English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

positive attitude

noun

A habit of approaching situations, including difficult ones, expecting that things can go well and that effort will make a difference.

positively

adv

In a hopeful or constructive way.

positiveness

noun

The state of being positive.

positivist

noun

A person who follows the ideas of positivism.

positivistic

adj

Connected with positivism.

positivity

noun

An optimistic or constructive attitude.

positron

noun

The antimatter counterpart of the electron: identical mass, opposite (positive) charge.

posken

verb

To give an official decision on something.

Posner

name

A German and Jewish surname.

posology

noun

The branch of study concerned with drug dosages, in particular working out the correct dose.

posse

noun

A group of people, especially one gathered to help enforce the law.

possess

verb

To have or own something.

possessed

adj

Controlled by a spirit or demon.

possession

noun

Something that a person owns.

possessive

adj

Reluctant to share or give up something one considers one's own.

possessiveness

noun

A strong, controlling need to keep someone entirely to yourself.

posset

noun

A hot drink made from milk curdled with something strong, such as wine.

possibilities

noun

Things that might happen, or courses of action that could be taken.

possibility

noun

The chance that something might happen or be true.

possible

adj

Able to happen, exist, or be done; not ruled out.

possibly

adv

Perhaps; used to show something might be true.

possul

adj

Not valid for use in a ceremony or official process.

possum

noun

A tree-dwelling marsupial native to Australia and nearby islands.

post

noun

A long upright pole or beam, such as a fence post or lamppost.

post graduate

adjective

Relating to academic study undertaken after completing a first degree.

post-op

adjective

Happening in the period after a surgical operation.

post-truth

adjective

Describing a political culture in which appeals to emotion and personal belief sway opinion more than verifiable facts do.

postage

noun

The fee charged to send a letter or parcel through the mail.

postal

adj

Having to do with the mail system — collecting, sorting, and delivering letters and parcels.

postal code

noun

A short series of letters, numbers or both, added to an address so that mail can be sorted and delivered to the right area or street.

postbellum

adj

Relating to the time after a war.

postcard

noun

A small, stiff card, often with a picture on one side, sent through the mail without an envelope.

postcode

noun

A set of letters and digits attached to an address to help sort and deliver mail.

poster

noun

A large printed picture or announcement, usually put up on a wall to decorate or advertise.

posterior

adj

Located at or nearer the back of something, especially the body.

posterity

noun

Future generations, especially someone's descendants.

postfrontal

adj

Situated behind the bone at the front of the skull.

postgraduate

noun

Someone who carries on studying a subject after finishing their first degree.

posthaste

adv

Very quickly, without any delay.

posthectomy

noun

An operation to remove some or all of the foreskin.

posthetomy

noun

Surgical removal of the foreskin; circumcision.

posthumous

adj

Happening or given after a person's death.

posthumously

adv

After a person's death.

postical

adj

Facing towards the base.

posticous

adj

Found on a filament's outer face.

posting

noun

A message put up online, such as on a forum, blog, or social media site.

postman

noun

A person whose job is delivering mail to homes and businesses.

postmark

noun

A mark stamped on mail by the postal service showing where and when it was processed.

postmaster

noun

The person in charge of running a post office.

postmodernism

noun

Any style in art, architecture, literature or philosophy that reacts against an earlier modernist movement.

postmonition

noun

A hint or sign pointing to a disaster that has already happened.

postmortem

noun

An examination of a dead body carried out to establish how the person died.

postnatal

adj

Relating to the time just after a baby is born.

postoperative

adj

Relating to the time following a surgical operation.

postpartum

adj

Relating to the period right after childbirth.

postpone

verb

To move an event or activity to a later time; to delay it.

postponed

adj

Delayed until a later time than originally planned.

postponement

noun

A delay to a later time; the act of putting something off.

postponence

noun

The act of treating something as less important than something else.

postpubescent

adj

Happening after puberty.

postquel

noun

A story set after an earlier one in the same series, but not its direct sequel.

postrenal

adj

Located behind the kidneys.

postscript

noun

A short note added to a letter after the writer has signed it.

postseason

noun

The time after a sports season ends, when extra matches such as playoffs take place.

postulate

noun

A statement accepted as true without needing proof, and used as a starting point for an argument. In some fields it is treated differently from an axiom, applying to one particular subject rather than being universally true.

postulation

noun

The act of putting forward an idea as true, or the idea itself.

posture

noun

The way someone holds and positions their body, especially while sitting or standing.

posturing

noun

Behavior meant to create a false impression, often to look powerful or important.

posy

noun

A single flower or a small bunch of flowers.

pot

noun

A round container, usually with a handle, used for cooking or holding things such as plants.

potable

adj

Safe to drink.

potage

noun

A thick soup, often made creamy.

potash

noun

The water-soluble part of wood ash, used for making soap and glass and as a fertilizer (chemically speaking, an impure form of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) mixed with other potassium salts).

potassium

noun

A soft, silvery metallic element (symbol K, atomic number 19) that reacts strongly with water and is essential to living cells.

potation

noun

The act of having a drink.

potato

noun

A starchy vegetable that grows underground as the tuber of the potato plant.

potbelly

noun

A large, bulging, or swollen stomach; a paunch.

potence

noun

Power or strength.

potency

noun

The strength or power of something, such as a drug or an argument.

potent

adj

Having great power, strength, or effect.

potentate

noun

A ruler with great power, such as a king or emperor.

