Words starting with J to L | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

jaded: worn-out

A person may become jaded if forced to work too many hours.

jargon: incoherent speech; specialized vocabulary in certain fields

The conversation was nothing but jargon, but then the speakers were nothing but cartoon characters who specialize in an oddly bracing form of gibberish.

The engineers' jargon is indecipherable to a layperson.

jeopardy: danger; peril

The campers realized they were in potential jeopardy when the bears surrounded their camp.

jester: a person employed to amuse

The jester tried all of his tricks to get the girl to laugh.

jettison:  to throw overboard goods to lighten a vehicle; to discard

To raise the balloon above the storm clouds, they had to jettison the ballast.

jocund: happy, cheerful, genial, gay

The puppy kept a smile on the jocund boy's face.

The jocund atmosphere was due to the team's victory in the playoffs.

jollity: being fun or jolly

The jollity of the crowd was seen in the cheering and laughing.

jovial: cheery; jolly; playful

She was a jovial person, always pleasant and fun to be with.

judicious: to have or show sound judgment

Because the elder was judicious, the tough decisions were left to him.

Putting money away for a rainy day is a judicious decision.

juncture: critical point; meeting 

When the gas changed into a liquid, they sensed that they'd come to a critical juncture in their experimentation.

juxtapose: place side-by-side

The author decided to juxtapose the two sentences since they each strengthened the meaning of the other.

ken:  to recognize; one's understanding

It was difficult to ken exactly what she had in mind.

My ken of the situation proved to be incorrect.

kindle:  ignite; arouse

Being around children kindled her interest in educational psychology.

kinship:  family relationship; affinity

Living in close proximity increased the kinship of the family.

kith:  relatives and acquaintances

Our kith will meet at the family reunion.

knavery:  a dishonest act

An act of knavery is cause for loss of trust.

The teacher refused to have knavery in his classroom.

knead:  mix; massage

After mixing the ingredients, they kneaded the dough and set it aside to rise.

knotty: to be puzzling or hard to explain

The mystery was knotty.

labyrinth:  maze

Be careful not to get lost in the labyrinth of vegetation.

lacerate:  to tear or mangle; to wound or hurt

Sharp knives may lacerate the skin of an unsuspecting user.

Her rejection will lacerate my self-esteem.

laconic: sparing of words; terse, pithy

After a laconic introduction the program began.

The people enjoyed the public addresses of the laconic queen.

laggard: a person who has fallen behind; moving slowly

The laggard child was lost in the crowd.

The train was laggard.

Anything can happen in a swim meet:  Last year's leader can become this year's laggard.

lambaste: to scold or beat harshly

If the boy broke the lamp his father will surely lambaste him.

lambent: traveling gently over surface; flickering

The lambent flame lit the dark room as the breeze wafted in.

lament: to mourn or grieve; expression of grief or sorrow

The boy is lamenting the loss of his pet.

Pedro's only lament was that his wife didn't outlive him.

languid: lacking vitality; indifferent

The languid student was always late to class.

I have studied so much that I have grown languid to the subject. During her illness she was so languid she could not leave her bed.

larceny: theft; stealing

After robbing the liquor store, she was found guilty of larceny.

lascivious: indecent; immoral; involves lust

He said it was a harmless pin-up poster, but his mother called it lascivious.

Known as a skirt-chaser, his lascivious ways seemed to all but preclude a stable marriage.

lassitude:  a state of being tired or listless

Lassitude was evident in the nurses who had been working for 24 hours straight.

Ten days of continual work caused a feeling of lassitude for the worker.

latency: a period of inactivity

Its latency was small solace for the girl who feared that the cancer would re-emerge fiercer than ever.

laud: praise

He lauded his daughter for winning the trophy.

lax: careless; irresponsible

She was lax in everything she did and therefore could not be trusted with important tasks.

lecherous: impure in thought and act

The lecherous Humbert Humbert is Nabokov's protagonist in Lolita, a novel that sparked great controversy because of Humbert's romantic attachment to a young girl.

The lecherous man lurked on the corner.

lethargic: lazy; passive

Feeling very lethargic, he watched television or slept the whole day.

levee: a landing on the edge of a river or field

The swimmer came ashore on the levee.

levity: lack of seriousness; instability

The levity with which he faced the destruction hampered the rescue effort.

Levity characterized the first months of his administration.

Levity is a necessary trait for a comedian.

lewd: lustful; wicked

The comment was so lewd it could not be repeated in front of children.

liaison: connection; link

The student council served as a liaison between the faculty and the student body.

liberalism: believing in personal freedom (favoring reform or progress)

If you believe in liberalism, the First Amendment is sacrosanct.

libertine: one who indulges his desires without restraint

For the libertine, missing his child's birthday was not as significant as missing a football game.

licentious: morally lacking in restraint

The people of Sodom and Gomorra were known for their licentious lifestyle.

ligneous: having the composition of wood

The ligneous material appeared to be pure maple.

limber: flexible; pliant

The dancers must be limber to do their ballet steps.

lithe: easily bent; pliable; supple

It is best to use a lithe material when constructing a curved object.

A gymnast needs to be lithe in order to do a split.

litigate:  to involve a lawsuit

A number of the state attorneys-general are litigating against the tobacco companies.

livid: discolored, as if bruised; extremely angry; furious

After the fall, her arm was livid.

She became livid when she heard the news.

When she found out she had been robbed, the woman was livid.

loiter: to spend time aimlessly

Many teenagers loiter around the mall when there is nothing else to do.

loquacious: very talkative; garrulous

She was having difficulty ending the conversation with her loquacious neighbor.

The staff knew the meeting would be long because the administrator was in a loquacious mood.

lucent: shining; translucent

The flowing garment gave the woman a lucent quality when standing in the spotlight.

lucid: shiny; clear minded

He chose a shimmering, lucid fabric for his curtains.

When lucid, the man spoke of vivid memories.

lucrative: profitable; gainful

She entered the pharmaceutical industry in the belief that it would be lucrative.

luminous: emitting light; shining; also enlightened or intelligent

The luminous quality of the precious stone made it look like a fallen star.

They found their way through the darkness by heading toward the luminous object in the distance.

lunge:  to move suddenly

The owl will lunge at its prey in order to take it off guard.

lurid: glowing through haze; shocking, sensational

A lurid sun shone upon them as they watched the sun set on the beach.

The tabloid specialized in lurid stories about celebrities' indiscretions.

lustrous: bright; radiant; shining

Surrounded by rubies, the lustrous diamond looked magnificent.

luxuriant: to grow with energy and in great abundance

The luxuriant flowers grew in every available space.