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| labile |
readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown:UNSTABLE |
| laborious |
adj. needing much effort |
| labyrinth |
n. complicated network of winding passages, paths, etc through which it is difficult to find one's way |
| lace |
n. delicate fabric with an ornamental openwork design of threads |
| lacerate |
v. injure by tearing |
| laceration |
n. tearing of the flesh |
| lachrymose |
adj. in the habit of weeping; tearful; mournful |
| lackadaisical |
adj. lacking vigour and determination; unenthusiastic |
| lackluster |
lacking brilliance or vitality ; lacking luster or shine |
| laconic |
adj. using few words; terse |
| lag |
v. ~ (behind sb/sth); ~ (behind) go too slow; fail to keep pace with others |
| laggard |
n. person who lags behind |
| lagoon |
n. salt-water lake separated from the open sea by sandbanks or coral reefs |
| laity |
n. the laity all the members of a Church who are not ordained clergymen; laymen ; |
| lambaste |
v. hit (sb) hard and repeatedly; thrash ; |
| lament |
v. ~ (for/over sb/sth) feel or express great sorrow or regret for (sb/sth) |
| lampoon |
n. piece of writing that attacks and ridicules a person, a book, an institution, etc |
| lance |
n. weapon used for catching fish, etc with a long wooden shaft and a pointed steel head |
| lancet |
n. sharp pointed two-edged surgical instrument used for opening abscesses, etc |
| languid |
adj. lacking vigour or energy; slow-moving |
| languish |
v. lack or lose vitality |
| languor |
n. tiredness or laziness of mind and body; listlessness ; |
| lank |
adj. straight and limp |
| lap |
n. area formed by the upper part of a seated person's thighs |
| larceny |
n. (instance of) theft of personal goods |
| larder |
n. cupboard or small room used for storing food |
| largess |
n. generous giving of money or gifts, esp to sb of lower rank or status |
| lascivious |
adj. feeling, expressing or causing sexual desire |
| lassitude |
n. tiredness of mind or body |
| latch |
n. fastening for a gate or door, consisting of a bar that is lifted from its catch, groove, hole, etc by a lever |
| latent |
adj. existing but not yet active, developed or visible |
| lateral |
adj. of, at, from or towards the side |
| latitude |
n. distance of a place north or south of the equator, measured in degrees . |
| laud |
v. praise (sb/sth); glorify |
| laudable |
adj. deserving praise; praiseworthy |
| laudatory |
adj. expressing or giving praise |
| lavish |
adj. ~ ~ (in doing sth) giving or producing generously or in large quantities |
| lax |
adj. not sufficiently strict or severe; negligent |
| laxative |
n, adj causing or helping the bowels to empty |
| layman |
n. person who does not have an expert knowledge of a subject |
| leash |
n. = lead |
| leaven |
n. substance used to make dough rise before it is baked to make bread |
| leave-taking |
n. act of saying goodbye |
| lechery |
n. excessive interest in sexual pleasure |
| lectern |
n. high sloping desk made to hold a lecturer's notes, a Bible in church, etc |
| leery |
adj. ~ (infml ) wary; suspicious |
| leeway |
n. amount of freedom to move, change, etc that is left to sb |
| legacy |
n. money or property left to sb in a will |
| legato |
adj. adv (to be played) in a smooth even manner |
| legend |
n. story handed down from the past, esp one that may not be true |
| legerdemain |
n. skilful performance of tricks using the hands; juggling; conjuring ; |
| legislature |
n. body of people with the power to make and change laws |
| leniency |
mercifulness as a consequence of being lenient or tolerant ; a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone |
| leonine |
adj. of or like a lion |
| lethal |
adj. causing or able to cause death |
| lethargic |
adj. Hot weather makesme lethargic |
| levee |
n. assembly of visitors, esp at a formal reception |
| levitate |
v. rise and float in the air, esp by means of supernatural powers |
| levity |
n. lack of proper seriousness or respect |
| levy |
v. ~ sth (on sb) collect (a payment, etc) by authority or force; impose sth |
| lewd |
adj. treating sexual matters in a vulgar or indecent way |
| lexicographer |
n. person who compiles dictionaries |
| lexicon |
n. dictionary, esp of an ancient language , |
| liability |
n. ~state of being liable |
| liaison |
n. communicationand co-operation between units of an organization |
