p11 Flashcards
itinerant
Traveling from place to place, esp. as part of a job
The widow was an itinerant worker and couldn’t raise their 3 kids alone, so sent them off to families that took them as servants.
jargon
the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group; convoluted or unintelligible language
Leaders often fall prey to using complex jargon and big words to describe their ideas or communicate their vision.
jettison
Discard, cast off; throw items overboard in order to lighten a ship in an emergency
Investors shouldn’t jettison their long-term strategy based on a temporary economic downturn.
jingoism
Excessive, loud patriotism and aggressive, warlike foreign policy; extreme chauvinism
Within Russia, even among people who may not like Putin, there is a certain amount of jingoism about the Ukrainian question
jocular
Joking or given to joking all the time; jolly, playful
He made the jocular observation that the best way to make a small fortune in the wine business is to start off with a large fortune
juncture
Critical point in time, such as a crisis or a time when a decision is necessary; a place where two things are joined together
Painstaking negotiations appear to have reached a critical juncture this week
juxtapose
Place side by side (either physically or in a metaphorical way, such as to make a comparison)
The resulting images juxtapose subjects’ past and present selves, leaving viewers to reflect on the passage of time.
kindle
ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame
knell
The sound made by a bell for a funeral, or any sad sound or signal of a failure, death, ending, etc. (noun); to make such a sound (verb)
The loss came as a shock to many in the Democratic Caucus and seemed to sound the death knell for the Build Back Better act for a while.
lachrymose
tearful, mournful
the more lachrymose mourners at the funeral required a steady supply of tissues
lackluster
Not shiny; dull, mediocre; lacking brilliance or vitality
Given these lackluster options, most people can’t do anything meaningful about their hair loss.
laconic
Using few words, concise
She might suggest jokes to someone who laughs a lot, or keep quieter around a laconic sort.
lampoon
A harsh satire (noun); ridicule or satirize (verb)
Many of the deepfakes in the exhibition are relatively harmless in nature—like Queen Elizabeth dancing on top of her desk or a lampoon of former president Donald Trump withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.
languid
Drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit
Critics say the central bank’s languid approach allowed inflation to fester.
fester
become septic; suppurate; become rotten and offensive to the senses (곪다)
larceny
theft
He was arrested and charged with larceny.
largess
Generosity, the giving of money or gifts (esp. with the implication that the giver is a bit superior to the recipient)
He relied on the largesse of friends after he lost his job.
lassitude
Tiredness, weariness; lazy indifference
our lassitude was such that we couldn’t even be bothered to get more soda from the fridge
laudable
Worthy of praise
Fixing the problem of access to insurance, especially for catastrophic events, is laudable, but focusing on insurance as the means to lowering cost and improving outcomes misses the forest for the trees.
lavish
Abundant or giving in abundance; marked by excess (adj); give very generously (verb)
this lavish consumption of our natural resources simply cannot continue
a great actor who lavished his talent in lousy movies
layperson
A person who is not a member of the clergy or not a member of a particular profession (such as medicine, law, etc.)
Kleiman describes their technical accomplishments in clear language easy for the computer layperson to follow.
leery
Suspicious or wary
Private firms are leery of being in the media spotlight during sensitive government occasions.
legerdemain
trickery or deception; a display of skill or adroitness
the reduction of the deficit is due in part to financial legerdemain that masks the true costs of running the government
levity
Lightness (of mind, spirit, or mood) or lack of seriousness, sometimes in an inappropriate way
The Black Mirror episode isn’t subtle in its rebuke of tech-dependent modern dating habits, but Campbell and Cole’s rapport brings levity to otherwise fatalistic conversations.
levy
Collect tax from, wage war on, or enlist for military service; (verb); act of colleting tax or amount owed, or the drafting of troops into military service (noun)
The government imposed a levy on gasoline.
the legislators approved a new levy on imported cattle to help protect American ranchers
libertine
Morally or sexually unrestrained person; freethinker (regarding religion)
the legend of Don Juan depicts him as a playboy and libertine
licentious
Sexually unrestrained; immoral; ignoring the rules
In this outing, there is literally no forgiving the rich powerful playboy Duke, whose grossly licentious sexism was likely accepted endemic at the time, but is just despicable today.
limpid
Clear, transparent; completely calm
the limpid waters of the stream
lionize
Treat like a celebrity
She was lionized everywhere after her novel won the Pulitzer Prize.
lissome
Flexible, supple, agile
the lissome actress’s dance training is apparent in the way she moves on stage
listless
Spiritless, lacking interest or energy
But in Game 4, the Rangers looked alarmingly listless, reverting to some of the sloppy play that characterized the early part of the season.
livid
Furiously angry, enraged
the boss was livid when yet another deadline was missed
loquacious
Talkative, wordy
Even the more loquacious members of the cast had trouble finding not just the right words, but any words at all.
lucid
Clear, easy to understand; rational, sane
His artwork offer lucid glimpses into places where ordinary people face extraordinary challenges.
lugubrious
Mournful, gloomy (sometimes in an exaggerated way)
Wall Street’s lugubrious mood dragged into Friday, with the major U.S. indexes on track to extend their losses a day after registering their steepest slump since the beginning of the pandemic.
lull
Soothe or cause to fall asleep (as in a lullaby); quiet down; make to feel secure, sometimes falsely (verb); a period of calm or quiet (noun)
The placid waters of lakes and ponds can lull waders and swimmers into a false sense of security.
lumber
Walk in a heavy or clumsy way, sometimes due to being weighed down
The economy continues to lumber along since the pandemic.
