| poltroonery | (noun) abject pusillanimity | - |
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| polyandry | (noun) the state of having more than one husband at a time | - |
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| polymetry | (noun) The combining of different metres simultaneously. | - |
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| popery | (noun) offensive terms for the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church | Synonyms: papism |
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| porphyry | (noun) any igneous rock with crystals embedded in a finer groundmass of minerals | Synonyms: porphyritic rock |
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| pottery | (noun) the craft of making earthenware | - |
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| (noun) ceramic ware made from clay and baked in a kiln | Synonyms: clayware |
| (noun) a workshop where clayware is made | - |
| poultry | (noun) a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl | Synonyms: domestic fowl, fowl |
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| (noun) flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food | - |
| prebendary | (noun) a canon who receives a prebend for serving the church | - |
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| prehistory | (noun) the time during the development of human culture before the appearance of the written word | Synonyms: prehistoric culture |
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| preliminary | (noun) a minor match preceding the main event | Synonyms: prelim |
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| (noun) something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows | Synonyms: overture, prelude |
| presbytery | (noun) building reserved for the officiating clergy | - |
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| primary | (noun) a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen | Synonyms: primary election |
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| (noun) one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing | Synonyms: primary feather, primary quill |
| (noun) coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit | Synonyms: primary coil, primary winding |
| (noun) (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it | - |
| priory | (noun) religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress | - |
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| promontory | (noun) a natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea) | Synonyms: foreland, head, headland |
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| proprietary | (noun) an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits | Synonyms: proprietorship |
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| protohistory | (noun) the study of humans prior to the invention of writing | Synonyms: protoanthropology |
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| prudery | (noun) excessive or affected modesty | Synonyms: Grundyism, primness, prudishness |
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| pry | (noun) a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge | Synonyms: crowbar, pry bar, wrecking bar |
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| psaltery | (noun) an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre or zither but having a trapezoidal sounding board under the strings | - |
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| psychiatry | (noun) the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders | Synonyms: psychological medicine, psychopathology |
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| psychometry | (noun) any branch of psychology concerned with psychological measurements | Synonyms: psychometrics, psychometrika |
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| psychosurgery | (noun) brain surgery on human patients intended to relieve severe and otherwise intractable mental or behavioral problems | - |
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| puffery | (noun) a flattering commendation (especially when used for promotional purposes) | - |
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| puppetry | (noun) a stilted dramatic performance (as if by puppets) | - |
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| (noun) the art of making puppets and presenting puppet shows | - |
| purgatory | (noun) (theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins | - |
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| (noun) a temporary condition of torment or suffering | - |
| pycnometry | (noun) The determination of liquid density by weighing the liquid in a container (pycnometer) of known volume. | - |
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| pyrochemistry | (noun) processes for chemical reactions at high temperatures | Synonyms: pyrochemical process |
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| pyrolatry | (noun) the worship of fire | Synonyms: fire-worship |
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| quackery | (noun) medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings | Synonyms: empiricism |
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| (noun) the dishonesty of a charlatan | Synonyms: charlatanism |
| quandary | (noun) state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options | Synonyms: dilemma |
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| (noun) a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one | Synonyms: plight, predicament |
| quarry | (noun) animal hunted or caught for food | Synonyms: prey |
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| (noun) a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate | Synonyms: pit, stone pit |
| (noun) a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence | Synonyms: fair game, prey, target |
| quatercentenary | (noun) the 400th anniversary (or the celebration of it) | Synonyms: quatercentennial |
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| quaternary | (noun) the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one | Synonyms: 4, four, foursome, IV, Little Joe, quadruplet, quartet, quatern, quaternion, quaternity, tetrad |
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| query | (noun) an instance of questioning | Synonyms: enquiry, inquiry, interrogation, question |
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| quincentenary | (noun) the 500th anniversary (or the celebration of it) | Synonyms: quincentennial |
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| radiochemistry | (noun) the chemistry of radioactive substances | Synonyms: nuclear chemistry |
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| raillery | (noun) light teasing repartee | Synonyms: backchat, banter, give-and-take |
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| raspberry | (noun) a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt | Synonyms: bird, boo, Bronx cheer, hiss, hoot, razz, razzing, snort |
