Vocabulary - List 6 (L-M)

 VOCAB  LIST - 6 (L-M)

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   {L}

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** labyrinth

(n.) maze

* Be careful not to get lost in the labyrinth of vegetation.

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** lacerate

(v.) to tear or mangle; to wound or hurt

* Her rejection will lacerate my self-esteem.

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** laconic

(adj.) sparing of words; terse, pithy

* After a laconic introduction the program began.  The people enjoyed the public addresses of the laconic queen.

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** laggard

(n.) a person who has fallen behind;

(adj.) moving slowly

* (n.) The laggard child was lost in the crowd.

* (adj.) The train was laggard.

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** lambaste

(v.) to scold or beat harshly

* If the boy broke the lamp his father will surely lambaste him.

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** lambent

(adj.) traveling gently over surface; flickering

* The lambent flame lit the dark room as the breeze wafted in.

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** lament

(v.) to mourn or grieve;

(n.) expression of grief or sorrow

* The boy is lamenting the loss of his pet.

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** languid

(adj.) lacking vitality; indifferent

* During her illness she was so languid she could not leave her bed.

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** larceny

(n.) theft; stealing

* After robbing the liquor store, she was found guilty of larceny.

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** lascivious

(adj.) indecent; immoral; involves lust

* He said it was a harmless pin-up poster, but his mother called it lascivious.

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** lassitude

(n.) a state of being tired or listless

* Ten days of continual work caused a feeling of lassitude for the worker.

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** latency

(n.) a period of inactivity

* Its latency was small solace for the girl who feared that the cancer would re-emerge fiercer than ever.

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** laud

(v.) praise

* He lauded his daughter for winning the trophy.

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** lax

(adj.) careless; irresponsible

* She was lax in everything she did and therefore could not be trusted with important tasks.

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** lecherous

(adj.) impure in thought and act

* The lecherous man lurked on the corner.

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** lethargic

(adj.) lazy; passive

* Feeling very lethargic, he watched television or slept the whole day.

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** levee

(n.) a landing on the edge of a river or field

* The swimmer came ashore on the levee.

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** levity

(n.) lack of seriousness; instability

* Levity characterized the first months of his administration.

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** lewd

(adj.) lustful; wicked

* The comment was so lewd it could not be repeated in front of children.

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** liaison

(n.) connection; link

* The student council served as a liaison between the faculty and the student body.

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** liberalism

(n.) believing in
personal freedom (favoring reform or progress)

* If you believe in liberalism, the First Amendment is sacrosanct.

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** libertine

(n.) one who indulges his desires without restraint

* For the libertine, missing his child’s birthday was not as significant as missing a football game.

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** licentious

(adj.) morally lacking in restraint

* The people of Sodom and Gomorra were known for their licentious lifestyle.

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** ligneous

(adj.) having the composition of wood

* The ligneous material appeared to be pure maple.

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** limber

(adj.) flexible; pliant

* The dancers must be limber to do their ballet steps.

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** lithe

(adj.) easily bent; pliable; supple

* A gymnast needs to be lithe in order to do a split.

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** litigate

(v.) to involve a lawsuit

* A number of the state attorneys-general are litigating against the tobacco companies.

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** livid

(adj.) discolored, as if bruised; extremely angry; furious

* When she found out she had been robbed, the woman was livid.

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** loiter

(v.) to spend time aimlessly

* Many teenagers loiter around the mall when there is nothing else to do.

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** loquacious

(adj.) very talkative; garrulous

* She was having difficulty ending the conversation with her loquacious neighbour.

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** lucent

(adj.) shining; translucent

* The flowing garment gave the woman a lucent quality when standing in the spotlight.

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** lucid

(adj.) shiny; clear minded

* He chose a shimmering, lucid fabric for his curtains.

* When lucid, the man spoke of vivid memories.

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** lucrative

(adj.) profitable; gainful

* She entered the pharmaceutical industry in the belief that it would be lucrative.

