| Question |
Answer |
| 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( |
| 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 |
| macabre |
gruesome; grisly; ghastly; CF. of death |
| mace |
ceremonial staff used as a symbol of authority; clublike medieval weapon |
| macerate |
soften by soaking in liquid; waste away; Ex. macerate powdered wood to make paper |
| Machiavellian |
crafty; double-dealing; of the political doctrine of Machiavelli, which holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing political power |
| machinations |
evil schemes or plots; schemes or plots to achieve an evil end; V. machinate |
| maculated |
spotted; stained; CF. immaculate |
| madrigal |
pastoral song; song for several singers without instruments |
| maelstrom |
violent whirlpool; violent or tublent situation; CF. stream |
| magisterial |
authoritative; imperious; commanding; of a magistrate; Ex. magisterial study of Roman law; Ex. magisterial manner |
| magistrate |
official with power to administer the law |
| magnanimity |
generosity; ADJ. magnanimous: generous |
| magnate |
person of prominence or influence; powerful or influential person (in business or industry); Ex. oil magnate |
| magniloquent |
boastful; pompous |
| magnitude |
greatness (in size or extent); extent |
| maim |
mutilate; injure lastingly; disable; cripple; Ex. maimed for life |
| makeshift |
temporary expedient or substitute (in the case of urgent need); Ex. makeshift shelter |
| maladroit |
clumsy; not skillful; awkward; bungling |
| malady |
illness |
| malaise |
uneasiness; vague feeling of ill health (without any particular pain or appearance of disease) |
| malapropism |
comic misuse of a word; CF. Mrs. Malaprop |
| malapropos |
inappropriate; ADV. |
| malcontent |
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs; discontented person; ADJ: discontented |
| malediction |
curse |
| malefactor |
evildoer; criminal |
| maleficient |
doing evil; N. maleficience |
| malevolent |
wishing evil; exhibiting ill will; N. malevolence |
| malfeasance |
wrongdoing; misconduct (by a public official) |
| malicious |
hateful; spiteful; expressing malice; N. malice: desire to harm others; spite |
| malign |
speak evil of; bad-mouth(criticize spitefully); defame; ADJ: harmful; Ex. malign influence |
| malignant |
tending to cause death; highly injurious; aggressively malevolent; Ex. malignant tumor |
| malingerer |
one who feigns illness to escape duty; V. malinger: feign illness to avoid work |
| malleable |
(of a metal) capable of being shaped by pounding(beating); pliable; (of someone) impressionable(easily influenced); easily controlled; tractable |
| malodorous |
foul-smelling |
| mammal |
vertebrate animal whose female suckles its young |
| mammoth |
gigantic; enormous |
| manacle |
restrain; handcuff; N. |
| mandate |
order; charge; authoritative command; power to govern another country; power to given to a government; region under administration; V: give a mandate to; place under a mandate; Ex. mandated territory |
| mandatory |
obligatory; compulsory; of a mandate |
| maneuver(manoeuver) |
strategic military or naval movement (done for training purposes); carefully planned process; stratagem; V: carry out a military maneuver; use maneuvers in gaining an end |
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