percussion      1474 |

percus sion /pa'kAjn; NAmE par'k-/ noun 1 [U] musical instruments that you play by hitting them with your hand or with a stick, for example drums        M

A A f£: percussion instruments fj A A fI 0 The track features Joey Langton on percussion.

^®M#WETAAo — picture o page R8 2 the percussion [sing.] (also per'cussion section [C]) the players of percussion instruments in an orchestra ( Hii£AI3IW ) ETAAfl^fL — compare brass(2), string

n.(6), WOODWIND

per'cussion drill noun (BrE) = hammer drill per-cus-sionist /pa'kAjamst; NAmE par'k-/ noun a person who plays percussion instruments ft $ A M

per cus sive /pa'kAsiv; NAmE par'k-/ adj. (technical AilO connected with sounds made by hitting things, espe­cially percussion instruments W; fJAAfl/1* W percu tan eous /,p3:kju:'teinias; NAmE ,p3irk-/ adj. {medical Eg) made or done through the skin A; W; ii W: a percutaneous injection

per diem /,p3: 'di:em; NAmE ,p3ir/ adj., noun (from Latin, especially NAmE)

m adj. [only before noun] (of money for each day # 0 W; S 0 if W : a per diem allowance & 0 Jig ► per diem adv.: He agreed to pay at specified rates per diem.

v noun [U, C] money paid, for example to employees, for things they need to buy every day 0 fhM; 0i^M: He will get $14 000 a year in per diem to help with the higher costs of living in Washington,   fij 14 000

per di tion /p3:'dijn; NAmE p3:r'd-/ noun [U] (formal) punishment that lasts for ever after death 77C$J Alt; ®

peregrination /.peragri'neifn/ noun [usually pi.] (literary or humorous) a journey, especially a long slow

one () mm

pere-grine /'perigrin/ (also .peregrine 'falcon) noun a grey and white bird of prey (= a bird that kills other creatures for food) that can be trained to hunt for sport

mm

per emp tor ily /pa'remptrali/ adv. (formal) in a way that allows no discussion or refusal    SHJiitfe;

AWfSi Jii&: She peremptorily rejected the request.

per emp tory /pa'remptari/ adj. (formal, disapproving) (especially of sb’s manner or behaviour     #fh)

expecting to be obeyed immediately and without ques­tion or refusal 51 W; MW;    a peremp­tory summons O The letter was peremptory in

tone.

per en nial /pa'renial/ adj., noun m adj. 1 continuing for a very long time; happening again and again-fcAW;      JS.SAjJJEW: the perennial

problem of water shortage    o that peren­

nial favourite, hamburgers 243,

[Si 2 (of plants ft tyf) living for two years or more 0 A W ► per-en-ni-aMy /-niali/ adv.: a perennially popular subject

noun any plant that lives for more than two years A mMf&l — compare annual n.(2), biennial n. per fect On adj., verb, noun

m adj. /'p3:fikt; NAmE 'p3:rf-/ 1 having everything that is necessary; complete and without faults or weaknesses 7G#W; TcjiW;       in perfect condition VtUWi

0                  a perfect set of teeth — Sij^c AW   o Well I’m sorry

but nobody’s perfect (= used when sb has criticized you). BJE, Afeo Aii, AA7cAifr0 2 completely correct; exact and accurate        gffilW; Hfeii

W: She speaks perfect English. Mi#—PiMWAifL 0 a perfect copy/fit/match ftfifcWSUA;      A#