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| (noun) red or black edible aggregate berries usually smaller than the related blackberries | - |
| (noun) woody brambles bearing usually red but sometimes black or yellow fruits that separate from the receptacle when ripe and are rounder and smaller than blackberries | Synonyms: raspberry bush |
| reactionary | (noun) an extreme conservative; an opponent of progress or liberalism | Synonyms: extreme right-winger, ultraconservative |
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| recovery | (noun) the act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost) | Synonyms: retrieval |
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| (noun) return to an original state | - |
| (noun) gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury | Synonyms: convalescence, recuperation |
| rectory | (noun) an official residence provided by a church for its parson or vicar or rector | Synonyms: parsonage, vicarage |
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| redberry | (noun) small spiny evergreen shrub of western United States and Mexico with minute flowers and bright red berries | Synonyms: red-berry, Rhamnus croceus |
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| (noun) North American perennial herb with alternately compound leaves and racemes of small white flowers followed by bright red oval poisonous berries | Synonyms: Actaea rubra, red-berry, red baneberry, snakeberry |
| rediscovery | (noun) the act of discovering again | - |
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| reentry | (noun) the act of entering again | - |
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| refectory | (noun) a communal dining-hall (usually in a monastery) | - |
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| refinery | (noun) an industrial plant for purifying a crude substance | - |
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| reformatory | (noun) correctional institution for the detention and discipline and training of young or first offenders | Synonyms: reform school, training school |
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| refractory | (noun) lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace | Synonyms: furnace lining |
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| registry | (noun) an official written record of names or events or transactions | Synonyms: register |
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| reliquary | (noun) a container where religious relics are stored or displayed (especially relics of saints) | - |
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| repertory | (noun) a storehouse where a stock of things is kept | - |
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| (noun) the entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation | Synonyms: repertoire |
| (noun) a collection of works (plays, songs, operas, ballets) that an artist or company can perform and do perform for short intervals on a regular schedule | Synonyms: repertoire |
| (noun) a theatrical company that performs plays from a repertoire | Synonyms: repertory company, stock company |
| repository | (noun) a facility where things can be deposited for storage or safekeeping | Synonyms: deposit, depositary, depository |
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| (noun) a burial vault (usually for some famous person) | Synonyms: monument |
| (noun) a person to whom a secret is entrusted | Synonyms: secretary |
| rettery | (noun) a place or establishment where flax is retted. | - |
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| revelry | (noun) unrestrained merrymaking | Synonyms: revel |
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| revery | (noun) an abstracted state of absorption | Synonyms: reverie |
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| (noun) absentminded dreaming while awake | Synonyms: air castle, castle in Spain, castle in the air, daydream, daydreaming, oneirism, reverie |
| revolutionary | (noun) a radical supporter of political or social revolution | Synonyms: revolutionist, subversive, subverter |
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| ribaldry | (noun) behavior or language bordering on indelicacy | Synonyms: gaminess, raciness, spiciness |
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| (noun) ribald humor | - |
| rivalry | (noun) the act of competing as for profit or a prize | Synonyms: competition, contention |
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| robbery | (noun) larceny by threat of violence | - |
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| (noun) plundering during riots or in wartime | Synonyms: looting |
| rockery | (noun) a garden featuring rocks; usually alpine plants | Synonyms: rock garden |
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| rocketry | (noun) the branch of engineering science that studies rocket design and operation | - |
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| roguery | (noun) reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others | Synonyms: devilment, devilry, deviltry, mischief-making, mischief, mischievousness, rascality, roguishness, shenanigan |
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| rookery | (noun) a breeding ground for gregarious birds (such as rooks) | - |
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| rosary | (noun) a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics) | Synonyms: prayer beads |
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| rosemary | (noun) extremely pungent leaves used fresh or dried as seasoning for especially meats | - |
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| (noun) widely cultivated for its fragrant grey-green leaves used in cooking and in perfumery | Synonyms: Rosmarinus officinalis |
| rotary | (noun) a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island | Synonyms: circle, roundabout, traffic circle |
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| (noun) electrical converter consisting of a synchronous machine that converts alternating to direct current or vice versa | Synonyms: rotary converter, synchronous converter |
| rougeberry | (noun) bushy houseplant having white to pale pink flowers followed by racemes of scarlet berries; tropical Americas | Synonyms: blood berry, bloodberry, Rivina humilis, rouge plant |
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| rowanberry | (noun) decorative red berrylike fruit of a rowan tree | - |
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| saddlery | (noun) gear for a horse | Synonyms: stable gear, tack |
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| (noun) workshop where a saddler works | - |
| salary | (noun) something that remunerates | Synonyms: earnings, pay, remuneration, wage |
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| salmonberry | (noun) large erect red-flowered raspberry of western North America having large pinkish-orange berries | Synonyms: Rubus spectabilis |
