 | Term | Definition |
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labile |
likely to change; unstable; Ex. emotionally labile; N. lability |
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laborious |
demanding much work or care; tedious |
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labyrinth |
maze |
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laceration |
torn ragged wound; V. lacerate: tear ; wound |
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lachrymose |
producing tears; tearful |
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lackadaisical |
lacking interest or effort; lacking purpose or zest; lazy; halfhearted; languid |
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lackluster |
lacking luster; dull |
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laconic |
brief and to the point; using few words; terse |
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laggard |
slow; sluggish; N: one who lags; straggler |
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lagoon |
shallow body of water or lake near a sea; lake separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs |
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laity |
laypersons; laymen; persons not connected with the clergy |
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lament |
grieve; express sorrow; N. lamentation |
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lampoon |
ridicule; N: written attack ridiculing or satirizing a person, group, or institution |
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lancet |
small surgical tool for making incisions |
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languid |
lacking energy or vitality; weary; sluggish; listless |
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languish |
lose animation or strength |
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languor |
lack of physical or mental energy; lassitude; depression |
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lank |
long and thin; Ex. Lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln |
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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 |
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larceny |
theft; Ex. petit larceny |
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larder |
pantry; place where food is kept |
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largess |
generous gift |
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lascivious |
lustful |
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lassitude |
languor; weariness; listlessness |
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latent |
present but not yet noticeable or active; dormant; hidden; N. latency; CF. potential |
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lateral |
of or coming from the side |
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latitude |
freedom from narrow limitations |
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laud |
praise; N. ADJ. laudable: praiseworthy; ADJ. laudatory: expressing praise |
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lavish |
liberal; wasteful; generous or wasteful in giving or using; abundant; profuse; great; Ex. decorated lavishly; V. give in abundance |
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lax |
careless; negligent; not paying enough attention; Ex. lax service |
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leaven |
add leaven to; cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven; N: agent, such as yeast, that causes dough to rise ; element that lightens or enlivens |
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lechery |
gross lewdness; lustfulness; ADJ. lecherous; N. lecher: lecherous man |
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lectern |
reading desk or stand for a public speaker |
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leery |
suspicious; wary; cautious |
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leeway |
room to move; margin; latitude; Ex. leeway for the deadline |
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legacy |
gift made by a will; something handed down from an ancestor |
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legend |
explanatory list of symbols on a map |
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legerdemain |
sleight of hand; CF. light of hand |
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leniency |
mildness; permissiveness; ADJ. lenient: not severe in judgment or punishment |
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leonine |
like a lion |
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lethal |
deadly |
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lethargic |
drowsy; dull; N. lethargy: state of sluggishness and inactivity |
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levee |
earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding; CF. raise |
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levitate |
rise and float in the air ; CF. light |
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levity |
lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; lightness of manner |
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levy |
impose ; collect ; impose or collect ; Ex. levy a tax on tobacco |
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lewd |
lustful |
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lexicographer |
compiler of a dictionary; CF. lexicography: work of compiling a dictionary |
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lexicon |
dictionary |
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liability |
drawback; handicap; debts; obligation; responsibility; condition of being liable; ADJ. liable: likely; responsible |
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liaison |
contact that keeps parties in communication; communication between groups; one that maintains communication; go-between; secret love affair; V. liaise: keep a connection |
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libel |
defamatory written statement; act of writing something that smears a person"s character; V. ADJ. libelous |
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libertine |
debauched person; dissolute or licentious person; roue; CF. free |
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libidinous |
lustful |
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libido |
psychic and emotional energy or urges behind human activity; sexual desire |
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libretto |
text of an opera or oratorio; CF. book |
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licentious |
amoral; lewd and lascivious; unrestrained |
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lien |
legal claim or right on a property |
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ligneous |
like wood |
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lilliputian |
extremely small; CF. Lilliput in Gulliver"s Travels |
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limber |
flexible; supple; pliable; V. |
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limbo |
region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept; prison ; Ex. Purgatory and Limbo |
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limn |
draw; outline; describe; CF. line ? |
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limpid |
crystal clear |
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lineage |
descent; ancestry |
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lineaments |
features especially of the face; distinctive shape or contour of the face; CF. line |
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linguistic |
pertaining to language |
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listless |
lacking in spirit or energy; languid |
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litany |
supplicatory prayer; prayer in which the priest calls out and the people replies in the same words |
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lithe |
flexible; supple; CF. limber |
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litigation |
lawsuit; N. litigant: one party in a lawsuit; V. litigate |
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litotes |
understatement for emphasis; Ex. ``not bad"" |
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livid |
lead-colored; black and blue ; ashen; enraged; extremely angry |
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loath |
reluctant; unwilling; disinclined; Ex. Romeo and Juliet were both loath for him to go. |
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loathe |
detest; ADJ. loathsome: arousing loathing; offensive; Ex. loathsome smell |
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lode |
metal-bearing vein |
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lofty |
very high |
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log |
record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities; section of a trunk; V. |
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loiter |
hang about/around; stand idly about; linger |
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loll |
lounge about |
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longevity |
long life; long duration |
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loom |
appear or take shape ; Ex. The shadow of the gallows loomed threateningly. N: apparatus for making thread into cloth |
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lope |
gallop slowly |
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loquacious |
talkative; N. loquacity |
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lout |
clumsy person; ADJ. loutish; CF. from countrysides ? |
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low |
moo; make the sound of a cow |
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lucid |
easily understood; clear; intelligible; N. lucidity |
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lucrative |
profitable; producing wealth |
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lucre |
money; profit; Ex. filthy lucre |
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ludicrous |
laughable; ridiculous; trifling |
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lugubrious |
mournful; sorrowful |
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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 |
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lumber |
move heavily or clumsily; Ex. The bear lumbered through the woods; N: timber |
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lumen |
unit of light energy |
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luminary |
celebrity ; dignitary; object that gives light |
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luminous |
shining ; issuing light; Ex. luminous paint/road signs |
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lunar |
pertaining to the moon |
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lurid |
wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible; Ex. lurid details of the murder |
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lurk |
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived |
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luscious |
pleasing to taste or smell; delicious |
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luster |
shine; gloss |
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lustrous |
shining; brilliant; Ex. lustrous hair |
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luxuriant |
abundant; growing healthily and in large amounts; excessively ornate; rich and splendid; fertile; Ex. luxuriant forests/prose; CF. luxurious, luxuriate |
