GRE VOCAB: "J" + "K" + "L" + "M" + "N" + "O"

Jejune (adj)

Vapid, uninteresting; childish, immature; lacking nutrition

1. The jejune lecture on various ways to wash clothes had us half-asleep after ten minutes.

2. His jejune response to our questions revealed how young he was despite his apparent age.

3. After surviving on a jejune diet of saltines and ginger ale during my illness, I was ready for a more nutritious meal.

jibe (v)

To agree, to be in accord

1. Since their accounts of the evening’s events didn’t jibe, we knew at least one of them wasn’t telling the full truth.

2. I was relieved to find that my account balance jibed with my calculations so that I didn’t bounce a check.

jocose (adj)

The jocose man could always be counted on for some levity, but it was almost impossible to get him to stop joking even for a minute.

Kinetic (adj)

Having to do with motion; lively; active

• A kinetic personality is a lively, active, moving personality.

1. Our new public relations hire has a kinetic personality.

Labile (adj)

Readily open to change, unstable

1. He was so emotionally labile that he could be crying one minute and laughing the next.

2. Radioactive isotopes are labile because they undergo change.

Lachrymose (adk)

Causing tears, tearful, showing sorrow

1. His lachrymose apology didn’t move me; he was going to have to do a lot more than shed a few tears before I was ready to forgive him.

2. Beth’s lachrymose portrayal of the heroine didn’t work very well since the play was supposed to be a comedy.

Laconic (adj)

Using few words; terse

1. We took her “good” as high praise indeed, since that was more than our laconic band teacher usually said in a whole week.

2. His laconic public persona was just a front; once you got to know him he wouldn’t shut up.

antonyms of laconic: Garrulous and loquacious

Lassitude (n)

listlessness, languor, weariness

1. Those two push-ups I attempted filled me with lassitude for the rest of the day.

2. It wouldn’t be so bad to be in a constant state of lassitude as long as I could have someone to wave palm fronds over me and feed me grapes, since I would be too exhausted to do it myself.

Laud (v)

To praise highly

1. His first novel was so universally lauded that it seemed almost impossible that his second book could live up to the expectations.

2. It is a good idea to laud your partner’s skills at house cleaning; otherwise you’ll just end up having to do more of it yourself.

Lavish (adj)

Extravagant

1. No expense was spared in giving the astronauts a lavish homecoming, complete with welcome feasts and a parade down Fifth avenue, after their arduous mission.

As a verb, to lavish is to bestow something in great quantities, or to cover liberally.

Lethargic (adj)

Characterized by lethargy or sluggishness

1. Though Ryan loves ot run through 18 holes of disc golf in 100-degree weather, I am left too lethargic to so much as pick up my bag.

Lethargy (n)

The noun form of lethargic (characterized by lethargy or sluggishness)

1. Ben can sit on the balcony for hours doing almost nothing, but his seeming lethargy is actually an intense concentration that most people don’t reach because of all of their activity.

Libertine (n)

Someone unrestrained by morality or convention or leading a dissolute life

1. We discovered that she was quite the libertine when it was revealed that she was having affairs on three different continents at the same time.

2. Casanova has become the archetypal libertine in popular culture, the very embodiment of a single-minded pursuit of pleasure.

Libertine can also be an adjective, as in his libertine disregard for the moral conventions of the day.

Limn (v)

To draw, outline in detail

1. The painter limned the old man’s face in such exquisite and expressive lines that it almost looked as if he might open his mouth and speak.

2. The surveyors limned the valley in order to provide an exact topographical map for the construction crew to follow.

Limpid (adj)

Transparent, serene, clear and simple in style, untroubled

1. The once-limpid pond had become a nasty soup of algae, beer cans, and a random tennis shoe or two.

2. The article’s limpid style was a welcome break from the dense and convoluted theoretical stuff I’d been reading for days’ in other words, its limpidity was a relief.

Lionize (v)

To treat something as an object of great interest or importance; to treat a person as a celebrity

1. He was lionized everywhere after winning the Nobel Prize in medicine.

2. Modern society has come to lionize wealth and business success.

List (v)

To tilt or lean to one side

1. The ship listed to one side after running aground on a rock and filling partially with water.

2. After a little too much celebrating, he was listing badly to one side and threatening to topple over as he walked up the front steps.

