2. (philosophy) of or relating to pragmatism;

3. involving everyday or practical business;

pragmatical; (adv.): pragmatically; (n.): pragmaticality. [C17: from Late Latin prāgmaticus, from Greek prāgmatikos from pragma, ‘act’, from prattein, ‘to do’]. [emphasis added]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

1. action or policy dictated by consideration of the immediate *practical consequences rather than by theory or dogma*;

2. (philosophy) a. the doctrine that the content of a concept consists only in its practical applicability;

(n.): pragmatist; (adj.): pragmatistic. [emphasis added]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

praxeology (n.): the study of human conduct; (adj.): praxeological. [1900-05; from Greek prāxe- (taken as singular of prâxis, ‘deed, act, action’; praxis, ‘practice, practical application as distinguished from theory’) + -o- + -logy; perhaps via. French praxéologie]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• precisive (adj.): 1. (logic) limiting or making precise by removing all that is not absolutely necessary or relevant; 2. (formal) exact; precise. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• precisive (adj.): 1. separating or distinguishing (a person or thing) from another or others; [e.g.]: “the precisive imputation of guilt”; 2. characterised by accuracy or exactness; [e.g.]: “a precisive method of expressing oneself”. [1670-80; from Latin praecīsus (from praecīdere, ‘to curtail’, from prae, ‘before’ + caedere, ‘to cut’) + -ive, a suffix of adjectives (and nouns of adjectival origin) expressing tendency, disposition, function, connection, etc.; e.g.: corrective, destructive, detective, passive, sportive]. ~ (Random House Dictionary).

• precisive (adj.): 1. cutting off; amputative; eradicative; [e.g.]: “At other times our church moderates her censure, ... using a medicinal censure before a precisive; a less to prevent a greater excommunication”. (Timothy Puller, 1638-1693, “The moderation of the Church of England”, 1679, p. 360); 2. pertaining to or resulting from the mental precision of one object from another; precisive abstraction: see the quotation, and abstraction; [e.g.]: “Precisive abstraction is when we consider those things apart which cannot really exist apart, as when we consider mode without considering its substance and subject”. (Dr. Isaac Watts, “Logick”, 1725, I. vi. § 9). [= Spanish, Italian precisivo, from precise + -ive]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• precisive (adj.): cutting off; (logic): exactly limiting by cutting off all that is not absolutely relative to the purpose; [e.g.]: “a precisive abstraction”; “a precisive censure”. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary).

predicate (v.; predicated, predicating, predicates; tr.v.): to base or establish (a statement or action, for example); [e.g.]: “I predicated my argument on the facts”; (n.): predication; (adj.): predicational, predicative; (adv.): predicatively. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

preferent (adj.): preferred above all others and treated with partiality.~ \ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• prejudices’ (synonyms): prejudgements, preconceptions, predeterminations, preconceived ideas, prearranged notions. (©1998 Oxford Dictionary).

unconsidered’ (synonyms): unthinking, imprudent, injudicious, irresponsible, reactive, knee-jerk, hasty, reckless, rash. (Oxford Thesaurus).

• prelapsarian (adj.): characteristic of or relating to the human state or time before the Fall; [e.g.]: “a prelapsarian innocence”. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• prelapsarian (adj.): of or relating to the period before the fall of Adam and Eve. [pre- + Latin lāpsus, ‘fall’, from lāpsāre, frequentative of lābī, ‘to lapse’ + -arian]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• lapsarian (adj.): 1. of or pertaining to the fall of man from innocence; 2. (n.): one who believes that humankind has fallen from a better state. [etymology: from Latin lapsus, ‘fall’ +‎ -arian, ‘believer’, ‘advocate’; cf. English lapse; viz.: from Middle French laps, from Latin lāpsus, from lābī, ‘to slip’; doublet of lapsus]. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary).

• Fall of Man (Judeo-Christian mythology): when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, God punished them by driving them out of the Garden of Eden and into the world where they would be subject to sickness and pain and eventual death. ~ (Princeton WordNet 3.0).

• antilapsarianism (adj.): the doctrine which denies the fall of man; (n.): antilapsarian. ~ (Ologies & Isms Dictionary).

