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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > L > Flashcards

L Flashcards

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1
Q

labile

A

adj. likely to change

Tom’s labile personality can make him difficult to get along with.

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2
Q

labyrinth

A

n. maze

The office building was like a labyrinth.

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3
Q

laceration

A

n. cut or wound

The child was treated for lacerations suffered in the accident.

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4
Q

lachrymose

A

adj. tearful, sad

The mood at the funeral was lachrymose.

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5
Q

lackadaisical

A

adj. idle, lazy; apathetic, indifferent

Stuart is a lackadaisical studnet.

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6
Q

lackluster

A

adj. lacking brightness or vitality

His performance this year has been lackluster.

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7
Q

laconic

A

adj. using few words

The laconic scientist was not an ideal guest on the talk show.

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8
Q

laissez-faire

A

adj. relating to a doctrine that opposes government interference in the economy; noninterference in the affairs of others

The principal asked the teacher to take a less laissez-faire approach to students.

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9
Q

Lamaism

A

n. Tibetan Buddhism

The term “Lamaism” probably derives from the Chinese “lama jiao” used to distinguish Tibetan Buddhism from Han Chinese Buddhism, “fo jiao.”

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10
Q

Lamarckism

A

n. a theory of biological evolution holding that acquired traits can be inherited

A form of Lamarckism was revived in the Soviet Union of the 1930s when Trofim Lysenko promoted Lysenkoism, which suited the ideological opposition of Joseph Stalin to genetics.

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11
Q

lambaste

A

v. to thrash verbally or physically\

The champion boxer lambasted his opponent.

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12
Q

lament

A

v. to grieve; express sorrow; regret deeply

The poem laments the death of the poet’s son.

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13
Q

lamentable

A

adj. distressing; deplorable

There has been a lamentable increase in air pollution.

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14
Q

lampoon

A

v. to attack with satire, mock harshly

The movie lampoons the country’s leaders.

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15
Q

languid

A

adj. lacking energy, indifferent, slow

Time moves at a languid pace at this tropical island resort.

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16
Q

languish

A

v. to become weak; to live in disheartening conditions; to be neglected

A small part of the population was left to languish in poverty.

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17
Q

languor

A

n. lassitude

They were overcome by weakness and languor during their stay in the tropics.

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18
Q

lapidary

A

adj. relating to precious stones

Mr. Saunders sells lapidary equipment to jewelers in the New York area.

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19
Q

larceny

A

n. theft of property

Bob was charged with larceny.

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20
Q

larder

A

n. place where food is stored

It’s a good idea to keep some canned food in the larder in case of emergency.

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21
Q

largess

A

n. generosity; gift

As a result of the billionaire’s largess, our town has a new public library.

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22
Q

larynx

A

n. organ containing vocal cords

The larynx plays a vital role in speech.

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23
Q

lascivious

A

adj. lustful

The movie appeals primarily to the lascivious impulses in people.

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24
Q

lassitude

A

n. lethargy, sluggishness

I’m often overcome by lassitude on Sunday afternoon.

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25
Q

latent

A

adj. present but hidden; potential

The program is designed to bring out the student’s latent talent.

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26
Q

laud

A

v. to praise

Julia’s mother lauded her daughter’s effort to improve her vocabulary.

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27
Q

laudable

A

adj. praiseworthy

The student made a laudable effort to improve his vocabulary.

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28
Q

lavish

A

adj. liberal; wasteful

The company president put a stop to lavish spending by his staff.

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29
Q

lax

A

adj. careless

Lax safety standards were partially to blame for the accident.

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30
Q

layman

A

n. a nonprofessional

The layman could not understand the technical language in the scientist’s paper.

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31
Q

leery

A

adj. suspicious

The child was taught to be leery of strangers.

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32
Q

legacy

A

n. a gift made by a will; something handed down

Tom’s watch is a legacy from his grandfather.

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33
Q

legerdemain

A

n. trickery

The magician’s legerdemain entertained the audience.

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34
Q

legible

A

adj. readable

Make sure your handwriting is legible.

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35
Q

legion

A

adj. constituting a large number

The number of atoms in the universe is legion.

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36
Q

legislate

A

v. to decree, mandate, make laws

The primary purpose of Congress is to legislate.

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37
Q

legislation

A

n. laws decrees, mandates

The legislation was passed unanimously.

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38
Q

legitimate

A

adj. in accordance with established standards; genuine; reasonable

The New York Jets have a legitimate change to win the Super Bowl this year.

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39
Q

leitmotif

A

n. a dominant, recurrent theme

Staircase imagery is a leitmotif in T.S. Eliot’s writings.

40
Q

lethargy

A

n. inactivity

After a summer of lethargy, the students had difficult adjusting to school work.

41
Q

levitate

A

v. to rise in the air or cause to rise

The magician made his assistant appear to levitate.

42
Q

levity

A

n. light manner or attitude

The principal told the students she wanted no levity during the exam period.

43
Q

lexicon

A

n. dictionary, list of words

The teacher compiled a lexicon of words that appear frequently on the GRE.

44
Q

lexis

A

n. vocabulary; the set of words in a language

Professor Summers is an expert in the field of lexis and grammar.

45
Q

liaise

A

v. to communicate and maintain contact

One of Amy’s tasks as county librarian is to liaise with local libraries.

46
Q

libel

A

n. defamatory statement; act of writing something that smears a person’s character

The writer was sued for libel.