Loquacious (adj)

Extremely talkative

1. I knew something had to be wrong when my usually loquacious friend didn’t say a word for two whole minutes.

2. His loquacity was legendary; in fact, he held the county record for uninterrupted talking at three days, ten hours and fourteen minutes.

Lucid (adj)

intelligible, sound, clear

1. The lucid water in the tidepool allowed us to see the bottom clearly.

2. Despite the lucidity of Lucia’s explanation, which allowed me to understand the concept for the first time, I remained skeptical about the method’s practicality.

Lumber (v)

To move heavily and clumsily or with rumbling sound.

1. The truck lumbered about like a drunken dinosaur.

2. His usually lumbering gait gave no hint to his remarkable grace as a skater.

Luminous (adj)

Characterized by brightness and the emission of light, enlightened, clear

1. The luminous stars and full moon made it as bright as if it were the middle of the day.

2. It was amazing that he could write such luminous prose when his speech was so confusing and thoughtless.

Magnanimity (n)

The quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving.

1. Her magnanimity in forgiving all those who had opposed her ensured that she would be well liked even by her former enemies.

2. He was magnanimous to a fault; he would give his last penny to anyone who asked for it.

Malevolent (adj)

Having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred

1. The malevolent villain was so mean that she didn’t even like puppies or flowers; now that’s mean!

2. It’s a good thing that his malevolence was only matched by his inability to plan things; a lot more of his evil plots would have worked out if he hadn’t gotten the timing wrong.

Malfeasance (n)

The performance of a public official of an act that is harmful or illegal

1. The police in Ferguson, Missouri, were accused of malfeasance after shooting an unarmed man.

2. The governor of Illinois was accused of malfeasance when he attempted to sell the vacant Senate seat.

Malinger (v)

To feign illness so as to avoid work.

1. Her boss suspected her of malingering until she brought a note from her doctor.

2. If I were you, I’d take “expert malingerer” off my resume.

Malleable (adj)

Capable of being shaped or formed, easily influenced

1. I wouldn’t put too much importance on his agreement with your argument; he’s so malleable that he’s likely to agree with the next person he meets as well.

2. Gold’s malleability makes it a useful metal for jewelry, since it is so easy to shape.

Martial (adj)

Associated with war and the armed forces.

1. When civil war broke out, the military imposed martial law for the duration of the conflict.

2. Sparta was known for its martial culture, in which almost every aspect of life was tied into preparing for battle.

Martinet (n)

A rigid disciplinarian

1. Sister Paul Marie is a sweet and generous person, but she is a martinet when it comes to teaching grammar, and few people passed her class on the first try.

Martinetish (adj)

The adjective form of martinet (a rigid disciplinarian)

1. My martinetish study hall teacher didn’t make my sixth period very relaxing, but boy did I get my homework done!

Maunder (v)

To talk or move aimlessly, mutter

1. After we maundered about for over three hours I started to suspect that our guide didn’t have the slightest idea where he was going.

2. His endless maundering on about nothing started to get on my nerves until I wanted to shout, “Get to the point!”

Maverick (n, adj)

An independent individual who does not go along with a group or party.

1. Always the maverick, Lola insisted on going right whenever everyone else went.

Maverick can also be an adjective.

1. The maverick politician refused to seek safety in numbers by following the consensus; instead, she stuck to her principles regardless of the consequences to her popularity.

Melancholy (adj)

Tending toward sadness

1. Hamlet is the epitome of a melancholy character; he dresses in black, talks to skulls, and rambles on at length about whether to kill himself.

Mellifluous (adj)

Sweetly flowing, usually used to describe words or sounds

1. The mellifluous sound of her voice lulled me to sleep, though this wasn’t what she had in mind since she was trying to chastise me.

2. The mellifluous tones of the quartet’s performance made the audience smile.

Mendacity (n)

The condition of being untruthful, dishonesty

1. Pinocchio was never able to hide his mendacity; whenever he lied his nose grew longer.

Mendacious (from mendacity)

false, untruthful

1. I have never met a more mendacious child; imagine him telling me that the teapot on my head is silly, when everyone knows it is the height of fashion!