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• prepossession (n.): 1. a preconception or prejudice; 2. the state of being preoccupied with thoughts, opinions, or feelings. [from pre-, prefix + possess, from Middle English possessen, from Old French possesser, from Latin possidēre, possess-, from pos-, ‘as master’ + sedēre, ‘to sit’ + -ion]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• prepossession (n.): 1. the state or condition of being prepossessed; 2. a prejudice or bias, esp. a favourable one. [from pre-, prefix + possess, from Old French possesser, from Latin possidēre, ‘to own’, ‘occupy’; related to Latin sedēre, ‘to sit’ + -ion]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• prepossession (n.): 1. the state of being prepossessed; 2. a prejudice, esp. one in favour of a person or thing; (adj. ): prepossessionary. [1640-50; from pre-, prefix + possess, from late Middle English possesen, from Middle French possess(i)er, nounal derivative of possession, ‘possession’ + -ion]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• prepossession (n.): 1. the condition of being prepossessed; [e.g.]: “the king’s prepossession in my favour is very valuable”; (synonyms): condition, status (a state at a particular time); [e.g.]: “It was in a condition (or state) of disrepair”; “The current status of the arms negotiations”; 2. an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence; (synonyms): preconception, preconceived idea, preconceived notion, preconceived opinion, parti pris (literally: side taken, from French parti, ‘decision’, ‘side’ + pris, ‘taken’, meaning: an inclination for or against something or someone which affects judgment; a prejudice, a preconceived attitude or opinion); [e.g.]: “He did not even try to confirm his preconceptions beforehand”; opinion, persuasion, thought, sentiment, view (a personal belief or judgment which is not founded on proof or certainty); [e.g.]: “My opinion differs from yours”; “I am not of your persuasion at all”; “What are your thoughts on the matter?” ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• prepossession (n.): 1. an inclination for or against which inhibits impartial judgment; (synonyms): bias, one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, prejudice, tendentiousness; 2. total occupation of the attention or of the mind; (synonyms): absorption, engrossment, enthrallment, immersion, preoccupation. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus).

• prepossession (n.): 1. the act of taking possession beforehand; preoccupation; prior possession; [e.g.]: “And the consideration and serious belief of this, that God hath taken care to anticipate and prevent every man to give piety the prepossession, before other competitors should be able to pretend to him; and so to engage him in holiness first, and then in bliss, is another argument of great energy to work effectually on mankind, and recommend this obedience to them”. (Henry Hammond, “Of Fundamentals”; Chapter viii., § 12., page 128); 2. the state of being prepossessed; predisposition; prejudice, usually of a favourable nature; hence, liking; favourable opinion; [e.g.]: “They that were the hearers and spectators of what our Saviour said and did had mighty and inveterate prepossessions to struggle with”. (John Sharp, 1645-1714, “Fifteen Sermons Preach’d on Several Occasions”, Vol. I., Sermon Six, preached at Whitehall on the 20th of March, 1684/5, page 217); “Such a hovering faith as this, which refuses to settle upon any determination, is absolutely necessary in a mind that is careful to avoid errors and prepossessions”. (Joseph Addison, “The Spectator”, No. 117; July 14, 1711); “When you acknowledge her Merit, and own your Prepossession for another, at once, you gratify my Fondness, and cure my Jealousy”. (Richard Steele, 1672-1729, “The Conscious Lovers”, ii, 1); “So long has general improvement to contend with the force of habit and the passion of prepossession”. (Isaac D’Israeli, 1766-1848, “Amenities of Literature”, I. 148); (synonyms, def. 2.): bias, bent. [from pre- + possession]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• prepossess (tr.v.): 1. to preoccupy, as ground or land; take previous possession of; [e.g.]: “Wisedome, which being given alike to all Ages, cannot be prepossest by the Ancients; wherefore seeing that to seeke the Truth is inbred to all, they bereave themselves of wisedome the gift of God who without judgement follow the Ancients, and are led by others like bruit beasts”. (John Milton, “Of Reformation in England”, May 1641, i.); “Permitting others of a later Extraction to prepossess that Place in Your Esteem”. (William Congreve, “Way of the World”, March 1700, Dedication); 2. to preoccupy the mind or heart of; imbue beforehand with some opinion or estimate; bias; prejudice: as, ‘his appearance and manners strongly prepossessed them in his favour’; prepossess is more frequently used in a good sense than prejudice, and the participial adjective prepossessing has always a good sense; [e.g.]: “Master Montague is preparing to go to Paris as a Messenger of Honour, to prepossess the King and Council there with the Truth of Things”. (James Howell, “Epistolae Ho-Elianae; the Familiar Letters”, I. iv. 26, page 334); “They were so prepossest with this matter, and affected with ye same, as they commited Mr. Alden to prison”. (William Bradford, 1590-1657, “Plymouth Plantation”, p. 318); “Gentlemen, let not prejudice prepossess you”. (Izaak Walton, “The Complete Angler”, p. 31). “To confess a truth, he has not prepossessed me in his favour”. (Oliver Goldsmith, 1730-1774, “The Vicar of Wakefield”, v). [from pre- + possess]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• prepossessing (partic. adj.): predisposing the mind to favour; making a favourable impression; pleasing; attractive: as, ‘a prepossessing address’; [e.g.]: “A young man of prepossessing appearance and gentlemanly deportment”. (Rev. Richard H. Barham a.k.a. Thomas Ingoldsby, “The Ingoldsby Legends or Mirth and Marvels”, I. 190); (synonyms): attractive, taking, winning. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• prepossessingly (adv.): in a prepossessing manner; in such a way as to produce a favourable impression. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• preposterous: contrary to nature, reason, or common sense’. (Oxford Dictionary).

