Confusing Words Clarified: Group P; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc.

1. To have walked in a manner that is slow, measured, and deliberate: "When she was worried, she paced the floor in the living room."
2. To have measured a distance based on a careful walk: "He paced off the distance between the gate and the door of the barn."

1. To stick something to a surface: "The children are going to paste the stars to the blue background."
2. A dough mixture that is made with a high level of fat and can be used to make pastries: "She patted the paste into the deep baking dish and filled it with apple slices before baking it."
3. A mixture of flour and water that is used as glue: "Mother made the paste for me so I could work on my notebook."
4. Jewelery that is made from glass that has a high lead content: "The paste necklace was lustrous and looked almost real."

1. Compressed or filled to maximum capacity: "The theater was packed for the opening performance."
2. To have created a compact bundle: "I packed my suitcase last night."
3. To have carried or to have worn: "He packed his gun when he went hunting."
4. To be capable of having a significant impact: "The hurricane packed a wallop when it came on land."
5. To leave without any expressions of farewell or good-bye: "After the quarrel with her father, she packed up without saying good-bye."
6. To have created layers which are compact: "The riverbank was packed into layers of sand, gravel, and clay."
7. An indication that someone has finished putting things into bags, boxes, etc.: "They were all packed and ready to move to their new apartment."

A formal agreement between two countries, people, or groups; especially, to help each other or to stop fighting: "The ten nations signed a pact agreeing not to pollute the rivers."

"They supported a nonaggression pact between the two countries."

1. To fill to the maximum: "The rock group really packs the stadium for the concert."
2. To assemble items into a compact space: "The boy packs his suitcase carefully so as not to forget anything."
3. To wear or to carry: "She always packs a lunch when she goes on holidays."
4. To cause a significant impact or impression: "The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis pacts quite an impression when you see it for the first time."

1. A Latin word for "peace" used in the Catholic Mass as a symbolic embrace in which the participants place their hands on each other's shoulders: "The priest raised the pax while the congregation made their embraces."
2. A plaque or tablet containing a representation of a sacred subject and sometimes used in the Roman Catholic Mass during the pax: "At Christmas we often see the sign PAX displayed at the church."
3. In Roman mythology, Pax, the goddess of peace; identified with the Greek goddess Irene: "The Latin term pax, meaning "peace", is utilized in modern English."

1. Receiving remuneration for a service: "He is a paid employee for the company."
2. To have given remuneration for services provided or for property received: "I paid for my purchase at the cashier’s desk."
3. To have made compensation for; to discharge a debt: "He had paid his debt to society by doing volunteer work with street youth."

Having coated something with pitch or other waterproof composition; such as, the seams of water vessels, roofs of buildings, etc.: "The contractors payed a dark sticky substance called pitch, which is obtained from tar, to waterproof the roofs of the houses they built."

A round container that is open at the top and usually has a handle: "Please fill the pail with water and pour it on the rose bushes."

1. Light in color: "We painted the walls with a pale blue color."
2. Having a skin color that is closer to white than is usual or normal: "When he came home from the hospital, his illness left him weak and pale."

1. To suffer or to cause distress: "It will pain me to tell my friend about the accident."
2. A bodily sensation characterized by discomfort and suffering: "He was in severe pain with a broken hip that was caused by the fall down the stairs."
3. An individual who annoys or is troublesome to others: "My friend's sister is a pain when she gets into my school projects."
4. An acute emotional upset or disruption: "The pain of separation broke her heart."

1. A sheet of glass framed for a window or a door: The glassier installed the new pane in the front door."
2. A side of a bolt head or nut: "The flat pane of the bolt made it easy to hang on to while I tightened the nut with the pliers."

1. Characterized by two of something: "He bought a suit with a new pair of trousers."

"The new pair of shoes had buckles on the toes."

"An extra pair of hands is just what we need to get the work done."

2. A partnership of two often engaged in a competition against another partnership of two: "Our champion pair of tennis players easily defeated the challenging pair from the other club."
3. Two animals that mate together: "A pair of parrots can raise one chick each year."

1. To diminish, to reduce, or to trim: "The new budget will pare down on all excess expenses."

"He used the clippers to pare his fingernails."