47
Q

liberal

A

adj. tolerant, broad-minded; generous, lavish

Humanism is generally credited with creating a more liberal populace in Europe.

48
Q

liberation

A

n. freedom; emancipation

The liberation of the political prisoners was celebrated around the world.

49
Q

libertarian

A

n. one who believes in unrestricted freedom

The libertarian believes that government is an unnecessary evil.

50
Q

livertine

A

n. one without moral restraint

The young libertine was condemned by members of his community.

51
Q

libidinal

A

adj. relating to sexual desire

The court ruled that the movie appeals solely to libidinal impulses.

52
Q

libido

A

n. sexual desire

The research team is studying the effects of the drug on the male libido.

53
Q

libretto

A

n. the text of a dramatic musical work

The opera’s libretto was translated from French into English.

54
Q

licentious

A

adj. immoral; unrestrained by society

Tom’s licentious behavior threatened his good standing in the community.

55
Q

lien

A

n. right to possess and sell the property of a debtor

The court ordered a lien to be put on the property.

56
Q

Lilliputian

A

adj. extremely small

The doll house contains Lilliputian dishes on the dining table.

57
Q

limn

A

v. to draw; describe

The art teacher asked her students to limn the models torso.

58
Q

limpid

A

adj. clear, transparent

Looking into the lake’s limpid water, Paul saw fish swimming near the bottom.

59
Q

lineage

A

n. ancestry

The family has an ancient lineage.

60
Q

linear

A

adj. having one dimension; straight

Time can be imagined as moving in a linear fashion.

61
Q

lingua franca

A

n. a language used for communication among peoples speaking different languages

In Asia, English is often used as a lingua franca in business.

62
Q

linguistics

A

n. study of language

Linguistics studies such topics as the origin and structure of language.

63
Q

liniment

A

n. medicinal liquid used externally to ease pain

The trainer applied liniment to the football player’s strained muscle.

64
Q

lionize

A

v. to to treat as a celebrity

After winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, the writer was lionized.

65
Q

lissome

A

adj. easily flexed, limber, agile

The lissome gymnast warmed up for her performance.

66
Q

listless

A

adj. lacking energy and enthusiasm

The class was listless on the hot July afternoon.

67
Q

litany

A

n., a lengthy recitation; repetitive chant

The student repeated his usual litany of excuses.

68
Q

literate

A

adj. able to read and write; well-read and educated

The government started a program to increase the proportion of literate people.

69
Q

literati

A

n. scholarly or learned persons

The London literati united to defend one of its members.

70
Q

lithe

A

adj. moving and bending with ease; graceful

We admired the dancer’s lithe movements.

71
Q

litigation

A

n. legal proceedings

The government discouraged litigation in order to conserve the court’s resources.

72
Q

livid

A

adj. discolored from a bruise; reddened with anger

Tom’s father was livid after learning that his son had been caught stealing.

73
Q

loath

A

adj. unwilling or reluctant; disinclined

Russ is loath to change his major so late in his academic career.

74
Q

loathe

A

v. to abhor, despise, hate

Gavin loathes snakes.

75
Q

lobbyist

A

n. person who attempts to influence legislators or other public officials toward desired action

The Congressman ignored the lobbyists and voted the way he wanted to.

76
Q

locomotion

A

n. movement from place to place

Humankind has devised many means of locomotion.

77
Q

locus

A

n. locality; center of great activity

The locus of the bomb blast was the town center.

78
Q

lofty

A

adj. very high; noble

Ralph has lofty ideals.

79
Q

logo

A

n. corporate symbol

The company recently changed its logo.

80
Q

loiter

A

v. to stand around idly

The principal doesn’t allow students to loiter around the school after 5 P.M.

81
Q

loquacious

A

adj. talkative

The people on the bus were so loquacious I had trouble doing any work.

82
Q

Lothario

A

n. seducer

Henry has a reputation on campus as something of a Lothario.

83
Q

low

A

v. to make a deep sustained sound like a cow, moo

As I went to sleep I heard the sheep lowing in the field.

84
Q

lucid

A

adj. bright; clear; intelligible

This is a lucid piece of writing.

85
Q

lucre

A

adj. money or profits

Modern men and women spend a lot of their time in pursuit of lucre.

86
Q

ludicrous

A

adj. laughable, ridiculous

For many years the idea of space flight was considered ludicrous.

87
Q

lugubrious

A

ad. sorrowful, mournful

We listened to the lugubrious notes of the bagpipes.

88
Q

lumber

A

v. to move slowly and awkwardly

The child ran ahead, her grandfather lumbering behind.

89
Q

luminary

A

n. a person who has achieved eminence in a specific field

Every year science luminaries gather in Stockholm, Sweden, to receive the Nobel Prize.

90
Q

luminous

A

adj. bright, brilliant, glowing

Witnesses said that the UFO suddenly became luminous.

91
Q

lunar

A

adj. relating to the moon

The astronomy department recently appointed a specialist in lunar science.

92
Q

lurid

A

adj. harshly shocking, sensational

The newspaper account left out the lurid details of the murder.

93
Q

lurk

A

v. to prowl, sneak

The thief lurked outside the store.

94
Q

luxuriant

A

adj. marked by lavishness

The luxuriant palace contains priceless antiques.

95
Q

luxuriate

A

v. take luxurious pleasure; indulge oneself

Sally luxuriated in a bubble bath.

96
Q

lyric

A

adj. suitable for poetry and song; expressing feeling

The English poet John Keats wrote excellent lyric poetry.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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