| |
| labile |
likely to change; unstable; Ex. emotionally labile;
N. lability |
| laborious |
demanding much work or care; tedious |
| labyrinth |
maze |
| lace |
cord used to draw and tie together two opposite edges
(as of a shoe); delicate fabric made of fine threads;
V: draw together by tying a lace |
| laceration |
torn ragged wound; V. lacerate: tear (the skin as with
broken glass); wound |
| lachrymose |
producing tears; tearful |
| lackadaisical |
lacking interest or effort; lacking purpose or zest;
lazy; halfhearted; languid |
| lackluster |
lacking luster(shine; gloss); dull |
| laconic |
brief and to the point; using few words; terse |
| lag |
move or develop more slowly; straggle; Ex. lag behind
the rest; N. |
| laggard |
slow; sluggish; N: one who lags; straggler |
| lagoon |
shallow body of water or lake near a sea; lake separated
from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs |
| laity |
laypersons; laymen; persons not connected with the
clergy |
| lament |
grieve; express sorrow; N. lamentation |
| lampoon |
ridicule; N: written attack ridiculing or satirizing
a person, group, or institution |
| lance |
pierce with a lance; cut into; N: spearlike weapon |
| lancet |
small surgical tool for making incisions |
| languid |
lacking energy or vitality; weary; sluggish; listless |
| languish |
lose animation or strength |
| languor |
lack of physical or mental energy; lassitude; depression |
| lank |
long and thin; Ex. Lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln |
| lap |
take in food or drink with one's tongue; splash gently;
Ex. waves lapping the shore; N: front area from the waist
to the knees of a seated person |
| larceny |
theft; Ex. petit larceny |
| larder |
pantry; place where food is kept |
| largess |
generous gift (given to people who do not have enough) |
| lascivious |
lustful |
| lassitude |
languor; weariness; listlessness |
| latch |
fastening or lock consisting of a movable bar that
fits into a notch; V: close with a latch |
| latent |
present but not yet noticeable or active; dormant;
hidden; N. latency; CF. potential |
| lateral |
of or coming from the side |
| latitude |
freedom from narrow limitations |
| laud |
praise; N. ADJ. laudable: praiseworthy; ADJ. laudatory:
expressing praise |
| lavish |
liberal; wasteful; generous or wasteful in giving or
using; abundant; profuse; great; Ex. decorated lavishly;
V. give in abundance |
| lax |
careless; negligent; not paying enough attention; Ex.
lax service |
| layman |
man who is not a cleric; man who is nonprofessional |
| leash |
restraining rope fastened to the collar of an animal
(to control it); Ex. a dog on a leash |
| leaven |
add leaven to; cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven;
N: agent, such as yeast, that causes dough to rise (by
fermentation); element that lightens or enlivens |
| leave-taking |
farewell or departure |
| lechery |
gross lewdness; lustfulness; ADJ. lecherous; N. lecher:
lecherous man |
| lectern |
reading desk or stand for a public speaker |
| leery |
(of someone) suspicious; wary; cautious |
| leeway |
room to move; margin; latitude; Ex. leeway for the
deadline |
| legacy |
gift made by a will; something handed down from an
ancestor |
| legato |
(of music) played smoothly |
| legend |
explanatory list of symbols on a map |
| legerdemain |
sleight(dexterity) of hand; CF. light of hand |
| legislature |
legislating branch of government; CF. legislate: make
laws |
| leniency |
mildness; permissiveness; ADJ. lenient: not severe
in judgment or punishment |
| leonine |
like a lion |
| lethal |
deadly |
| lethargic |
drowsy; dull; N. lethargy: state of sluggishness and
inactivity |
| levee |
earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding; CF.
