(into sth/into doing sth) to say or do sth that
you know will annoy sb so that they react in an angry way M EWJ1 goad : [VN]
The lawyer claimed his
client was provoked into
acts of violence by the defendant.
M H A fa Ah Eft o 0 Be careful what you say—he’s easily provoked. [also VN to
inf]
prov ost /'provast; NAmE 'prouvoust/ (also Provost) noun 1 (in
3
(in
prow /prau/
noun {formal or literary) the pointed front part of a ship or
boat ISA
prow-ess /'prauas/
noun [u] (formal) great skill at doing
sth # Ji & f£; k
fi W ft ~k; it it: academic/sporting prowess
prowl /praul/
verb, noun
m verb 1
(of an animal tfatyj) to move quietly and carefully around an area,
especially when hunting Hffir (
# ) : [V, usually +adv./prep.]
The tiger prowled through the undergrowth. [also VN] 2 to
move quietly and carefully
around an area, especially with the intention of committing a crime l&fj
(^1 fr $1^ ) : [V, usually +adv./prep.]
A man was seen
prowling around outside the
factory just before the fire started. W A# i!l
SHAo
[also VN] 3 to walk around a room, an area, etc., especially because you are
bored, anxious, etc., and cannot relax ( HAP,
4&8Mf;).flM®, AAAA: [VN] He prowled the empty rooms of the
house at night, $£ a, [alsoV +adv./prep.]
m noun ITSY^n (be/go) on the
prowl (of
an animal or a person A moving
quietly and carefully, hunting
or looking for sth M
M'if ff ( III t$ fr ifc ) : There was a fox on the prowl near
the chickens.
0
an intruder on the prowl
AlftA . ,
prowl
er /'praula(r)/
noun a person who follows sb or who moves around quietly outside their
house, especially at night, in order to frighten them, harm them or steal sth
from them ( g|i$A$llft ) Jjfrcw prox imal /'prnksimal; NAmE
'pra:k-/ adj. (anatomy ft?) located towards the centre of the
body iSi^Eft; Jfffc
proximate
/’proksimat;
NAmE 'pra:k-/ adj. [usually before noun] (technical A ill)
nearest in time, order, etc. to sth (itfiBj/ )m%) mm&m, proximity /prok'simati; NAmE
pra:k;-/ noun [U] r (of sb/sth) (to sb/sth) (formal) the state of being
near sb/$th in distance or time ( N'|b[^$|0]
) feiS, iti£:
a house in the proximity of (= near) the
motorway ifi A fft — Ilf O The proximity of the college to
0
the death of two members of her family in close proximity ia H tflffi1^.
A#
proxy /'proksi;
NAmE 'prarksi/ noun (pi. -ies) 1 [U] the authority that
you give to sb to do sth for you, when you cannot do it yourself ftJIfX;
ft^XfX: You can vote either in person or by proxy. SUsJcif Aft
$L o a proxy vote ^ItfeAftftW^ 2 [C, U] ~ (for sb) a person who has been
given the authority to represent sb else ft 3-A; AS: ft A; ft^t: Your proxy
will need to sign the form on your behalf. fftftjftfl
Aff^ft^ffcft^ o She is acting as proxy for her husband. M jiftMA
AEftft^to O They were like proxy parents to
me. fMl ft iW If] X #o 3 [C] ~ for sth (formal or technical A
if) something that you use to represent sth else that you are trying to measure
or calculate ( fl] W ft] Eft ) ft; ##J, fafe: The number of patients on a
doctor’s list was seen as a good proxy for assessing how hard they
I
1597
mtf)°iMffiB0
Prozac™
/'praozaek;
NAmE 'prou-/ noun a drug used to treat the illness
of depression Wtttf, ifcSXMHiTCfri
jtpfftf'j •) : She’s been on Prozac for two years.
Ms UK If ttWBISfMPT o
prude /pru:d/ noun (disapproving) a person that you
think is too easily shocked by things connected with
sexA^MlfEftA;
pr u dent /’pruidnt/ adj. sensible and
careful when you make judgements and decisions; avoiding unnecessary risks iif|| Eft; ffS fill; fit Uft Eft: a
prudent businessman ft BftE&ft! A o a
prudent decision/investment ^tHEftA/E! / S ^ 0 jIt might be more prudent
to get a second opinion before going ahead, ff $ £ lift A — -F ^ M*
ISo FTJ3 imprudent
► prudence /-dns/ noun [U]
0
note at care pru dent ly adv.
prud-ery /'pruidari/
noun [u]- (formal, disapproving) the attitude or behaviour of
people who seem very easily shocked by things connected with sex
-$'(’£&iftiSji:
(m?*)-(wm.
prud-ish /'pruidij/ adj. (disapproving) very easily shocked
by things connected with sex ) A
f&tt i ii M I0 ft , fk # W B0G3 STRAIT-LACED
►
prud-ish-ness noun [U] prune /pru:n/ noun, verb
mnoun a dried
m verb [VN] ~ sth (back) 1 to cut off some of the
branches from a tree, bush, etc. so that it will grow better and stronger ; fTfX: When should
you prune apple
trees? A
A M JSf A IN" ? o He
pruned the longer
branches off the tree. i&Hjfe
W.tfe-JSf # 7U 0 The hedge needs pruning back. 2 to make
sth smaller by removing
parts; to cut out parts of sth Wt M,; f|!j M ; U# M : Staff numbers have been
pruned back to 175. 3\ 175 A» O Prune out
any unnecessary details. fB
jfe AM M A H ipN W«,
►
prun-ing noun [U]: All roses
require annual pruning.
o 0 The company
would benefit from a little pruning here and there. A 'B'
mkr±0,
pruri ent /'pruariant; NAmE 'prur-/ adj.
(formal, disapproving) having or showing too much interest in things
connected with sex Iff-fe (ft ; -T ff ; 'M M (ft > prurience /-ans/ noun [U]
prur itus /pru'raitas/ noun [U] (medical
S) a severe itching (,=
the feeling that you want to scratch) that is felt on the skin in some diseases
Prus-sian
blue /.prAjn
'blur/ noun [u] a deep blue colour
used in paints M
pry/prai/ verb (pries, pry-ing, pried, pried /praid/) 1 [V] ~ (into sth) to try to find out
information about other people’s private lives in a way that is annoying or
rude ScUJf,
fl R/f, ( WM ) : I’m sick
of you prying into
my personal life! fi A %#'J & A fS! 0 I’m sorry.
1
didn’t mean to pry. A A M ^ ^j'J A „
O
She tried to keep the children away from the prying eyes of the world’s
media. fr{\
]|$.JFtttlf
@ Ao 2 (especially NAmE) = prise PS /,pi: 'es/ noun
something written at the end of a letter to introduce some more information or
sth that you have forgotten. PS is an abbreviation for ‘postscript’, pff m
XA. ( A postscript, j% AflA ) : PS Could you
send me your fax number again ? X R: if # fB M # M 0 She
added a PS asking me to water the plants. ftfejfpT
AjifW.?
psalm /sa:m/
noun a song, poem or prayer that praises God, especially one in the
Bible ( «]£#£> ) S
the Book of Psalms { <AJ4>
i#jl>
psal ter /'so:lta(r)/ noun a book containing
a collection of songs and poems, (called psalms),
with their music, that is used in a church
PSAT
/,pi: es ei 'ti:/ noun (in the