English dictionary — definitions & meanings

procuration

noun

The act of procuring; procurement.

procurator

noun

An agent or attorney who acts on behalf of someone else.

procuratorate

noun

The office of a procurator.

procure

verb

To obtain something, especially through effort or by particular means.

procurement

noun

The process of obtaining goods or services, especially for a business or organization.

procurer

noun

A person who procures or obtains things

procuress

noun

A middlewoman: a woman who performs as a go-between, an intermediary.

procuring

noun

The act of obtaining or acquiring something.

prod

verb

To poke someone or something, usually with a finger or pointed object.

prodding

noun

The act of poking or urging someone repeatedly.

prodigal

adjective

Spending money or resources wastefully and extravagantly.

prodigality

noun

Wasteful extravagance.

prodigious

adjective

Remarkably large, powerful, or impressive in size or degree.

prodigy

noun

A person, especially a child, with exceptional talent or ability.

produce

verb

To make or create something, especially in large quantities.

producer

noun

A person or company that makes goods or oversees the creation of a film, show, album, etc.

product

noun

Something made or manufactured to be sold or used.

production

noun

The process of making or manufacturing something.

productive

adjective

Getting a lot done; generating good results efficiently.

productiveness

noun

The state of being productive.

productivity

noun

The rate at which work, goods, or results are produced, especially in relation to effort or resources.

prof

noun

Clipping of professor.

profanate

verb

To profane; to make profane.

profanation

noun

The act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement.

profane

adjective

Showing disrespect for sacred or religious things.

profaned

adj

Treated with irreverence or without due respect.

profanity

noun

Swearing or offensive language.

profess

verb

To claim or declare something, often about oneself, sometimes insincerely.

professed

adjective

Openly stated or claimed, sometimes with doubt about its sincerity.

profession

noun

A job or occupation that requires special training or skill, especially one with a recognized qualification.

professional

adjective

Relating to or meeting the standards of a skilled occupation.

professionalism

noun

The skill, conduct, and standards expected of someone in a profession — reliability, fairness, and good judgment.

professionality

noun

The condition of being professional.

professionally

adv

As part of a paid career, rather than as a hobby.

professor

noun

The highest academic rank at a university, or, more loosely, any university teacher.

professorial

adj

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a professor or professors, or of a professorship or professorships.

professorship

noun

The office of a professor.

proffer

verb

To offer something for someone to accept.

proficiency

noun

A high level of skill or competence at something.

proficient

adj

Skilled and competent, especially through practice.

profile

noun

The outline or side view of something, especially a person's face.

profiler

noun

A person, often working with police, who builds a psychological picture of an unknown suspect.

profiling

noun

The process of building up a detailed picture of someone's likely characteristics, often used in criminal investigations.

profilist

noun

An artist who draws or paints profiles

profit

noun

The financial gain made after subtracting costs from revenue.

profitable

adj

Producing a financial profit.

profiting

noun

The act of making a profit or gain.

profligate

adj

Inclined to waste resources or behave extravagantly.

profluent

adj

Flowing smoothly as if in a stream.

proforma

noun

A document sent in advance as a formality rather than as a demand for payment, especially a proforma invoice that sets out what goods or services will cost before they are supplied.

profound

adj

Showing great depth of thought, understanding, or feeling.

profoundly

adv

To a very great or deep degree.

profoundness

noun

The quality of being profound; profundity

profundity

noun

The state of being profound; magnitude, gravity, or intensity.

profuse

adj

abundant or generous to the point of excess; copious; volubly expressed.

profusely

adv

In great abundance; freely and generously.

profuseness

noun

The quality of being profuse; profusion

profusion

noun

abundance; the state of being profuse; a cornucopia

progenitive

adj

Being able to produce offspring; reproductive.

progenitor

noun

A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.

progeny

noun

Offspring or descendants, considered together.

prognosis

noun

A prediction of how a disease or medical condition is likely to develop.

prognostic

adj

Of, pertaining to or characterized by prognosis or prediction.

prognosticable

adj

Capable of being prognosticated or foretold; predictable.

prognosticate

verb

To predict or forecast, especially through the application of skill.

prognostication

noun

A statement about or prior knowledge of the future.

prognosticator

noun

One who prognosticates or makes predictions; one who forecasts or guesses.

prograde

adj

Moving in a forward direction, especially with respect to other bodies in the same system.

program

noun

A planned set of activities or a course of action with a goal.

programme

noun

The standard British spelling of "program," used for broadcasts, plans, and schedules.

programmed

adj

Set up in advance to follow a particular schedule or set of instructions.

programmer

noun

Someone who writes computer software.

programming

noun

The act of writing computer code.

progress

noun

Forward movement or development toward a goal.

progression

noun

A gradual movement or development from one stage to the next.

