a patentee from reclaiming, via equivalents, subject matter...
prosecutorial Relating to the bringing and conduct of a prosecution.
proselytise To try actively to convert others to one's opinion, faith or cause.
prosody The study of the metre, rhythm and intonation of verse.
prosopagnosia An impaired ability to recognise familiar faces despite intact vision and general...
prospect A potential customer who fits the target profile but has not yet committed to buy.
prospect theory A model of choice under risk in which people weigh gains and losses relative to a...
prospecting The activity of actively searching for and reaching out to potential new customers.
prospective Relating to events planned or expected to happen in the future.
prospective overruling The overturning of a precedent with effect confined to future cases, preserving...
prospectus A formal document inviting the public to subscribe for or purchase a company's securities.
prostatectomy Surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland.
prostatitis Inflammation of the prostate gland, which may be acute or chronic.
prosthesis An artificial replacement for a body part.
prosthodontics The dental speciality concerned with the restoration and replacement of teeth using...
prostrate Lying stretched out face downwards, often in submission or exhaustion.
prosumer A consumer who also helps to create or shape the products they use.
protean Endlessly variable and able to change form or character at will.
protected characteristic A personal attribute such as age, sex, race, or disability that is protected from...
protected disclosure A qualifying disclosure of information about wrongdoing that entitles a worker to...
protectionism The economic policy of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition through...
protective Describing a trust under which a beneficiary's life interest determines on bankruptcy or...
protective award Compensation ordered by a tribunal where an employer fails to carry out required...
protective costs order An order capping or extinguishing a party's exposure to adverse costs so as to enable a...
protector A person given powers under a trust to supervise or veto the trustees' exercise of their...
protégé A junior person whose career is guided and promoted by an experienced patron.
proteinuria The presence of an abnormal quantity of protein in the urine.
prothrombin The circulating zymogen, also called factor II, that is cleaved to thrombin during...
proto-oncogene A normal cellular gene that can promote cancer when mutated or overexpressed.
proton pump inhibitor A medicine that reduces stomach acid production to treat reflux and protect the gut...
prototype An early working model built to test a concept before full development.
provenance The documented history of an item's origin and successive custody, bearing on its...
provender Food or provisions, especially a plentiful supply.
provided that Introducing a proviso that imposes a condition or qualification on the preceding words.
providence The protective care of fate or a divine power governing human affairs.
provision A particular clause or requirement in a statute or contract.
provisional Accepted for the present but open to revision in the light of further evidence.
provisional damages An award made now on the assumption a feared deterioration will not occur, leaving the...
provisional diagnosis A working diagnosis stated before confirmatory results are available, often used in...
provisioning The setting aside of funds by a bank to absorb anticipated losses on loans and other...
proviso A condition or stipulation attached to an agreement or statement.
provocateur A person who deliberately incites another to commit an unlawful act, often to expose or...
provocation Conduct causing a sudden loss of self-control that historically reduced murder to...
prowess Outstanding skill, ability or expertise in a particular field.
proximal Situated nearer to the centre of the body or point of attachment.
proximate Being the direct and effective cause of an injury in an unbroken sequence of events.
proximate cause The dominant, effective cause of a loss that determines whether a policy responds.
proximity The closeness of relationship required before a duty of care will be recognised.
proxy A person authorised to act or decide for another, especially in medical decisions.
proxy contest A campaign to win shareholder votes in order to replace directors or force a change.
prudence The quality of being careful and sensible in judgement and conduct.
prune To cut away parts of something to make the whole leaner and healthier.
pruritus An unpleasant cutaneous sensation that provokes the desire to scratch.
pseudobulbar Relating to dysfunction from bilateral corticobulbar lesions, notably uncontrolled...
pseudodementia A reversible impairment of cognition that mimics dementia but is caused by a psychiatric...
pseudonymisation The processing of personal data so that it can no longer be attributed to a specific data...
pseudophakia The state of an eye containing an artificial intraocular lens after cataract removal.
psychoeducation The provision of structured information to patients and families about a mental disorder...
psychographics The classification of consumers according to attitudes, values and lifestyles.
psychological contract The unwritten set of mutual expectations and obligations between employer and employee...
psychological safety A team climate in which people feel safe to speak up, admit mistakes and take risks...
psychometric Relating to the measurement of mental capacities, aptitudes, and personality traits,...
psychomotor Relating to the connection between mental processes and physical movement, such as the...
psychomotor retardation A generalised slowing of movement, speech and thought, often seen in severe depression.
psychosis A severe disorder involving loss of contact with reality.
psychotropic Describing a substance that acts on the mind to alter mood, perception or behaviour.
pterygium A wing-shaped fibrovascular growth of conjunctiva encroaching onto the cornea.
ptosis Drooping of the upper eyelid, which may indicate a nerve lesion or a neuromuscular...