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** lugubrious

(adj.) full of sorrow; mournful

* The man’s lugubrious heart kept him from enjoying the special occasion.

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** luminous

(adj.) emitting light; shining; also enlightened or intelligent

* The luminous quality of the precious stone made it look
like a fallen star. 

* They found their way through the darkness by heading toward the luminous object in the distance.

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** lunge

(v.) to move suddenly

* The owl will lunge at its prey in order to take it off guard.

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** lurid

(adj.) glowing through haze; shocking, sensational

* A lurid sun shone upon them as they watched the sun set on the beach. 

* The tabloid specialized in lurid stories about celebrities’ indiscretions.

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** lustrous

(adj.) bright; radiant; shining

* Surrounded by rubies, the lustrous diamond looked magnificent.

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** luxuriant

(adj.) to grow with energy and in great abundance

* The luxuriant flowers grew in every available space.

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   {M}

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** macerate

(v.) to soften by steeping in liquid

* It was necessary to macerate the food before the elderly man could eat it.

* They placed her foot in the solvent to macerate the cement she had stepped in.

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** maculate

(adj.) spotted,blotched hence defiled, impure (opposite: immaculate);

 to stain, spot, defile

* (adj.) The maculate rug could not be cleaned.

* (v.) Grape juice maculated the carpet.

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** magnanimity

(n.);  a quality of nobleness of mind, disdain of meanness or revenge;

(adj.) forgiving; unselfish

* Being full of magnanimity he asked the thief only for an apology and set him free.

* The magnanimous store owner did not press charges once an apology was given.

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** malediction

(n.) putting a curse on someone; talking negatively about another

* Never having a nice word to say about anyone, her conversations are full of malediction.

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** malefactor

(n.) an evil person

* The prison contains malefactors of all ages.

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** malevolent

(adj.) wishing evil (opposite: benevolent)

* The man threatened his opponent with threats and malevolent words.

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** malicious

(adj.) spiteful; vindictive

* The malicious employee slashed her tires for revenge. 

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** malign

(v.) to speak evil of;

(adj.) having an evil disposition toward others (opposite: benign)

* (v.) In her statement to the judge she maligned her soon-to-be ex-husband.  *

* (adj.) She had such a malign personality that no one even tried to approach her, mostly out of fear.

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** malinger

(v.) to pretend to be ill in order to escape work

* He will malinger on Friday so he can go to the movies. 

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** malleable

(adj.) easy to shape or bend; pliable

* The sculptor uses malleable substances to create complex masterpieces.

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** mandate

(n.) order; charge

* The new manager wrote a mandate declaring that smoking was now prohibited in the office. 

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** manifest

(v.) to show clearly; to appear;

(adj.) obvious, clear

* (v.) When the missing document suddenly manifested, the search for the person that buried it began.

* (adj.) America’s manifest destiny was to acquire all of the land between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

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** mar

(v.) damage

* The statue was marred by the ravages of time.

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** marauder

(n.) plunderer or raider

* The marauder had been traveling for two months searching for the large stash. 

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** materialism

(n.) the belief that everything in the universe is explained in terms of matter; the belief that worldly possessions are the be-all and end-
all in life

* Spiritualists will tell you that materialism is only half the story. 

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** maudlin

(adj.) foolishly and tearfully sentimental

The maudlin affair consisted of three speeches in honor of the benefactor.

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** maverick

(n.) a person who does not conform to the norm

* The maverick drove a large truck as others were purchasing compact cars.

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** meander

(v.) wind, wander;

(adj.) winding, wandering aimlessly

* (v.) The stream meanders through the valley.

* (adj.) Because we took a long, meandering walk, we arrived home well after dark.

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** melancholy

(n.) depression; gloom

* The funeral parlor was filled with the melancholy of mourning.

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** mellifluous

(adj.) having a sweet sound

* The flute had a beautifully mellifluous sound.

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** melodious

(adj.) pleasing to hear

* The melodious sounds of the band attracted many onlookers.

