Word List 28-30
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- lampoon
- ridicule; N: written attack ridiculing or satirizing a person, group, or institution
- lancet
- small surgical tool for making incisions
- lassitude
- languor; weariness; listlessness
- 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
- lechery
- gross lewdness; lustfulness; ADJ. lecherous; N. lecher: lecherous man
- lectern
- reading desk or stand for a public speaker
- leery
- (of someone) suspicious; wary; cautious
- levee
- earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding; CF. raise
- levity
- lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; lightness of manner
- liability
- drawback; handicap; debts; obligation; responsibility; condition of being liable; ADJ. liable: likely; responsible (for paying)
- libertine
- debauched person; dissolute or licentious person; rou\'e; CF. free
- libretto
- text of an opera or oratorio; CF. book
- limbo
- region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept; prison (slang); Ex. Purgatory and Limbo
- limn
- draw; outline; describe; CF. line ?
- list
- tilt (as of a ship); lean over (to one side)
- litany
- supplicatory prayer; prayer in which the priest calls out and the people replies in the same words
- lithe
- flexible; supple; CF. limber
- litotes
- understatement for emphasis; Ex. ``not bad(=pretty good)''
- livid
- lead-colored; black and blue (as from a bruise); ashen; enraged; extremely angry
- lout
- clumsy person; ADJ. loutish; CF. from countrysides ?
- lugubrious
- mournful; sorrowful
- lurid
- wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible; Ex. lurid details of the murder
- macabre
- gruesome; grisly; ghastly; CF. of death
- macerate
- soften by soaking in liquid; waste away; Ex. macerate powdered wood to make paper
- Machiavellian
- crafty; double-dealing; of the political doctrine of Machiavelli, which holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing political power
- machinations
- evil schemes or plots; schemes or plots to achieve an evil end; V. machinate
- madrigal
- pastoral song; song for several singers without instruments
- magnanimity
- generosity; ADJ. magnanimous: generous
- maim
- mutilate; injure lastingly; disable; cripple; Ex. maimed for life
- mangle
- tear or cut to pieces; mutilate or disfigure; Ex. badly mangled bodies
- malady
- illness
- malapropism
- comic misuse of a word; CF. Mrs. Malaprop
- malediction
- curse
- malfeasance
- wrongdoing; misconduct (by a public official)
- malingerer
- one who feigns illness to escape duty; V. malinger: feign illness to avoid work
- manacle
- restrain; handcuff; N.
- mangy
- shabby; wretched; suffering from mange; of bad appearance
- manumit
- emancipate; free from slavery or bondage
- martinet
- strict disciplinarian; person who demands total obedience to rules and orders; CF. Jean Martinet
- masochist
- person who enjoys his own pain; CF. masochism
- maudlin
- effusively sentimental
- maul
- handle roughly; batter; injure by beating; Ex. mauled by his overexcited fans; N: heavy long-handled hammer
- mauve
- pale purple
- mawkish
- mushy(sentimental) and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; excessively and objectionably sentimental
- mealymouthed
- indirect in speech (when something unpleasant must be said); hypocritical; evasive
- meander
- wind or turn in its course; follow a winding or turning course; move aimlessly and idly
- medley
- mixture
- megalomania
- mania for doing grandiose things; mental disorder characterized by delusions of wealth, power, or importance
- menagerie
- collection of wild animals on exhibition; zoo
- mendacious
- lying; habitually dishonest; N. mendacity
- mendicant
- beggar; ADJ: living as a beggar
- mercenary
- motivated solely by money or gain; N.
- mercurial
- capricious; quick and changing; fickle; containing the element mercury; Ex. mercurial temper; CF. mood
- meretricious
- flashy; tawdry; attractive on the surface but of no real value; Ex. metericious argument/jewel; CF. prostitute
- metaphysical
- pertaining to speculative philosophy; of metaphysics; N. metaphysics: branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality
- mete
- measure; distribute; administer; Ex. mete out justice/punishment
- meteoric
- like a meteor; swift; momentarily brilliant; Ex. meteoric rise to fame; N. meteor
- miasma
- swamp gas; heavy vaporous atmosphere often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence; noxious atmosphere or influence
- milieu
- social environment; means of expression; Ex. feel out of one's milieu; Ex. His proper milieu is watercolor.
- militate
- work against; Ex. militate against the chances of promotion; CF. serve as a soldier
- minatory
- menacing; threatening
- mincing
- affectedly dainty(delicate); V. mince: cut (esp. meat) into very small pieces; walk with exaggerated primness; walk in an unnatural way, taking little short steps; Ex. The actor minced across the stage; CF. mincemeat; CF. mincer
- minion
- servile dependent; obsequious follower
- mire
- entangle; stick in swampy ground; stick or sink in mire; N: bog; deep mud; Ex. sucked deeper into the mire
- misadventure
- mischance; ill luck; Ex. death by misadventure
- miscellany
- mixture of writings on various subjects; collection of various items
- misdemeanor
- minor crime; misdeed; wrongdoing
- misgivings
- doubts