‘Presumptuous: characterised by presumption [the taking upon oneself of more than one’s position etc. warrants; overconfident opinion or conduct, arrogance] or undue confidence; forward, impertinent’. (Oxford Dictionary).

• pretermit (tr.v.; pretermitted, pretermitting, pretermits):

1. to disregard intentionally or allow to pass unnoticed or unmentioned;

2. to fail to do or include; omit;

3. to interrupt or terminate;

(n.): pretermission; pretermitter. [Latin praetermittere: praeter, ‘beyond’; see preterit [viz.: comparative of prae, ‘before’] + mittere, ‘to let go’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• pretermit (v.): disregard intentionally or let pass; ignore, neglect. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

prevent: (antonym) permit. (MsWord Thesaurus).

privatiser (noun): a person who promotes or facilitates privatisation (of publicly owned businesses or services); [e.g.]: “A privatiser, an anti-communist, a believer in individual liberty”. (Sunday Times; 2011) ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

privatism (n.): a generic term generally describing people having a right to the private ownership of property; regarding public policy, it gives primacy to the private sector as the central agent for action, necessitates the social and economic benefits for private initiatives and competition, and legitimises the public consequences of private action; (adj. & n.); privatist. ~ (2017 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

privilege (n.): 1. a benefit, immunity, etc, granted under certain conditions; 2. the advantages and immunities enjoyed by *a small usually powerful group or class*, esp. to the disadvantage of others; [e.g.]: “one of the obstacles to social harmony is privilege”. [1125-75: from Old French privilēge, from Latin prīvilēgium, ‘law relevant to rights of an individual’, from prīvus, ‘an individual’ + lēx, ‘law’]. [emphasis added]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

problematisation (n.): making into or regarding as a problem requiring a solution; [e.g.]: “Personally, I would have preferred to wrap ‘protect’ and ‘confidence’ in the punctuation of problematisation”. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary).

procession: the action of proceeding or advancing; onward movement, progression, advance. (Oxford Dictionary)

proclivity (n.; pl. proclivities): a natural propensity or inclination; a predisposition; [e.g.]: “a proclivity for exaggeration”; “a proclivity to complain”. [1585-95; from Latin prōclīvitās, ‘downward slope’, ‘tendency’, from prōclīvis, ‘inclined’: prō-, ‘forward’ + clīvus, ‘slope’ + -itās, ‘-ity’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