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** menagerie

(n.) a place to keep or a collection of wild or strange animals

* Little Ryan couldn’t wait to visit the zoo to see the menagerie of wild boars.

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** mendacious

(adj.) not truthful; lying

* The couple was swindled out of their life’s savings by the mendacious con men.

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** mentor

(n.) teacher; wise and faithful advisor

* Alan consulted his mentor when he needed critical advice.

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** mercenary

(adj.) working or done for payment only;

(n.) hired (soldier)

* (adj.) Lila was suspicious that Joe had jumped at the chance only for mercenary reasons.

* (n.) A mercenary was hired for a hundred dollars a month, good money in those days even if you had to fight a war to get it.

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** mercurial

(adj.) quick, changeable, fickle

* The mercurial youth changed outfits six times before deciding what to wear. 

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** meretricious

(adj.) tastelessly showy; deceptive beauty - alluring by attractive appearance

* An example of a meretricious person is a prostitute.

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** mesmerize

(v.) hypnotize

* The swaying motion of the swing mesmerized the baby into a deep sleep.

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** metamorphosis

(n.) change of form

* A metamorphosis caused the caterpillar to become a beautiful butterfly.

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** meticulous

(adj.) exacting; precise

* The lab technicians must be meticulous in their measurements to obtain exact results.

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** mettle

(n.) spirit, courage, ardor

* He proved he had the mettle to make it through basic training.

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** mien

(n.) appearance, being or manner

* Her mien was typically one of distress, especially after the mishap.

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** mimicry

(n.) imitation

* The comedian’s mimicry of the president’s gestures had the audience rolling in the aisles.

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** minatory

(adj.) threatening

* The minatory stance of the dog warned the thief of an attack.

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** minute

(adj.) extremely small, tiny

* Being on a sodium-restricted diet, he uses only a minute amount of salt in his dishes. 

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** mire

(v.) to cause to get stuck in wet, soggy ground

* The car became mired in the mud. 

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** misanthrope

(n.) a person who distrusts everything; a hater of mankind

* After the man swindled all of the woman’s savings, she became a misanthrope.

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** miscreant

(adj.; n.) evil; an evil person; villain

* Her miscreant actions shocked and surprised her family.

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** miser

(n.) penny pincher, stingy person

* The miser made no donations and loved counting his money every night.

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** mite

(n.) a very small sum of money; very small creature

* The baseball team was made up of such small children they were nicknamed the “Mites”.

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** mitigate

(v.) alleviate; lessen; soothe

* She tried to mitigate the loss of his pet by buying him a kitten.

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** modulate

(v.) to regulate or adjust; to vary the pitch

* A trained singer knows how to modulate her voice to the desired pitches.

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** mollify

(v.) to soften; to make less intense

* We used our hands to mollify the sound of our giggling.

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** molten

(adj.) melted

* Steel becomes molten after heating it to thousands of degrees.

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** moot

(adj.) subject to or open for discussion or debate

* It's a moot question where to go on vacation this year.

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** mordant

(adj.) cutting; sarcastic

* Her mordant remark made me feel unqualified and useless.

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** morose

(adj.) moody, despondent

* He was very morose over the death of his pet.

* After the team lost the fans were morose.

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** motif

(n.) theme

* Although the college students lived in Alaska, they decided on a tropical motif for their dorm room.

* The decorations include a rose motif.

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** motility

(n.) spontaneous motion

* The motility of the car caused the driver to lunge for the brake.

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** mundane

(adj.) ordinary; commonplace

* The small town was very mundane.

* Going food shopping soon became mundane, losing all of its excitement.

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** munificent

(adj.) giving generously

* The civic group made a munificent donation to the homeless shelter.

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** muse

(v.) to think or speak meditatively

* I expect I’ll have to muse on that question for a while.

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** myriad

(n.) a large number

* Gazing up on the clear, dark midnight sky, the astronomer saw a myriad of stars.

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