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Labefaction
Deterioration or downfall
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Labile
Liable to change, easily altered
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Laborious
Requiring considerable time and effort
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Labyrinth
An intricate and confusing arrangement
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Lacerate
Tear or make deep cuts in flesh or skin
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Laches
Unreasonable delay in asserting a claim, which may result in its dismissal
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Lackadaisical
Lacking enthusiasm and determination, carelessly lazy
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Lacklustre
Lacking in vitality, force, or conviction
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Laconic
Speech or a style of writing using very few words
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Lacuna
An unfilled space, a gap
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Laggard
A person who makes slow progress and falls behind others
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Laic
Of the laity, secular
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Laissez-faire
The policy of leaving things to take their own coure without interfering
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Lambaste
Criticise someone or something harshly
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Lambent
Glowing, gleaming or flickering with a soft radiance
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Lament
A passionate expression of grief or sorrow
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Lampoon
Publicly criticise someone or something by using ridicule, irony or sarcasm
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Languid
Having or showing a disinclination for physical exertion or effort
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Languish
Lose or lack vitality, grow weak
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Languor
Tiredness or inactivity, especially when pleasurable
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Lapidary
Relating to the engraving, cutting or polishing of stones & gems
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Lapse
A brief or temporary failure of concentration, memory or judgement
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Lapsus linguae
A slip of the tongue
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Larceny
Theft of personal property
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Largesse
Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others
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Lascivious
Feeling or reveraling an overt sexual interest or desire
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lassitude
A state of physical or mental weariness, lack of energy
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Latent
Existing but not yet developed or manifest, hidden or concealed
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Latitude
Scope for freedom of action or thought
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Latter
- Occuring or situated nearer to the end of something than the beginning
- Recent
- Denoting the second or second mentioned of two people or things
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Laureate
A person who is honoured with an award for outstanding creative or intellectual acheivement
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Lavish
Sumptuously rich, elaborate or luxurious
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Lax
Not sufficiently strict, severe or careful
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Learned
Having acquired much knowledge through study
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Leaven
A pervasive influence that modifies something or transforms it for the better
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Leer
Look or gaze in a lascivious or unpleasant way
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Legerdemain
Deception, trickery
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Legible
Clear enough to read
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Legitimate
Conforming to the law or to rules
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Lenient
More merciful or tolerant than expected
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Lenity
The quality of being kind or gentle
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Leonine
Resembling a lion or lions
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Lese-majesty
Presumptious or disrespectful behaviour
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Lest
To avoid the risk of
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Lethal
Sufficient to cause death
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Lethargy
Lack of energy and enthusiasm
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Leviathan
A thing that is very large or powerful, especially an organisation
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Levitate
Rise or cause to rise and hover in the air
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Levity
The treatment oof a serious matter with humour or lack of due respect
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Lewd
Crude and offensive in a sexual way
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Lex talionis
The law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offence committed in kind and degree
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Lexicon
The vocabulary of a person, language or branch of knowledge
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Lexis
The total stock of words in a language
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Liaise
Cooperate on a matter of mutual concern
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Libation
A drink poured out as an offering to a deity
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Liberal
Willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own
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Libertarian
A person who believes in free will
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Libertine
A person who freely indulges in sensual pleasures without regard to moral principles
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Licentious
Promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters
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Licit
Not forbidden, lawful
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Lief
As happily, as gladly
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Lien
A right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
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Ligneous
Made, consisting of, or resembling wood
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Lilliputian
A trivial or very small person or thing
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Lilt
A characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking
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Limacine
Relating to or having the characteristics of slugs
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Limbo
An uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition
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Limbus
The border or margin of a structure
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Limelight
The focus of public attention
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Liminal
Relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process
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Limn
Depict or describe in painting or words
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Limpet
People and things that cling tightly
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Limpid
Completely clear and transparent
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Lineage
Direct descent from an ancestor
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Linchpin
A person or thing vital to an enterprise or organisation
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Linctus
Thick liquid medicine, especially cough medicine
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Lingua franca
A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different
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Lissom
Thin, supple and graceful
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Listless
Lacking energy or enthusiasm
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Litany
A tedious recital or repetitive series
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Literal
Taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or exaggeration
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Literate
Someone who can read or write
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Literati
Well-educated people who are interested in literature
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Literatim
Letter by letter
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Lithe
Thin, supple and graceful
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Litigious
Excessively prone to litigate
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Litotes
A figure of speech in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary as in not bad at all
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Litterateur
A writer of literary works
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Littoral
Relating to the shore of a lake, sea or ocean
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Loafer
An idler, someone who does not work
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Loath
Reluctant, unwilling
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Loathe
To feel hatred, disgust or intense aversion for
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Lobotomise
Make someone less able to function mentally or emotionally
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Locale
A place where something happens or is set, or that has particular events associated with it
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Locomote
Move from one place to another
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Locomotion
Movement or the ability to move from one place to another
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Locus
A particular position or place where something occurs or is situated
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Locus classicus
A passage considered to be the best known or most authoritative on a particular subject
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Locution
A word or phrase, especially with regard to style or idiom
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Lodestar
Something that serves as a guide or on which attention is fixed
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Logic
Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity
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Logion
A saying attributed to Christ
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Logistics
The detailed organisation and implementation of a complex operation
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Logomachy
An argument about words
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Logophilia
The love of words
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Logophile
A lover of words
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Logorrhoea
A tendency to extreme loquacity
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Loiter
Stand or wait around without apparent purpose
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Lollop
Move in an ungainly way in a series of clumsy paces or bounds
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Lonesome
Solitary or lonely
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Longing
Prolonged, unceasing or earnest desire
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Loom
Appear as a vague form, especially one that is large or threatening
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Loquacious
Tending to talk a great deal
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Lore
A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth
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Lorgnette
A pair of eyeglasses mounted on a long handle
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Louche
Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way
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Lour
Look angry or sullen; scowl
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Lovelorn
Unhappy because of unrequited love
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Lowlight
A low point, a point at which things are at their worst
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Lubber
A big, clumsy person
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Lucent
Glowing with or giving off light
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Lucid
Clear or transparent, easily understood
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Lucrative
Profitable, remunerative
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Lucre
Money, especially when regarded as sordid or distasteful or gained in a dishonourable way
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Lucubrate
Write or study, especially by night
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Luculent
Clearly expressed
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Luddite
person who opposes the introduction of new technology
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Ludicrous
Ridiculous, amusingly absurd
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Lugubrious
Looking or sounding sad or dismal
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Lukewarm
Moderately warm, tepid
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Luminary
A person who inspires or influences others, especially one prominent in a particular sphere
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Luminous
Giving off light, bright or shining
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Lumpenproletariat
The unorganised and unpolitical lower orders of society who are not interested in revolutionary advancement
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Lupine
Resembling the wolf
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Lurid
Presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms
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Luscious
Appealing strongly to the senses
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Lust
Sexual desire or appetite
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Lustre
A gentle sheen or soft glow
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