| libel |
n. false written or printed statement that damages sb's reputation |
| libelous |
defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person |
| libertine |
n. man who lives an irresponsible and immoral life |
| libidinous |
adj. having or showing strong sexual feelings; lustful ; |
| libido |
n. (psychology ) emotional energy or urge, esp sexual |
| libretto |
n. words that are sung and spoken in an opera or musical play |
| license |
v. give a licence to |
| licentious |
adj. disregardingthe rules of behaviour, esp in sexual matters |
| lien |
n. ~ (on/upon sth) right to keep sb's property until a debt owed in connection with it (for repair, transport, etc) is paid , |
| ligneous |
adj. woody |
| lilliputian |
adj. on a small scale; tiny |
| limber |
adj. supple; flexible ; |
| limbo |
n. in limbo in an intermediate or uncertain state; neglected |
| limn |
portray; describe vividly |
| limp |
adj. not stiff or firm |
| limpid |
adj. clear; transparent |
| lineage |
n. line of descent from an ancestor; ancestry |
| lineaments |
n. features of the face, etc |
| linger |
v. stay for a long time; be unwilling to leave |
| linguistic |
adj. of language or linguistics |
| lionize |
assign great social importance to |
| liquidate |
v. pay or settle |
| list |
n. series of names, items, figures, etc written or printed |
| listless |
adj. having no energy, vitality or enthusiasm |
| litany |
n. series of prayers to God for use in church services, spoken by a priest with set responses by the congregation |
| lithe |
adj. bending or turning easily; supple |
| litigation |
n. process of going to law |
| litotes |
n. ironical understatement,esp using a negative to emphasize the contrary , It wasn't easy It was very difficult |
| litter |
n. light rubbish (eg bits of paper, wrappings, bottles) left lying about, esp in a public place |
| livid |
adj. of the colour of lead; bluish-grey |
| loath |
adj. ~ to do sth unwilling; reluctant |
| loathe |
v. feel great hatred or disgust for (sb/sth) |
| lode |
n. vein of metal ore |
| loft |
n. room or space directly under the roof of a house, used for storing things |
| lofty |
adj. (of thoughts, aims, etc) noble; exalted |
| log |
n. length of tree-trunk that has fallen or been cut down |
| loiter |
v. ~ stand about idly |
| loll |
v. ~ rest, sit or stand lazily, often while leaning against sth |
| longevity |
n. long life |
| lookout |
the act of keeping watch against danger, etc. |
| loom |
n. machine for weaving cloth |
| lope |
v. run fairly fast with long bounding strides |
| lopsided |
adj. with one side lower, smaller, etc than the other; unevenly balanced |
| loquacious |
adj. fondof talking; talkative ; |
| lot |
n. the `lot, all the `lot, the whole `lot the whole number or amount (of sb/sth) |
| lottery |
n. way of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers selected at random |
| lounge |
v. sit or stand in a lazy way, esp leaning against sth; loll |
| lout |
n. clumsy vulgar man or youth with bad manners |
| low |
adj. not high or tall; not extending far upwards |
| lubricate |
v. put oil or grease on or in so that it moves easily |
| lucid |
adj. clearly expressed; easy to understand |
| lucrative |
adj. producing much money; profitable |
| lucre |
n. profit or money-making, as a motive for doing sth |
| ludicrous |
adj. causing laughter; ridiculous; absurd |
| lugubrious |
adj. dismal; mournful |
| lull |
v. ~ sb/sth (to sth) make (a person or an animal) quiet or less active; soothe sb/sth |
| lumber |
n. unwanted pieces of furniture, etc that are stored away or take up space |
| lumen |
a unit of luminous flux equal to the light emitted in a unit solid angle by a uniform point source of one candle intensity |
| luminary |
n. person who inspires or influences others |
| luminous |
adj. giving out light; bright |
| lunar |
adj. of the moon |
| lunatic |
n. insane person |
| lurid |
adj. having bright glaring colours or combinations of colour |
| lurk |
v. be or stay hidden, esp when waiting to attack |
| luscious |
adj. rich and sweet in taste or smell |
| lush |
adj. growing thickly and strongly; luxuriant |
| lust |
n. ~ (for sb) strong sexual desire |
| luster |
shine; gloss |
| lustrous |
adj. having lustre |
| luxuriant |
adj. growing thickly and strongly; lush |
| luxuriate |
v. ~ in sth take great pleasure in sth; enjoy sth as a luxury |