prolix (adj.): 1. tediously prolonged; wordy; [e.g.]: “editing a prolix manuscript”; 2. tending to speak or write at excessive length; (synonyms): wordy, diffuse, long-winded, verbose, prolix; these adjectives mean given to using or marked by the use of an excessive number of words; [e.g.]: “a wordy apology”; “a diffuse historical novel”; “a long-winded speaker”; “a verbose correspondence”; “a prolix, tedious lecturer”; (n.): *prolixity*, prolixness; (adv.): prolixly. [Middle English, from Old French prolixe, from Latin prōlixus, poured forth, extended; from pro- + -lixus, akin to līquī, ‘to flow’, ‘to be liquid’]. [emphasis added]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• propaganda (n.): 1. the systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause; 2. material disseminated by the advocates or opponents of a doctrine or cause; [e.g.]: “wartime propaganda”; (n.): propagandism, propagandist; (adj.): propagandistic; (adv.): propagandistically. [earlier, organisation for the propagation of a practice or point of view, from “Propaganda”, short for New Latin “Sacra Congregātiō dē Prōpagandā Fidē”, the ‘Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith’, a division of the Roman Curia established in 1622 to promote the evangelisation of non-Christian peoples and the spread of the Roman Catholic Church in other Christian communities; from Latin prōpāgandā, ablative feminine gerundive of prōpāgāre, ‘to propagate’; see propagate; viz.: from Latin propāgātus, past participle of propāgāre, ‘to reproduce (a plant) by cuttings’, ‘propagate’, ‘enlarge’, verbal derivative of propāgēs, ‘scion’, ‘slip’; from pro- + pāgēs, derivative of pangere, ‘to fasten’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• propaganda (n.): 1. the organised dissemination of information, allegations, etc, to assist or damage the cause of a government, movement, etc.; 2. such information, allegations, etc.; (n.): propagandism, propagandist. [C18: from Italian, use of propāgandā in the New Latin title “Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide”⁽*⁾, ‘Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

⁽*⁾Propaganda (n.; Roman Catholic Church): a congregation responsible for directing the work of the foreign missions and the training of priests for these. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• propaganda (n.): 1. information or ideas methodically spread to promote or injure a cause, movement, nation, etc.; 2. the deliberate spreading of such information or ideas; 3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organisation or movement; 4. (cap.) a committee of cardinals, established in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, having supervision over foreign missions and the training of priests for these missions. [1710-20; from New Latin, short for: “congregātiō dē propāgandā fidē”; ‘congregation for propagating the faith’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• propaganda (n.): any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behaviour of any group in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly; see also black propaganda; grey propaganda; white propaganda. ~ (Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).

• propaganda (n.): information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause; (synonyms): info, information (a message received and understood); agitprop (political propaganda (especially communist propaganda) communicated via art and literature and cinema). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• propaganda (n.): information, advertising, promotion, publicity, hype, brainwashing, disinformation, agitprop, newspeak, boosterism; (informal): ballyhoo; [e.g.]: “He dismissed these reports as mere political propaganda for public consumption”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus).

• propaganda (n.): 1. the organised dissemination of information, allegations, etc., to assist or damage the cause of a government, movement, etc.; 2. such information, allegations, etc.. ~ (Collins Discovery Encyclopaedia).

• propagandists: Axis Sally (Mildred Elizabeth Gillars, née Sisk, 1900-1988, and Rita Louise Zucca, 1912-1998, Axis broadcasters who disseminated propaganda during World War II and urged American withdrawal); Lord Haw-Haw (William Brooke Joyce, 1906-1946, American-born British citizen becomes German propagandist in WWII.; the last person to be executed for treason in the United Kingdom); Tokyo Rose (Iva Ikuko Toguri D’Aquino, 1916-2006, Japanese-American broadcaster who urged U.S. troops to surrender during WWII). ~ (Allusions; Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical; A Thematic Dictionary).

propertyless (adj.): of those who work for wages especially manual or industrial labourers; [e.g.]: “party of the propertyless proletariat”. (George Bernard Shaw).~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• proscribe (v.): prohibit, censure, repudiate; to banish; [e.g.]: “proscribe drinking in a public park”; not to be confused with prescribe (v.): appoint; to order a medicine; [e.g.]: “prescribe a painkiller”. ~ (Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree).