2. To remove the outer covering or skin of fruit with a knife or similar instrument: "She used the short knife to pare the apples before she made the apple pie."

A fruit which is wide at one end (bottom) and coming to a modified point at the other end (top): "The pear tree surprised us with a large crop of pears this summer."

"Having a sweet and juicy pear is a real delight."

Joining or associating one thing with something else: "Who would have thought of pairing cheese with apple pie?"

Trimming or removing the thin outside layer of something; "My mother sat at the kitchen sink when she was paring the apples to make the pie."

1. Roof of the mouth which separates the interior of the mouth from the nasal cavity: "The shape of the palate in her mouth gave her voice a peculiar quality."
2. The sense of taste, often in reference to a refined or informed sense of taste: "He had a fine palate for tea and drank several cups each day."

1. A thin board upon which an artist mixes paints and which is held when the artist is painting: "When she needed a new palette for her studio, the artist went to the art supply store."
2. A distinctive quality or use of color in a painting: "The palette of the artist ranged from deep reds to gold."

1. A mattress or small, temporary bed: "When we have lots of company, mother makes up a pallet on the library floor for the children to sleep on."
2. A portable platform used to move heavy objects which are placed on it: "The tractor moved the pallet loaded with boxes to the end of the loading platform."
3. A small mechanism in a time piece which ensures the movement of the pendulum: "My clock keeps losing time and I think the pallet needs to be checked so the pendulum will work properly."

1. To lose strength or to be tired of something: "My energy is beginning to pall and I need to stop for a cup of tea."

"The old jokes are starting to pall on the audience."

2. Something that covers up or conceals: "The smoke from the fire created a pall over the city."
3. The heavy cloth that is used to drape over a coffin in which a body is lying: "At the request of the family, the pall on their grandfather’s coffin was deep red with gold embroidery."

A piece of machinery that is intermeshed with another piece in a manner that causes movement in one direction: "With a loud clang, the pawl fell into place and the machinery started to operate."

Trivial, meager, measly, inferior: "The miser gave a paltry donation to the fund for hungry children."

"The quality of the language used by the youth was paltry and made it difficult for the listener to understand what was being said."

1. Of secondary or of little or no importance: "They often engaged in petty arguments that went nowhere."
2. Characterized as being narrow minded: "He appeared to be a petty individual who was not interested in new music or challenging art."

Ordinary, not very important: "It was a day filled with trivial activities."

"Compared to the problems they are having, our inconveniences are trivial."

1. A typical or accepted standard: "His health was on par with other people his age."
2. The score standard for each hole during a golf game: "When we were on the golf course, I could not remember what the par for each hole was."
3. The established value of money of one country as expressed in terms of the money of another country, using an item of standard value for comparison; for example, gold: "The exchange rates at the bank indicated my money was on par with that of the country I was going to visit next week."

1. A young fish that feeds in fresh water: "From the bridge we could see the parr in the river below us."
2. A young salmon before its migrates to the sea: "The salmon are parr that live in fresh-water streams before they swim out to the ocean, become adults, and then return to breed and lay eggs in the streams that they left."

A characteristic element or factor; a quantity or quality that gives a particular form to the thing it characterizes: "We will discuss the parameters of the project at our next meeting."

The outer limits, edge, or boundary: "The perimeter of the pasture was marked with a fence."

Someone who is disliked and rejected by other people: "She is a talented player, but her angry outbursts made her a pariah in the sport of tennis."

1. Any of several tropical South American freshwater fish that are voraciously carnivorous and often attack and destroy living animals: "We could see the multitudes of piranha attacking the small deer in the river with their sharp teeth and strong jaws and quickly devouring the animal."

"He is considered a piranha in the insurance business because he eats up the competition."

To bet successfully, to exploit, or to increase something into another item of greater value: "With his skill, he attempted to parlay his investment in the stock market into a great fortune."

"The gambler decided to parlay his gold watch against the cards of his opponent."

A meeting to discuss points or issues of difference; to discuss subjects in such a meeting: "We scheduled a parley with the union to discuss wage issues."

"We attempted to parley the problems with the workers who were disinclined to listen."