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| (noun) white-flowered raspberry of western North America and northern Mexico with thimble-shaped orange berries | Synonyms: Rubus parviflorus, salmon berry, thimbleberry |
| (noun) creeping raspberry of north temperate regions with yellow or orange berries | Synonyms: bakeapple, baked-apple berry, cloudberry, dwarf mulberry, Rubus chamaemorus |
| salutatory | (noun) an opening or welcoming statement (especially one delivered at graduation exercises) | Synonyms: salutatory address, salutatory oration |
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| sanctuary | (noun) area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir; often enclosed by a lattice or railing | Synonyms: bema, chancel |
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| (noun) a shelter from danger or hardship | Synonyms: asylum, refuge |
| (noun) a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept | - |
| sandberry | (noun) evergreen mat-forming shrub of North America and northern Eurasia having small white flowers and red berries; leaves turn red in autumn | Synonyms: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, bear's grape, common bearberry, creashak, hog cranberry, mealberry, mountain box, red bearberry, sand berry, wild cranberry |
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| saury | (noun) slender long-beaked fish of temperate Atlantic waters | Synonyms: billfish, Scomberesox saurus |
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| savagery | (noun) a brutal barbarous savage act | Synonyms: barbarism, barbarity, brutality |
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| (noun) the trait of extreme cruelty | Synonyms: brutality, ferociousness, viciousness |
| (noun) the property of being untamed and ferocious | Synonyms: savageness |
| savory | (noun) either of two aromatic herbs of the mint family | Synonyms: savoury |
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| (noun) an aromatic or spicy dish served at the end of dinner or as an hors d'oeuvre | Synonyms: savoury |
| (noun) any of several aromatic herbs or subshrubs of the genus Satureja having spikes of flowers attractive to bees | - |
| (noun) dwarf aromatic shrub of Mediterranean regions | Synonyms: Micromeria juliana |
| savoury | (noun) either of two aromatic herbs of the mint family | Synonyms: savory |
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| (noun) an aromatic or spicy dish served at the end of dinner or as an hors d'oeuvre | Synonyms: savory |
| scapulary | (noun) garment consisting of a long wide piece of woolen cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head; part of a monastic habit | Synonyms: scapular |
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| scenery | (noun) the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale | Synonyms: scene |
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| (noun) the appearance of a place | - |
| scullery | (noun) a small room (in large old British houses) next to the kitchen; where kitchen utensils are cleaned and kept and other rough household jobs are done | - |
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| scurry | (noun) rushing about hastily in an undignified way | Synonyms: scamper, scramble |
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| secondary | (noun) coil such that current is induced in it by passing a current through the primary coil | Synonyms: secondary coil, secondary winding |
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| (noun) the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen | - |
| secretary | (noun) a desk used for writing | Synonyms: escritoire, secretaire, writing table |
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| (noun) an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization | Synonyms: secretarial assistant |
| (noun) a person who is head of an administrative department of government | - |
| (noun) a person to whom a secret is entrusted | Synonyms: repository |
| sectary | (noun) a member of a sect | Synonyms: sectarian, sectarist |
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| seigneury | (noun) the position and authority of a feudal lord | Synonyms: feudal lordship, seigniory |
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| (noun) the estate of a seigneur | Synonyms: seigniory, signory |
| seigniory | (noun) the position and authority of a feudal lord | Synonyms: feudal lordship, seigneury |
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| (noun) the estate of a seigneur | Synonyms: seigneury, signory |
| selenolatry | (noun) the worship of the moon | Synonyms: moon-worship |
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| semicentenary | (noun) the 50th anniversary (or the celebration of it) | Synonyms: semicentennial |
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| seminary | (noun) a theological school for training ministers or priests or rabbis | - |
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| (noun) a private place of education for the young | - |
| sentry | (noun) a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event | Synonyms: lookout, lookout man, picket, scout, sentinel, spotter, watch |
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| septenary | (noun) the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one | Synonyms: 7, heptad, septet, seven, sevener, VII |
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| serictery | (noun) silk-producing gland of insects (especially of a silkworm) or spiders | Synonyms: sericterium, silk gland |
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| serviceberry | (noun) edible purple or red berries | Synonyms: juneberry, saskatoon, shadberry |
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| (noun) any of various North American trees or shrubs having showy white flowers and edible blue-black or purplish fruit | Synonyms: Juneberry, service tree, shadblow, shadbush |
| shadberry | (noun) edible purple or red berries | Synonyms: juneberry, saskatoon, serviceberry |
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| sherry | (noun) dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif | - |
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| shrubbery | (noun) a collection of shrubs growing together | - |
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| (noun) an area where a number of shrubs are planted | - |
| signatory | (noun) someone who signs and is bound by a document | Synonyms: signer |
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| signory | (noun) the estate of a seigneur | Synonyms: seigneury, seigniory |
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| silverberry | (noun) deciduous unarmed North American shrub with silvery leaves and fruits | Synonyms: Elaeagnus commutata, silver-bush, silver berry, silverbush |
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