• proscribe (tr.v.; proscribed, proscribing, proscribes): 1. to prohibit; forbid; [e.g.]: “foods that are proscribed by religious dietary laws”; (synonyms): at forbid; 2. to denounce or condemn; [e.g.]: “The small sins of natural pleasure that we see... mildly proscribed in the confession manuals of the late Middle Ages”. (James Turner); 3. (a.) to banish or outlaw (a person); [e.g.]: “Emperors took it on themselves to proscribe heretics”. (Garry Wills); (b.) to publish the name of (a person) as outlawed; (n.): proscriber. [Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībere, ‘to put up someone’s name as outlawed’, from prō-, ‘in front’ + scrībere, ‘to write’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• proscribe (v.): 1. to condemn or prohibit; 2. to outlaw; banish; exile; 3. (in ancient Rome) to outlaw (a citizen) by posting his name in public; (n.): proscriber. [C16: from Latin prōscrībere, ‘to put up a written public notice’, from prō-, ‘in public’ + scrībere, ‘to write’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• proscribe (tr.v.; proscribed, proscribing): 1. to condemn (a thing) as harmful or odious; prohibit; 2. to put outside legal protection; outlaw; 3. to banish or exile; 4. (in ancient Rome) to announce the name of (a person) as condemned to death and subject to confiscation of property; (n.): proscriber. [1375-1425; late Middle English, from Latin prōscrībere, ‘to publish in writing’, ‘confiscate’, ‘outlaw’; see prescribe; viz.: from Latin praescrībere, ‘to write at the head of’, ‘appoint’, ‘prescribe’, from prae-, ‘pre- + scrībere, ‘to write’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• proscribe (v.): command against; [e.g.]: “The nations’s public listing of proscribed activities caused much debate”; (synonyms): disallow, forbid, nix, prohibit, veto, interdict; [e.g.]: “I forbid you to call me late at night”; “Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store”; “Dad nixed our plans”; (related words): command, require (make someone do something); ban (prohibit especially by legal means or social pressure; [e.g.]: “Smoking is banned in this building”); bar, debar, exclude (prevent from entering; keep out; [e.g.]: “He was barred from membership in the club”); enjoin (issue an injunction); criminalise, illegalise, outlaw, criminalise (declare illegal; outlaw; [e.g.]: “Marijuana is criminalised in the US”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• proscribe (v.): 1. prohibit, ban, forbid, boycott, embargo, interdict; [e.g.]: “They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns”; (antonyms): allow, permit, sanction, license, endorse, warrant, authorise, give permission, give leave; 2. condemn, reject, damn, denounce, censure; [e.g.]: “Slang is reviled and proscribed by pedants and purists”; 3. outlaw, exclude, exile, expel, banish, deport, expatriate, excommunicate, ostracise, blackball; (archaic): attaint; [e.g.]: “He was proscribed in America, where his estate was put up for sale”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus).

• proscribe (v.): to refuse to allow; (synonyms): ban, debar, disallow, enjoin, forbid, inhibit, interdict, outlaw, prohibit, taboo. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus).

• proscription (Latin: proscriptio): in current usage proscription is “a decree of condemnation to death or banishment” (Oxford English Dictionary) and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved execution or banishment. The term originated in Ancient Rome, where it included public identification and official condemnation of declared enemies of the state and it often involved confiscation of property. Its usage has been significantly widened to describe governmental and political sanctions of varying severity on individuals and classes of people who have fallen into disfavour, from the en masse suppression of adherents of unorthodox ideologies to the suppression of political rivals or personal enemies. In addition to its recurrences during the various phases of the Roman Republic, it has become a standard term to label:

1. The suppression of Royalists after Oliver Cromwell’s decisive defeat of Charles II at the Battle of Worcester in 1651; 2. The curbing of Western religion in early eighteenth-century China; 3. The banning of Highland dress following the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland; 4. Atrocities that occurred during the Reign of Terror phase (1793-1794) of the French Revolution; 5. The mass deportations of British and French workers from Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, with the onset of the Crimean War; 6. In the twentieth century, such things as the efforts of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom “to prevent communist entryism” through blacklisting propagandising persons and organisations; 7. The broad prohibitions of Jewish cultural institutions and activities in the Soviet Union after the birth of the state of Israel in 1948 and the onset of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War; 8. The banning of organisations considered terrorist—including the membership of and support for—in Ireland, particularly the Provisional IRA and the INLA in the 1970s.

In Ancient Rome proscriptions (Latin proscriptio, plural proscriptiones) initially meant public advertisements or notices signifying property or goods for sale. During the dictatorial reign of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the word took on a more sinister meaning; in 82 or 81 BCE, he instituted the process of proscription in order to avenge the massacres of Gaius Marius and his son. He instituted a notice for the sale of confiscated property belonging to those declared public enemies of the state (modern historians estimate about five-hundred and twenty people were proscribed as opposed to the ancient estimate of four-thousand and seven-hundred people) and therefore condemned to death those proscribed, called proscripti in Latin. ~ (2023 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

proscription (n.): a refusal to allow; synonyms): ban, disallowance, forbiddance, inhibition, interdiction, prohibition, taboo. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus).