| GRE word list - L |
| labile |
readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical,
or biological change or breakdown:UNSTABLE |
| labored |
lacking ease of expression |
| labyrinth |
something extremely complex or tortuous in structure,
arrangement, or character:INTRICACY, PERPLEXITY |
| laconic |
using or involving the use of a minimum of words:concise
to the point of seeming rude or mysterious |
| lacrimose |
|
| lambaste |
to attack verbally:CENSURE |
| lamentable |
expressing grief:MOURNFUL |
| lampoon |
a harsh satire usually directed against an individual |
| landfill |
a system of trash and garbage disposal in which the
waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying
land |
| landlord |
the owner of property (as land, houses, or apartments)
that is leased or rented to another |
| landslide |
the usually rapid downward movement of a mass of rock,
earth, or artificial fill on a slope; also :the mass that
moves down |
| lane |
narrow country road or track, usu between hedges or
banks |
| languid |
drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion:WEAK |
| languish |
to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated |
| languor |
listless indolence or inertia |
| lank |
not well filled out:SLENDER, THIN |
| lapse |
a slight error typically due to forgetfulness or inattention |
| larder |
a place where food is stored:PANTRY |
| largesse |
liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to an inferior;
also :something so given |
| lariat |
a long light rope (as of hemp or leather) used with
a running noose to catch livestock or with or without
the noose to tether grazing animals:LASSO |
| lash |
to bind with or as if with a line |
| lassitude |
a condition of weariness or debility:FATIGUE |
| latent |
present and capable of becoming though not now visible,
obvious, or active |
| lathe |
machine that shapes pieces of wood, metal, etc by holding
and turning them against a fixed cutting tool |
| latitude |
Freedom from normal restraints, limitations, or regulations. |
| laudatory |
of, relating to, or expressing praise |
| lavish |
expended or produced in abundance |
| leaven |
to raise (as bread) with a leaven |
| lectern |
a stand used to support a book in a convenient position
for a standing reader; especially :one from which scripture
lessons are read in a church service |
| leer |
to cast a sidelong glance |
| leery |
Suspicious or distrustful; wary |
| legacy |
something transmitted by or received from an ancestor
or predecessor or from the past |
| legend |
an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart |
| legible |
capable of being read or deciphered:PLAIN |
| legion |
MANY, NUMEROUS |
| lenient |
exerting a soothing or easing influence:relieving pain
or stress |
| lethal |
gravely damaging or destructive:DEVASTATING |
| lethargy |
the quality or state of being lazy, sluggish, or indifferent |
| levee |
an embankment for preventing flooding |
| levelheaded |
having sound judgment:SENSIBLE |
| leverage |
positional advantage; power to act effectively: |
| levity |
excessive or unseemly frivolity |
| lexicographer |
an author or editor of a dictionary |
| liability |
something for which one is liable; especially :pecuniary
obligation |
| liaison |
a close bond or connection:INTERRELATIONSHIP |
| liberal |
marked by generosity:OPENHANDED |
| libertine |
a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality;
specifically :one leading a dissolute life |
| liberty |
an action going beyond normal limits:as a:a breach of
etiquette or propriety:FAMILIARITY |
| libretto |
the text of a work (as an opera) for the musical theater |
| licentious |
lacking legal or moral restraints; especially :disregarding
sexual restraints |
| lien |
a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction
of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of
law |
| liken |
compare |
| limber |
capable of being shaped:FLEXIBLE |
| limerick |
a light or humorous verse form of 5 chiefly anapestic
verses of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of 3 feet and lines
3 and 4 are of 2 feet with a rhyme scheme of aabba |
| limousine |
a large luxurious often chauffeur-driven sedan that
sometimes has a glass partition separating the driver's
seat from the passenger compartment |
| limp |
lacking firm texture, substance, or structure |
| limpid |
marked by transparency:PELLUCID |
| linen |
cloth made of flax and noted for its strength, coolness,
and luster |
| linger |
tarry;saunter; to be slow to act:procrastinate |
| linoleum |
a floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas
backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums,
cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments |
| lint |
fuzz consisting especially of fine ravelings and short
fibers of yarn and fabric |
| lip |
either of the fleshy edges of the opening of the mouth |
| lissome |
NIMBLE |
| list |
a deviation from the vertical:TILT; also :the extent
of such a deviation |
| listless |
characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit:LANGUID |
| lithe |
characterized by easy flexibility and grace |
| livid |
lead-colored; black and blue; enraged |
| loath |
unwilling to do something contrary to one's ways of
thinking:RELUCTANT |
| loathe |
To dislike (someone or something) greatly; abhor. |
| lode |
an ore deposit |
| lofty |
elevated in status:SUPERIOR |
| loll |
to act or move in a lax, lazy, or indolent manner:LOUNGE |
| loophole |
a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit
observation |
| lopsided |
lacking in balance, symmetry, or proportion:disproportionately
heavy on one side |
| loquacious |
given to fluent or excessive talk:GARRULOUS |
| lottery |
a drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to
the winners among persons buying a chance |
| lounge |
to act or move idly or lazily:LOAF |
| loutish |
resembling or befitting a lout |
| loyal |
unswerving in allegiance:as faithful in allegiance to
one's lawful sovereign or government |
| lubricate |
to make smooth or slippery |
| lucid |
clear to the understanding:INTELLIGIBLE |
| ludicrous |
meriting derisive laughter or scorn as absurdly inept,
false, or foolish |
| lug |
to carry laboriously |
| lugubrious |
MOURNFUL; especially :exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful |
| lull |
to cause to sleep or rest:SOOTHE |
| lullaby |
a soothing refrain; specifically :a song to quiet children
or lull them to sleep |
| lumen |
a unit of luminous flux equal to the light emitted in
a unit solid angle by a uniform point source of one candle
intensity |
| luminary |
a person of prominence or brilliant achievement |
| lurk |
to lie in wait in a place of concealment especially
for an evil purpose |
| lush |
growing vigorously especially with luxuriant foliage |
| lustrous |
reflecting light evenly and efficiently without glitter
or sparkle numb:insensible:burnish:lustrous |
| luxurious |
marked by or given to self-indulgence |
| lyric |
the words of a song |
| lyrics |
Expressing deep personal emotion or observations |
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