Barron’s GRE Word List (Vocabulary) Test Prep- Letter L

labile
likely to change; unstable; Ex. emotionally labile

A labile compound

laborious
demanding much work or care; tedious

He is doing a laborious job

labyrinth
maze

They got into a labyrinth of problems

laceration
torn ragged wound; V. lacerate: tear (the skin as with broken glass); wound

She stood in front of him bearing a lacerated soul

lachrymose
producing tears; tearful

You should have seen his lachrymose visnomy. –Lamb

lackadaisical
lacking interest or effort; lacking purpose or zest; lazy; halfhearted; languid

That was a lackadaisical presentation

lackluster
lacking luster(shine; gloss); dull

A lackluster eye

laconic
brief and to the point; using few words; terse

He made a laconic speech

laggard
slow; sluggish; N: one who lags; straggler

His laggardness irritates one and all

lag
move or develop more slowly; straggle

She lagged behind the rest

lagoon
shallow body of water or lake near a sea; lake separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs

The lagoons of Venice

laity
laypersons; laymen; persons not connected with the clergy

A rising up of the laity against the sacerdotal caste. –Macaulay

layman
man who is not a cleric; man who is nonprofessional

She married a layman, against her parents wish

lament
grieve; express sorrow; N. lamentation

There’s no use lamenting over the past

lampoon
ridicule; N: written attack ridiculing or satirizing a person, group, or institution

Like her who missed her name in a lampoon, And grieved to find herself decayed so soon. –Dryden

lancet
small surgical tool for making incisions

A lancet arch

lance
cut into; N: spear like weapon

Pierce with a lance

languid
lacking energy or vitality; weary; sluggish; listless

The excursion made her languid

lank
long and thin; Ex. Lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln
The player has a lanky build

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

She lapped it up all

larceny
theft; Ex. petit larceny

He was kept in police custody for larceny

larder
pantry; place where food is kept

The food was preserved in the larder

largess
generous gift (given to people who do not have enough)

Fulfilled of largesse and of all grace. –Chaucer

lascivious
lustful

A lascivious gesture.

lust
intense sexual desire; intense eagerness; V.

He has lust for power

lassitude
languor; weariness; listlessness

The pleasant lassitude of the warm summer afternoon

latent
present but not yet noticeable or active; dormant; hidden; N. latency; CF. potential

Her latent ability remained undiscovered

lateral
of or coming from the side

A lateral move

latitude
freedom from narrow limitations

He allowed his children a fair amount of latitude

laud
praise; N. ADJ. laudable: praiseworthy; ADJ. laudatory: expressing praise

So do well and thou shalt have laud of the same. –Tyndals

lavish
liberal; wasteful; generous or wasteful in giving or using; abundant; profuse; great; Ex. decorated lavishly; V. give in abundance

They spend lavishly

lax
careless; negligent; not paying enough attention;

Theirs is a lax service

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

With these and the like deceivable doctrines, he leavens also his prayer. –Milton

lechery
gross lewdness; lustfulness; ADJ. lecherous; N. lecher: lecherous man

A lecherous act

lectern
reading desk or stand for a public speaker

The bible was placed on a lectern

leery
(of someone) suspicious; wary; cautious

He was leery of aggressive salespeople

leeway
room to move; margin; latitude;

There’s no leeway for the deadline

legacy
gift made by a will; something handed down from an ancestor

The legacy of ancient Rome

legend
explanatory list of symbols on a map

Legend on the map

legerdemain
sleight(dexterity) of hand; CF. light of hand

He has a financial legerdemain

leniency
mildness; permissiveness; ADJ. lenient: not severe in judgment or punishment

She gave her children a lot of leniency

leonine
like a lion

His leonine manners appealed to her

lethal
deadly

It’s a lethal weapon

lethargic
drowsy; dull; N. lethargy: state of sluggishness and inactivity

The drug makes you feel lethargic

levee
earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding; CF. raise

To levee a treacherous stream

levitate
rise and float in the air (especially by magical means); CF. light

The magician levitates a table

levity
lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; lightness of manner

He never employed his omnipotence out of levity. –Calamy

levy
impose (a fine); collect (a payment); impose or collect (a tax);

The government levied a tax on tobacco

lexicographer
compiler of a dictionary; CF. lexicography: work of compiling a dictionary

Jonathan Swift was also a lexicographer

liability
drawback; handicap; debts; obligation; responsibility; condition of being liable; ADJ. liable: likely; responsible (for paying)

His lack of education is his biggest liability

liaison
contact that keeps parties in communication; communication between groups; one that maintains communication; go-between; secret love affair; V. liaise: keep a connection

He served as the President’s liaison with Congress

libel
defamatory written statement; act of writing something that smears a person’s character; V. ADJ. libelous

What’s this but libeling against the senate? –Shak

libertine
debauched person; dissolute or licentious person; rou\’e; CF. free

Like a puffed and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. –Shak

libretto
text of an opera or oratorio; CF. book

A libretto is a musical composition

licentious
amoral; lewd and lascivious; unrestrained

“Licentious wickedness.” –Shak

license
official or legal permission; latitude of action or speech; excessive freedom that causes harm or damage; V.