progressive

adj

Favoring new ideas, reform, or gradual improvement in society.

progressively

adv

In a gradually increasing or developing way.

progressivism

noun

A political ideology that favours progress towards better conditions in society.

progressivist

noun

An advocate of progressivism.

prohibit

verb

To forbid something officially, usually by law or rule.

prohibited

adj

Officially forbidden or banned.

prohibition

noun

An act of forbidding something, or a rule that forbids it.

project

noun

A planned piece of work with a specific goal, carried out in stages.

projected

adj

Forecast or estimated for the future.

projectile

noun

An object fired or thrown through the air, especially from a weapon.

projecting

adj

Sticking out or extending beyond a surface.

projection

noun

A forecast or estimate based on current data.

projectionist

noun

A person who operates a film projector, especially at a cinema.

projector

noun

A device that projects an image or light onto a screen or surface.

projects

noun

Public, high-density housing developments for low-income residents.

prole

noun

A member of the proletariat; a proletarian.

prolegate

noun

The deputy or substitute legate.

proletarian

adj

Relating to the working class, especially wage laborers.

proletarianise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of proletarianize.

proletarianism

noun

The political character and practice of the proletariat; advocacy or advancement of the proletariat’s interests.

proletarianize

verb

To turn (a person or group) into proletariat.

proletariat

noun

The working class as a whole, especially wage earners without capital of their own.

proliferate

verb

To increase in number or spread rapidly; to multiply.

proliferation

noun

A rapid increase in the number or spread of something.

prolific

adj

Producing a large amount of something, especially offspring, fruit, or creative work.

prolificacy

noun

Great fecundity.

prolix

adj

Tediously lengthy; dwelling on trivial details.

prolixity

noun

Long-windedness, tiresome length, an excess of words.

prologue

noun

An introductory section that comes before the main part of a play, book, or story.

prolong

verb

To make something last longer than it otherwise would.

prolongation

noun

The act of prolonging.

prolonged

adj

Lasting for a long time; extended well beyond what is normal.

prolonging

noun

The act of making something last longer.

prolusion

noun

A trial before the principal performance; a prelude.

prom

noun

A formal dance held by a high school or college, typically near the end of the school year.

promenade

noun

A paved walkway, especially one along a seafront, used for strolling.

promethean

adj

Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.

Prometheus

name

In Greek mythology, the Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humanity; also a moon of Saturn.

prominence

noun

The state of being well known, important, or noticeable.

prominent

adj

Important, well known, or widely respected.

prominently

adv

In a way that is noticeable or important; conspicuously.

promiscuity

noun

The practice of having many different sexual partners, often without much selectivity.

promiscuous

adj

Having sexual relationships with many different partners, often casually.

promiscuousness

noun

The state or condition of being promiscuous.

promise

noun

A firm statement that you will or will not do something.

promised

adj

Committed to happening, based on an earlier promise.

promising

adj

Likely to turn out well or succeed; showing good early signs.

promissory

adj

Containing or amounting to a formal promise, especially to pay money.

promnesia

noun

Déjà vu, a sense of having experienced some event before due to an imagined memory.

promo

noun

An advertisement or short piece of publicity for a product, event, or show.

promontory

noun

A high point of land extending into a body of water, headland; cliff.

promote

verb

To raise someone to a higher rank or more important job.

promoter

noun

A person who organizes and publicizes an event, especially a concert or sports match.

promotion

noun

A move to a higher rank, job, or position.

promotional

adj

Relating to advertising or publicity meant to sell or popularize something.

prompt

adj

Done quickly, without delay.

prompter

noun

A person, or device such as a teleprompter, that feeds lines to a speaker or performer.

prompting

noun

The act of encouraging or reminding someone to do or say something.

promptly

adv

Without delay; quickly and immediately.

promptness

noun

The habit or characteristic of doing things without delay.

promulgate

verb

To make known or make public.

promulgation

noun

The act of promulgating or announcing something, especially a proclamation announcing a new law.

promulge

verb

To promulgate; to publish or teach.

pron

noun

Filter-avoidance spelling of porn.

prone

adj

Likely to suffer from or do something, usually something negative.

prong

noun

A thin, pointed, projecting part, as of an antler or a fork or similar tool.

pronoun

noun

A word used in place of a noun, such as I, you, she, it, they, this or who, so you do not have to repeat the name.

pronounce

verb

To make the sound of a word or letter in speech.

pronounced

adj

Very noticeable or clearly marked.

pronouncement

noun

An official public announcement.

pronouncing

noun

The act of saying a word aloud, or of declaring something formally.

pronto

adv

Quickly, right away.

pronunciation

noun

The way a word or language is spoken aloud.

proof

noun

Evidence or facts that show something is true.

proofread

verb

To carefully check a piece of writing for spelling, grammar, and other errors.