a judgment reached before the evidence is available
palmistry
Noun
telling fortunes by lines on the palm of the hand
palm reading
Noun
telling fortunes by lines on the palm of the hand
pyromancy
Noun
divination by fire or flames
perpendicular style
Noun
a Gothic style in 14th and 15th century England
pain in the neck
Noun
something or someone that causes trouble
pain in the neck
Noun
a bothersome annoying person
pain in the ass
Noun
something or someone that causes trouble
private nuisance
Noun
a nuisance that interferes with your interest in and private use and enjoyment of your land
public nuisance
Noun
a nuisance that unreasonably interferes with a right that is common to the general public
power series
Noun
the sum of terms containing successively higher integral powers of a variable
predictor variable
Noun
a variable that can be used to predict the value of another variable (as in statistical regression)
plague
Noun
an annoyance
plague
Noun
any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)
plague
Noun
a swarm of insects that attack plants
plague
Noun
any epidemic disease with a high death rate
plague
Noun
a serious, sometimes fatal, infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
plague
Verb
annoy continually or chronically
plague
Verb
cause to suffer a blight
plot element
Noun
a component or element of the plot of a story
point of intersection
Noun
a point where lines intersect
probable cause
Noun
(law) evidence sufficient to warrant an arrest or search and seizure
parity check
Noun
a system of checking for errors in computer functioning
positive reinforcing stimulus
Noun
a reinforcing stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it
positive reinforcer
Noun
a reinforcing stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it
paramount issue
Noun
an issue whose settlement is more important than anything else
pocketbook issue
Noun
an issue whose settlement will affect financial resources
positive stimulus
Noun
a stimulus with desirable consequences
parameter
Noun
a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves
parameter
Noun
a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data
parameter
Noun
(computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program
parameter
Noun
any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance
parametric quantity
Noun
a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves
planetesimal hypothesis
Noun
(cosmology) the theory that the solar system was formed by the gravitational accumulation of planetesimals
policy
Noun
a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
policy
Noun
written contract or certificate of insurance
policy
Noun
a line of argument rationalizing the course of action of a government
pension plan
Noun
a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement
pension account
Noun
a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement
plan of action
Noun
a plan for actively doing something
precondition
Noun
a condition that is a prerequisite
precondition
Noun
an assumption that is taken for granted
precondition
Noun
an assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else
precondition
Verb
put into the required condition beforehand
patent system
Noun
a legal system for protecting the rights of inventors
pillar of Islam
Noun
(Islam) one of the five religious obligations accepted by all Muslims
pathetic fallacy
Noun
the fallacy of attributing human feelings to inanimate objects
pricing system
Noun
a system for setting prices on goods or services
petitio principii
Noun
the logical fallacy of assuming the conclusion in the premises
promotion system
Noun
a system for advancing participants to higher-status positions