He holds a license to kill

lien
legal claim or right on a property

He holds a lien to her property

ligneous
like wood

The table looks ligneous

lilliputian
extremely small; CF. Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels

Although a Lilliputian he demonstrates exemplary courage

limber
flexible; supple; pliable; V.

To limber up before the game

limbo
region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept; prison (slang); Ex. Purgatory and Limbo

My youthful hopes are in the limbo of lost dreams

limn
draw; outline; describe; CF. line

Let a painter carelessly limn out a million of faces, and you shall find them all different. –Sir T. Browne

limpid
crystal clear

The limpid glory of new born leaves

lineage
descent; ancestry

Both the lineage and the certain sire From which I sprung, from me are hidden yet. –Spenser

lineaments
features especially of the face; distinctive shape or contour of the face; CF. line

His fine lineaments made him the very image of his father

linger
loiter or dawdle; be slow in leaving; delay going; continue or persist; be slow to disappear

The smell lingered for days.

linguistic
pertaining to language

She wants to specialize in linguistic studies

lionize
treat (a person) as a celebrity

The celebrity was lionized

liquidate
settle accounts; pay off (a debt); clear up; eliminate; kill or abolish

His debts were liquidated

list
tilt (as of a ship); lean over (to one side)

She lists over the ladder

listless
lacking in spirit or energy; languid

Hot summers made him listless

litany
supplicatory prayer; prayer in which the priest calls out and the people replies in the same words

We heard the whole litany of their complaints

litigation
lawsuit; N. litigant: one party in a lawsuit; V. litigate

The litigation was hard to resolve

litotes
understatement for emphasis; Ex. “not bad(=pretty good)”

This is no small problem is litotes

livid
lead-colored; black and blue (as from a bruise); ashen; enraged; extremely angry

Fear turned his cheeks livid for a moment

loath
reluctant; unwilling; disinclined;

Romeo and Juliet were both loath for him to go.

loathe
detest; ADJ. loathsome: arousing loathing; offensive

A loathsome smell

lode
metal-bearing vein(long deposit of an ore)

Down that long, dark lode . . . he and his brother skated home in triumph. –C. Kingsley

lofty
very high

He reached lofty heights in his profession

log
record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities; section of a trunk; V.

They had to log a day’s event

loiter
hang about/around; stand idly about; linger

The young boy was loitering on the terrace

loll
lounge about

The dog stood in the heat with his tongue lolling out of his mouth

lounge
stand, sit, or lie in a lazy, relaxed way

She lounged the day away

longevity
long life; long duration

Our family is known for its longevity

loom
appear or take shape (usually in an enlarged, indistinct, or distorted form); N: apparatus for making thread into cloth

The shadow of the gallows loomed threateningly

lope
gallop slowly

“He that lopes on the ropes.” –Middleton

loquacious
talkative; N. loquacity

She is loquacious

lout
clumsy person; ADJ. loutish; CF. from countryside

He’s such a lout

lubricate
apply a lubricant to; N. lubricant: substance that reduces friction

Grease is an excellent lubricant

lucid
easily understood; clear; intelligible; N. lucidity

His lucid explanation made the otherwise tough concepts easier

lucrative
profitable; producing wealth

Agriculture is a lucrative business

lucre
money; profit;

Don’t run behind filthy lucre

ludicrous
laughable; ridiculous; trifling

A ludicrous lack of efficiency

lugubrious
mournful; sorrowful

The film has a lugubrious ending

lull
moment of calm; period of reduced activity; V: cause to become less active; cause to sleep or rest; Ex. lull the opponents into a false sense of security; CF. lullaby

A lull in the rain

lumber
move heavily or clumsily; N: timber

The bear lumbered through the woods

lumen
unit of light energy (one candle’s worth)

Lumen is the unit of light energy

luminary
celebrity (in a specific field); dignitary; object that gives light (as a celestial body)

She wished all the senior luminaries at the party

luminous
shining (esp. in the dark); issuing light

Luminous paint/road signs

lunar
pertaining to the moon

The Egyptians believe in the Lunar Calendar

lunatic
insane;

He resides permanently in a lunatic asylum

lurid
wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible;

Lurid details of the murder

lurk
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived

The watchman lurked in the lounge

luscious
pleasing to taste or smell; delicious

She invited them over a luscious meal

luster
shine; gloss (of a polished surface)

The scorching sun was mounted high, In all its luster, to the noonday sky. –Addison

lustrous
shining; brilliant; Ex. lustrous hair

Her hair’s lustrous

luxuriant
abundant; growing healthily and in large amounts; excessively ornate; rich and splendid; fertile; Ex. luxuriant forests/prose; CF. luxurious, luxuriate

The ponds facilitate luxuriant growth of alga

Tags: Antonyms, Bank, Barron's, Barron's GRE, Barron's list, Barron's verbal, Barron's vocabulary, Barron's Word, Barron's words, builder, Cards, context, context GRE, english, Flash, for, for GRE, Free, general, GRE, GRE Vocabulary, help, List, of, online, Power, practice, prefix, prep, review, Root, study, suffix, synonyms, the, top, trainer, Vocabulary, word, Words