A 0 What perfect timing! R# tfl ^ H # to M &L ! — see also word-perfect 3 the best of its kind ft ^ W ; SHi W : cl perfect example of the painter’s early style        o the perfect crime (= one

in which the criminal is never discovered) —

4 excellent; very good if W; fS W: The weather was perfect.   ® To o note at excellent 5 ~ for

sb/sth exactly right for sb/sth JEA ili HT1 ideal: It was a perfect day for a picnic. 31$ JiSF IS IISiEW AAo 0 She’s the perfect candidate for the job. MJI&tPllAWII fiAl&o O ‘Will 2.30 be OK for you?’ ‘Perfect, thanks.’ 2:30       ” “iE^io ititfo ” 6 [only before

noun] total; complete ^n|SW;    I don’t

know himhe’s a perfect stranger. ^AiAiEM, iifellTf W PS 4 Ao 7 (grammar igi£) connected with the form of a verb that consists of part of the verb have with the past participle of the main verb, used to express actions completed by the present or a particular point in the past or future ( if] )

W, jnl&Wtf]: ‘I have eaten’ is the present perfect tense of the verb ‘to eat’, ‘I had eaten’ is the past perfect and ‘I will have eaten’ is the future perfect. * I have eaten if] eat WHtE7n$N:; I had eaten JliliAfifcRj'; I will have eaten  — see also future perfect,

PAST PERFECT, PRESENT PERFECT 1171771 see PRACTICE /?., WORLD

verb /pa’fekt; NAmE par'f-/ [VN] to make sth perfect or as good as you can        {£5uA;      As a musi­

cian, she has spent years perfecting her technique.

m,

m noun /'p3ifikt; NAmE 'p3irf-/ the perfect (also the .perfect 'tense) [sing.] (grammar ig?£) the form of a verb that expresses actions completed by the present or a particular point in the past or future, formed in English with part of the verb have and the past participle of the main verb ( ^isJW ) tgJ&N" ( jS ) —see also future

PERFECT, PAST PERFECT, PRESENT PERFECT

perfection /pa'fekfn; NAmE par'f-/ noun [U, sing.] 1 the state of being perfect ft #; % A: physical perfection 0 The fish was cooked to perfection, fp ly&f&ho O The novel achieves a perfection of form that is quite new. /M&W3£A§ri^Ao 0 His performance was perfection (- sth perfect). A££Wo

2 the act of making sth perfect by doing the final improvements jft fa jjpX; A A; EEi: They have been working on the perfection of the new model. fM1~* jttit rMAh r?71 see counsel n.

perfec tion ist /pa'fekjamst; NAmE par'f-/ noun (some­times disapproving) a person who likes to do things perfectly and is not satisfied with anything less ^Ai X # ; M # t6 # ► per-fec-tion-ism /pa'fekjamzam; NAmE par'f-/ noun [U]

perfectly <Hr /'psifiktii; NAmE 'pairf-/ adv.

1                  completely      It’s perfectly normal

to feel like this. W jk W W M M: % ^ IE # W 0 0 It’s

perfectly good as it is (= it doesn’t need changing). MfE To 0 You know perfectly well what I mean. W M S %       H M W 0 O To be perfectly

honest, I didn’t want to go anyway. ic Ji S W A ^ A o 0 He stood perfectly still until the danger had passed.

|^0 o‘Do you understand?’‘Perfectly.’  

So ” 0 (old-fashioned) How perfectly awful!

2                  in a perfect way ^AHfe;      ll

illtk: The TV works perfectly now.

«T. o It fits perfectly.

.perfect 'pitch noun [U] (music If) the ability to identify or sing a musical note correctly without the help of an instrument  toWli ( taiR

.perfect 'storm noun [sing.] an occasion when several bad things happen at the same time, creating a situ­ation that could not be worse        A -A Tf; Hill

perfidi ous /pa'fidias; NAmE par'f-/ adj. (literary) that cannot be trusted A1MW; AAW 003

TREACHEROUS

perfidy /'p3ifadi; NAmE 'p3:rf-/ noun [U] (literary) unfair treatment of sb who trusts you H W.; # fg A1 A BW3 TREACHERY

perforate /'p3ifareit; NAmE 'p3irf-/ verb [VN] to make a hole or holes through sth fj ?L ; W ?L ; ij BH : The explosion perforated his eardrum.