raise |
| levitate |
rise and float in the air (especially by magical means);
CF. light |
| levity |
lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; lightness
of manner |
| levy |
impose (a fine); collect (a payment); impose or collect
(a tax); Ex. levy a tax on tobacco |
| lewd |
lustful |
| lexicographer |
compiler of a dictionary; CF. lexicography: work of
compiling a dictionary |
| lexicon |
dictionary |
| liability |
drawback; handicap; debts; obligation; responsibility;
condition of being liable; ADJ. liable: likely; responsible
(for paying) |
| liaison |
contact that keeps parties in communication; communication
between groups; one that maintains communication; go-between;
secret love affair; V. liaise: keep a connection |
| libel |
defamatory written statement; act of writing something
that smears a person's character; V. ADJ. libelous |
| libertine |
debauched person; dissolute or licentious person; rou\'e;
CF. free |
| libidinous |
lustful |
| libido |
psychic and emotional energy or urges behind human
activity; sexual desire |
| libretto |
text of an opera or oratorio; CF. book |
| license |
official or legal permission; latitude of action or
speech; excessive freedom that causes harm or damage;
V. |
| licentious |
amoral; lewd and lascivious; unrestrained |
| lien |
legal claim or right on a property |
| ligneous |
like wood |
| lilliputian |
extremely small; CF. Lilliput in Gulliver's Travels |
| limber |
flexible; supple; pliable; V. |
| limbo |
region near heaven or hell where certain souls are
kept; prison (slang); Ex. Purgatory and Limbo |
| limn |
draw; outline; describe; CF. line ? |
| limp |
walk lamely; ADJ: lacking firmness; weak |
| limpid |
crystal clear |
| lineage |
descent; ancestry |
| lineaments |
features especially of the face; distinctive shape
or contour of the face; CF. line |
| linger |
loiter or dawdle; be slow in leaving; delay going;
continue or persist; be slow to disappear; Ex. The smell
lingered for days. |
| linguistic |
pertaining to language |
| lionize |
treat (a person) as a celebrity |
| liquidate |
settle accounts; pay off (a debt); clear up; eliminate;
kill or abolish |
| list |
tilt (as of a ship); lean over (to one side) |
| listless |
lacking in spirit or energy; languid |
| litany |
supplicatory prayer; prayer in which the priest calls
out and the people replies in the same words |
| lithe |
flexible; supple; CF. limber |
| litigation |
lawsuit; N. litigant: one party in a lawsuit; V. litigate |
| litotes |
understatement for emphasis; Ex. ``not bad(=pretty
good)'' |
| litter |
waste material thrown away (as bits of paper scattered
untidily); V: cover untidily with scattered litter |
| livid |
lead-colored; black and blue (as from a bruise); ashen;
enraged; extremely angry |
| loath |
reluctant; unwilling; disinclined; Ex. Romeo and Juliet
were both loath for him to go. |
| loathe |
detest; ADJ. loathsome: arousing loathing; offensive;
Ex. loathsome smell |
| lode |
metal-bearing vein(long deposit of an ore) |
| loft |
room or space under the roof; attic |
| lofty |
very high |
| log |
record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day
activities; section of a trunk; V. |
| loiter |
hang about/around; stand idly about; linger |
| loll |
lounge about |
| longevity |
long life; long duration |
| lookout |
act of keeping watch; high place commanding a wide
view; person who keeps watch |
| loom |
appear or take shape (usually in an enlarged, indistinct,
or distorted form); Ex. The shadow of the gallows loomed
threateningly. N: apparatus for making thread into cloth |
| lope |
gallop slowly |
| lopsided |
heavier or larger on one side than the other; Ex. lopsided
way of walking |
| loquacious |
talkative; N. loquacity |
| lot |
object used in making a determination at random; fate;
piece of land |
| lottery |
contest in which winners are selected in a drawing
of lots |
| lounge |
stand, sit, or lie in a lazy, relaxed way |
| lout |
clumsy person; ADJ. loutish; CF. from countrysides
? |
| low |
moo; make the sound of a cow |
| lubricate |
apply a lubricant to; N. lubricant: substance that
reduces friction |
| lucid |
easily understood; clear; intelligible; N. lucidity |
| lucrative |
profitable; producing wealth |
| lucre |
money; profit; Ex. filthy lucre |
| ludicrous |
laughable; ridiculous; trifling |
| lugubrious |
mournful; sorrowful |
| lull |
moment of calm; period of reduced activity; Ex. a lull
in the rain; V: cause to become less active; cause to
sleep or rest; Ex. lull the opponents into a false sense
of security; CF. lullaby |
| lumber |
move heavily or clumsily; Ex. The bear lumbered through
the woods; N: timber |
| lumen |
unit of light energy (one candle's worth) |
| luminary |
celebrity (in a specific field); dignitary; object
that gives light (as a celestial body) |
| luminous |
shining (esp. in the dark); issuing light; Ex. luminous
paint/road signs |
| lunar |
pertaining to the moon |
| lunatic |
insane; Ex. lunatic asylum |
| lurid |
wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible; Ex.
lurid details of the murder |
| lurk |
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived |
| luscious |
pleasing to taste or smell; delicious |
| lush |
(of a plant or grass) growing very well |
| lust |
intense sexual desire; intense eagerness; V. |
| luster |
shine; gloss (of a polished surface) |
| lustrous |
shining; brilliant; Ex. lustrous hair |
| luxuriant |
abundant; growing healthily and in large amounts; excessively
ornate; rich and splendid; fertile; Ex. luxuriant forests/prose;
CF. luxurious, luxuriate |
| luxuriate |
take pleasure in great comfort |