public authority A body whose functions are of a public nature and which is required to act compatibly...
public body An organisation that exercises functions of a public nature and is therefore amenable to...
public interest immunity A ground on which a court may withhold relevant material whose disclosure would damage...
public policy exception The ground under the New York Convention permitting a court to refuse enforcement where...
puerperium The period of about six weeks after childbirth during which the mother's body recovers.
puffery Exaggerated or vague sales talk that no reasonable person would treat as a binding...
pugnacious Keen to fight or quarrel; combative by temperament.
puisne Lower in rank, or, of a mortgage, legal but unprotected by a deposit of the title deeds.
puisne mortgage A legal mortgage that is not protected by a deposit of the title deeds.
pulchritude Great physical beauty.
pull one's weight To do one's fair share of the work within a team.
pull someone aside To take a person to one side privately for a quiet, often corrective, word.
pull the wool over someone's eyes To deceive someone in order to gain an advantage or hide the truth.
pull to par The tendency of a bond's price to converge on its face value as it nears maturity.
pullulate To breed, sprout or swarm rapidly and in great numbers.
pulmonary aspiration The inhalation of gastric contents into the airways, which may cause airway obstruction,...
pulmonary embolism A blockage of a pulmonary artery, usually by a blood clot that has travelled from the leg...
pulmonary oedema An accumulation of fluid in the alveoli, usually caused by heart failure, impairing gas...
pulp The soft connective tissue at the centre of a tooth containing nerves, blood vessels and...
pulpitis Inflammation of the dental pulp, which may be reversible or irreversible depending on the...
pulsatile Characterised by rhythmic pulsation synchronous with the heartbeat.
pulse oximeter A non-invasive device clipped to a finger to measure oxygen saturation and pulse rate.
pulseless Having no detectable pulse.
punctilio A fine point of exact and correct conduct or procedure.
punctilious Showing great, sometimes excessive, attention to correct behaviour and fine points of...
pungent Having a sharply strong taste or smell.
punitive Of damages, intended to punish the defendant rather than merely to compensate the...
punitive damages Damages meant to punish, beyond compensating the loss.
purchase price allocation The exercise of spreading the total consideration in a business combination across...
purchaser The party buying land or property in a conveyancing transaction.
purchasing power The quantity of goods and services that a unit of currency can buy at a given time.
pure economic loss Financial loss that is not consequent upon any physical damage to the claimant's person...
purl To flow with a gentle, murmuring, rippling sound.
purlieu The area near or surrounding a place; a person's usual haunts.
purloin To steal something, especially in a stealthy or petty manner.
purple squirrel A candidate whose ideal blend of skills, experience, and price is so perfect as to be...
purport To profess or claim to be or do something, without necessarily being so in fact.
purported Claimed to be true or to have happened, without independent confirmation.
purpose limitation The principle that personal data must be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate...
purposive Construing a text so as to give effect to its underlying purpose.
purposive interpretation An approach to construing legislation that gives effect to the purpose the provision was...
purpura Discolouration of the skin caused by bleeding into it, which does not blanch on pressure.
pursuant to In accordance with or under the authority of a specified statute, contract, or provision.
purulent Consisting of, containing or discharging pus.
purview The range of a person's responsibility, authority, or expertise.
push-down accounting The practice of restating an acquired subsidiary's own books to reflect the acquirer's...
pusillanimity A shameful lack of courage; timidity of spirit.
pusillanimous Showing a lack of courage; timid.
pustule A circumscribed, elevated lesion containing purulent material, giving it a yellow or...
put a pin in it To pause a topic temporarily with the intention of returning to it later.
put out a crash call To activate the emergency alarm summoning the resuscitation team to a collapsed patient.
put simply A phrase used to introduce a simpler explanation for a patient.
put the cat among the pigeons To do or say something that causes trouble, argument or alarm within a group.
put to strict proof To require the opposing party to prove an allegation strictly rather than admitting or...
putative Generally supposed or assumed to exist or to be the case.
putaway The process of moving received goods to their designated storage locations.
putsch A sudden attempt to overthrow a government by force.
puttable Describing a bond the holder may force the issuer to repurchase before maturity.
pyelonephritis Inflammation of the kidney and its pelvis, typically from ascending bacterial infection.
pyometra A serious infection of the uterus in which pus accumulates, most often in unspayed...
Pyramid Principle Barbara Minto's method of structuring communication by leading with the answer, then...
pyrexia A raised body temperature; fever.
pyrexia of unknown origin A prolonged fever without an identified cause despite appropriate initial investigation.
pyrogen A substance that induces fever, whether of microbial or host origin.
pyrosis A burning retrosternal sensation caused by acid reflux, more familiarly known as...
pyrrhic Describing a victory won at so great a cost that it is tantamount to defeat.
pyuria The presence of pus, or excess white blood cells, in the urine.

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