L

Question 1

laceration

(n.)

Answer 1

a cut, tear

(Because he fell off his bike into a rosebush, the paperboy’s skin was covered with lacerations.)

Question 2

laconic

(adj.)

Answer 2

terse in speech or writing

(The author’s laconic style has won him many followers who dislike wordiness.)

Question 3

languid

(adj.)

Answer 3

sluggish from fatigue or weakness

(In the summer months, the great heat makes people languid and lazy.)

Question 4

larceny

(n.)

Answer 4

obtaining another’s property by theft or trickery

(When my car was not where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.)

Question 5

largess

(n.)

Answer 5

the generous giving of lavish gifts

(My boss demonstrated great largess by giving me a new car.)

Question 6

latent

(adj.)

Answer 6

hidden, but capable of being exposed

(Sigmund’s dream represented his latent paranoid obsession with other people’s shoes.)

Question 7

laudatory

(adj.)

Answer 7

expressing admiration or praise

(Such laudatory comments are unusual from someone who is usually so reserved in his opinions.)

Question 8

lavish

1.(adj.) 2.(v.)

Answer 8

1. given without limits
2. to give without limits

1. (Because they had worked very hard, the performers appreciated the critic’s lavish praise.)
2. (Because the performers had worked hard, they deserved the praise that the critic lavished on them.)

Question 9

legerdemain

(n.)

Answer 9

deception, slight-of-hand

(Smuggling the French plants through customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of legerdemain.)

Question 10

lenient

(adj.)

Answer 10

demonstrating tolerance or gentleness

(Because Professor Oglethorpe allowed his students to choose their final grades, the other teachers believed that he was excessively lenient.)

Question 11

lethargic

(adj.)

Answer 11

in a state of sluggishness or apathy

(When Jean Claude explained to his boss that he was lethargic and didn’t feel like working that day, the boss fired him.)

Question 12

liability

(n.)

Answer 12

1. something for qhich one is legally responsible, usually involving a disadvantage or risk
2. a handicap, burden

1. (The bungee-jumping tower was a great liability for the owners of the carnival.)
2. (Because she often lost her concentration and didn’t play defense, Marcy was a liability to the team.)

Question 13

libertarian

(adj.)

Answer 13

advocating principles or liberty and free will

(The dissatisfied subjects overthrew the monarch and replaced him with a libertarian ruler who respected their democratic principles.)

Question 14

licentious

(adj.)

Answer 14

displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints

(Marilee has always been fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians.)

Question 15

limpid

(adj.)

Answer 15

clear, transparent

(Mr. Johnson’s limpid writing style greatly pleased readers who disliked complicated novels.)

Question 16

linchpin

(n.)

Answer 16

something that holds separate parts together

(The linchpin in the prosecution’s case was the hair from the defendant’s head, which was found at the scene of the crime.)

Question 17

lithe

(adj.)

Answer 17

graceful, flexible, supple

(Although the dancers were all outstanding, Jae Sun’s control of her lithe body was particularly impressive.)

Question 18

litigant

(n.)

Answer 18

someone engaged in a lawsuit

(When the litigants began screaming at each other, Judge Koch ordered them to be silent.)

Question 19

lucid

(adj.)

Answer 19

clear, easily understandable

(Because Guenevere’s essay was so lucid, I only had to read it once to understand her reasoning.)

Question 20

luminous

(adj.)

Answer 20

brightly shining

(The light of the luminous moon graced the shoulders of the beautiful maiden.)

Question 21

lurid

(adj.)

Answer 21

ghastly, sensational

(Gideon’s story, in which he described a character torturing his sister’s dolls, was judged too lurid to be printed in the school’s literary magazine.)