potential

noun

An ability or quality that hasn't yet been developed or shown.

potential energy

noun

The energy stored in an object because of its position, shape or condition, which can be released as movement or another form of energy.

potentiality

noun

The fact of having potential.

potentially

adv

Possibly, in a way that could happen.

potently

adv

In a strong and powerful way.

pothead

noun

(slang) Someone who smokes marijuana often.

pother

verb

To make a fuss or create unnecessary commotion.

potherb

noun

A plant grown for its leaves, stems or flowers, used for cooking as a herb.

potholder

noun

An insulated pad used for handling hot cooking utensils

pothole

noun

A hole or dip worn into a road surface, usually from weather or heavy traffic.

potion

noun

A drink believed to have a magical, medicinal, or poisonous effect.

potluck

noun

A shared meal where each guest brings a dish to contribute.

Potomac

noun

A major river running through Washington, D.C., and along the Maryland–Virginia border.

potomania

noun

A strong and constant craving for alcohol.

potpourri

noun

A mixture of dried, fragrant flowers and plant material, often kept in a bowl to scent a room.

pots

noun

(informal) A large amount, especially of money.

Potsdam

name

A city in Germany near Berlin, known for its palaces and the 1945 Potsdam Conference.

potshot

noun

A shot fired at a target that is easy to hit or chosen without care.

potted

adj

Grown or kept in a pot.

potter

noun

A person who makes pots and other objects out of clay.

pottery

noun

Objects made from fired clay, such as bowls, vases, and dishes.

Potts

name

An English surname, likely a patronymic derived from the given name Pott.

potty

noun

A small container used to help train young children to use the toilet.

POTUS

noun

The President of the United States, referred to by the initialism of the title.

pouch

noun

A small bag, often closed with a drawstring or zipper.

pouf

noun

A women's headdress fashionable in 18th-century France.

Poughkeepsie

name

A city in New York State, the county seat of Dutchess County.

poultice

noun

A soft, warm, moist paste — often wrapped in cloth — applied to a sore or aching part of the body to soothe it.

poultry

noun

Domestic birds such as chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, raised for meat or eggs.

pounce

verb

To leap suddenly on something in order to seize it.

pounced

verb

Simple past tense and past participle of pounce — leapt suddenly to seize something.

pound

noun

The main unit of currency in the United Kingdom, and a unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (about 454 grams).

poundage

noun

A fee worked out according to how much something weighs, in pounds.

pounded

adj

Struck or crushed repeatedly.

pounder

noun

A tool or vessel used for pounding or crushing something.

pounding

noun

The act of hitting something repeatedly, or a heavy, rhythmic beating sensation.

pour

verb

To make a liquid flow steadily out of or into a container.

pouring

adj

Falling or flowing heavily and continuously.

pout

verb

To push out one's lips, usually to show displeasure or to look sulky or flirtatious.

pouter

noun

Someone who often sulks or pulls a sullen face.

pouting

noun

The act or expression of sticking out the lips in displeasure or sulkiness.

pouty

adj

Inclined to sulk, or showing childish or mock displeasure.

pov

noun

A person's own way of thinking or feeling about something; (before a noun) seen from that angle.

poverty

noun

The state of being poor; lacking enough money to meet basic needs.

pow

intj

Used to represent the sound of a sudden impact, punch, or explosion.

powder

noun

A dry substance made of fine loose particles.

powdered

adj

Turned into a fine powder, or covered with powder.

powderize

verb

To crush or grind something into powder.

powdery

adj

Connected with powder in some way.

power

noun

The ability to do something, or to control and influence people or events.

powered

adj

Supplied with, or driven by, a specified source of energy.

powerful

adj

Having great strength, influence, or effect.

powerfully

adv

In a way that shows great strength or effect.

powerhouse

noun

A person, team, or organization noted for great strength, success, or influence.

powerless

adj

Lacking the strength, authority, or ability to do something.

powerlessness

noun

The condition of having no power or control over something.

PowerPoint

noun

An electronic slideshow presentation, especially one made with Microsoft's PowerPoint software.

powersome

adj

Full of power; strong and forceful.

powwow

noun

A gathering, especially of Native American communities, featuring dancing, singing, and ceremony.

pox

noun

A disease that causes spots or pockmarks on the skin, such as chickenpox or smallpox.

poxy

adj

Informal British: unimportant, worthless, or generally annoying.

PPD

abbreviation

Postpartum depression: a serious and lasting depression that develops after childbirth, involving persistent low mood, anxiety and difficulty bonding with the baby.

PPI

abbreviation

Pixels per inch: a measure of how densely pixels are packed on a screen, used as an indicator of sharpness.

PPM

abbreviation

Parts per million: a measure of the concentration of a substance, equal to one unit of it for every million units of the whole.

PPT

noun

A PowerPoint presentation, or the .ppt file format Microsoft PowerPoint saves slides in.

PPTX

noun

The standard file format for slide presentations used by Microsoft PowerPoint since 2007, based on the Office Open XML standard. It holds the slides, their text, images, animations, speaker notes and layout templates together in one compressed package.

PPV

abbreviation

Pay-per-view: a system in which viewers pay a one-off fee to watch a particular event or programme, and by extension the event itself.

PR

verb

To do public relations work, such as promoting a person, brand, or event.

Prabha

name

A feminine given name of Indian origin, meaning "light" or "radiance".