She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed. 2 (of a person or event) unreasonably opposed to the wishes of (other) people; awkward and annoying: We all wanted to go tomorrow, but she had to be perverse and insisted on going today. —ly adv: Perversely, it started to rain just as the match was due to start.
per·ver·sion /pə'vɜːʃən, -ʒənlɪpər'vɜːrʒən/ n 1 [C(of)] a perverted or twisted form of what is true, reasonable etc: a newspaper story full of perversions of the truth 2 [C] a form of sexual behaviour that is (considered) unnatural 3 [U] the action of perverting or the state of being perverted
per·ver·si·ty /pə'vɜːsɪtɪlˈpər'vɜːr-/ n 1. [U] also per·verse·ness /pə'vɜːsnəs/ per'vɜːr-/ the quality or state of being perverse: the perversity of the British weather 2 [C] a perverse act
per·vert¹ /pə'vɜːrt|pər'vɜːrt/ v [T] 1 to lead into ways of thinking or forms of behaviour (especially sexual behaviour) that are considered wrong or unnatural; DEPRAVE: All this violence on TV is perverting the minds of our young children. | perverted sexual practices 2 to use for a bad purpose: Scientific knowledge was perverted to help cause destruction and war. | To pervert the course of justice is to try to prevent justice being done. 3 to change or twist (the meaning of words)
per·vert² /'pɜːrɪvɜːrt/ n derog a person whose sexual behaviour is not (considered) natural
pe•se•ta /pə'seɪtə/ n the unit of money used in Spain before the introduction of the Euro in 2002
pes·ky /'peski/ adj [A] infml, especially AmE annoying and causing trouble
pe•so /'persəʊ/ n pl. pesos a small coin on which the money systems of many Spanish American countries are based
pes·sa·ry /'pesəri/ n 1 a medicine in solid form put into the female sex organ (VAGINA) → compare SUPPOSITORY 2 an instrument put into the VAGINA to support the WOMB or as a means of birth control
pes·si·mis·m /'pes'mizəm/ n [U] a tendency to give more attention to the bad side of a situation or to expect the worst possible result → opposite OPTIMISM
pes·si·mist /'pesɪmʃst/ n a person who thinks that whatever happens will be bad: Don't be such a pessimist – I'm sure you'll pass. → opposite OPTIMIST ︷ic /,pesɪ'mɪstɪk/ adj: The experts are pessimistic about our chances of success. ︸ically /kli/ adv
pest /pest/ n 1 a usually small animal or insect that harms or destroys food supplies; Rabbits are great pests to farmers. | garden pests | pest control 2 infml an annoying person or thing: That child's a real pest; he's continually asking questions.
pes-ter /'pestər/ v [T(for, with)] infml to annoy (someone) continually, especially with demands: The beggars pestered the tourists for money. | [+obj+to-v] My daughter has been pestering me to take her with me.
pes•ti•cide /'pestəsaɪd/ n [C;U] a chemical substance used to kill PESTs
pes·ti·lence /'pestʃlens/ n [C;U] especially old use a disease that causes death and spreads quickly to large numbers of people, especially BUBONIC PLAGUE
pes·ti·lent /'pestəlent/ also pes·ti·len·tial /,pestə'lenʃəl/
adj 1 especially old use of or causing pestilence 2 often humor
continually annoying and unpleasant
pes·tle /'pesəl, 'pestl/ n an instrument with a heavy rounded end, used for crushing substances in a special bowl (MORTAR)
pes•to /'pestəʊ/ n [U] a sauce made from BASIL, GARLIC, PINE nuts, OLIVE OIL, and cheese
$ \text{pet}^{1} / \text{pet} / n \quad \text{1 an animal kept in the home as a companion.} $
Pets are much loved in Britain and the US and treated as members of the family: Have you got any pets? | He keeps a monkey as a pet. | a pet dog/rabbit | pet food 2 often derog a person, especially a child, or thing given special and perhaps unfairly favourable treatment: She is the teacher's pet. | his pet theory 3 [C usually sing.] a person who is specially loved or lovable: Come here, (my) pet! → see also PET NAME
$ \text{pet}^2 \lor \text{-tt-} \quad \text{↑ [T]} \text{ to touch kindly with the hands, showing love: She petted the little dog. } \text{2 [i;T] infml to kiss and touch (someone else or each other) in sexual play → see also HEAVY PETTING} $
$ \text{pet}^{3} $ n old-fash à sudden show of childish bad temper and impatience, especially about something unimportant: It's nothing to get in a pet about.  $ \rightarrow $ see also PETTISH
PETA /'peta/ abbrev. for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; a US organization that works to prevent cruelty to animals, known for protesting against VVISECTION and against people wearing clothes made of fur
Pé·tain, Marshal Hen·ri /per'tæŋ, 'onrillan'ri/ (1856-1951) a French soldier and politician who was one of the main military commanders of World War I. During World War II, he became Prime Minister of France and was head of the RIGHT WING government in Vichy, which helped the Nazi army that controlled France. After the war he was put in prison for being a COLLABORATOR (=someone who helps an enemy during war).
pet·al /'petl/ n 1 any of the usually coloured leaf-like divisions of a flower: rose petals → see picture at FLOWER 2 -petalled also -petaled AmE /'petld/ having petals of the stated number or kind
pe·tard /pə'tɑːd|-ɑːrd/ n → see hoist with one's own petard (HOIST)
pet•er¹ /ˈpiːtər/ v
peter out phr v [1] to come gradually to an end: Interest in the project has petered out. | The road became narrower and rougher and eventually petered out.
peter² n → see BLUE PETER
Peter → see rob Peter to pay Paul (ROB)
Peter, Saint the leader of Jesus Christ's twelve DISCIPLES (=his close friends and followers), who became the leader of the first Christians. He is considered by Catholics to be the first POPE, and is thought of as being in charge of the keys of the gates to Heaven. He is sometimes called Simon Peter.
Peter Pan
Peter 'Pan 1 the main character in the play Peter Pan (1904) by J. M. BARRIE. He is a young boy who never grows up but lives in a magic place called NEVER-NEVER LAND and can fly. Three children, Michael, John, and Wendy, are taken by Peter Pan and a FAIRY called TINKERBELL to stay in Never-Never Land, where they have many adventures. Peter Pan's enemy is CAPTAIN HOOK, an evil PIRATE (=someone who sails on the sea, attacking other boats and stealing from them) who has a metal hook in place of one of his hands. Captain Hook's hand was cut off in a fight with Peter Pan, who threw the hand into the water where it was eaten by a CROCODILE. The crocodile then followed Captain Hook around trying to catch him and eat the rest of him. 2 a man who never seems to get older or grow up: the Peter Pan of the music business
Peter Pan 'collar n a type of usually small collar with rounded ends, used especially on women's clothes
Peter,principle, the n [singular] especially humor the idea that each person who works in an organization gradually moves up to higher and higher levels, until they reach their own 'level of incompetence' (=the level at which they are no longer able to do their job well). They then remain at this level for the rest of their working life, and this has a bad effect on their own work and on their organization. The idea was invented by the Canadian writer and teacher Laurence Peter.