Jovial

(adj.) cheery; jolly; playful

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

Judicious

(adj.) to have or show sound judgment

1. Because the elder was judicious, the tough decisions were left to him.
2. Putting money away for a rainy day is a judicious decision.

Juncture

(n.) critical point; meeting

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

Juxtapose

(v.) place side-by-side

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

Ken

(v.; n.) to recognize; one's understanding

1. It was difficult to ken exactly what she had in mind.
2. My ken of the situation proved to be incorrect.

Kindle

(v.) ignite; arouse

1. Being around children kindled her interest in educational psychology.

Kinship

(n.) family relationship; affinity

1. Living in close proximity increased the kinship of the family.

Kith

(n.) relatives and acquaintances

1. Our kith will meet at the family reunion.

Knavery

(n.) a dishonest act

1. An act of knavery is cause for loss of trust.
2. The teacher refused to have knavery in his classroom.

Knead

(v.) mix; massage

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

Knotty

(adj.) to be puzzling or hard to explain

1. The mystery was knotty.

Labyrinth

(n.) maze

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

Lacerate

(v.) to tear or mangle; to wound or hurt

1. Sharp knives may lacerate the skin of an unsuspecting user.
2. Her rejection will lacerate my self-esteem.

Laconic

(adj.) sparing of words; terse, pithy

1. After a laconic introduction the program began.
2. The people enjoyed the public addresses of the laconic queen.

Laggard

(n.; adj.) a person who has fallen behind; moving slowly

1. The laggard child was lost in the crowd.
2. The train was laggard.
3. Anything can happen in a swim meet: Last year's leader can become this year's laggard.

Lambaste

(v.) to scold or beat harshly

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

Lambent

(adj.) traveling gently over surface; flickering

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

Lament

(v.; n.) to mourn or grieve; expression of grief or sorrow

1. The boy is lamenting the loss of his pet.
2. Pedro's only lament was that his wife didn't outlive him.

Languid

(adj.) lacking vitality; indifferent

1. The languid student was always late to class.
2. I have studied so much that I have grown languid to the subject. 
3. During her illness she was so languid she could not leave her bed.

Larceny

(n.) theft; stealing

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

Lascivious

(adj.) indecent; immoral; involves lust

1. He said it was a harmless pin-up poster, but his mother called it lascivious.
2. Known as a skirt-chaser, his lascivious ways seemed to all but preclude a stable marriage.

Lassitude

(n.) a state of being tired or listless

1. Lassitude was evident in the nurses who had been working for 24 hours straight.
2. Ten days of continual work caused a feeling of lassitude for the worker.

Latency

(n.) a period of inactivity

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

Laud

(v.) praise

1. He lauded his daughter for winning the trophy.

Lax

(adj.) careless; irresponsible

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

Lecherous

(adj.) impure in thought and act

1. 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.
2. The lecherous man lurked on the corner.

Lethargic

(adj.) lazy; passive

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

Levee

(n.) a landing on the edge of a river or field

1. The swimmer came ashore on the levee.

Levity

(n.) lack of seriousness; instability

1. The levity with which he faced the destruction hampered the rescue effort.
2. Levity characterized the first months of his administration.
3. Levity is a necessary trait for a comedian.

Lewd

(adj.) lustful; wicked

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

Liaison

(n.) connection; link

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

Liberalism

(n.) believing in personal freedom (favoring reform or progress)

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

Libertine

(n.) one who indulges his desires without restraint

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

Licentious

(adj.) morally lacking in restraint

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

Ligneous

(adj.) having the composition of wood

1. The ligneous material appeared to be pure maple.

Limber

(adj.) flexible; pliant

1. The dancers must be limber to do their ballet steps.

Lithe

(adj.) easily bent; pliable; supple

1. It is best to use a lithe material when constructing a curved object.
2. A gymnast needs to be lithe in order to do a split.

Litigate

(v.) to involve a lawsuit

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

Livid

(adj.) discolored, as if bruised; extremely angry; furious

1. After the fall, her arm was livid.
2. She became livid when she heard the news.
3. When she found out she had been robbed, the woman was livid.

Loiter

(v.) to spend time aimlessly

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

Loquacious

(adj.) very talkative; garrulous

1. She was having difficulty ending the conversation with her loquacious neighbor.
2. The staff knew the meeting would be long because the administrator was in a loquacious mood.

Lucent

(adj.) shining; translucent

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

Lucid

(adj.) shiny; clear minded

1. He chose a shimmering, lucid fabric for his curtains.
2. When lucid, the man spoke of vivid memories.

Lucrative

(adj.) profitable; gainful

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

Lugubrious

(adj.) full of sorrow; mournful

1. The man's lugubrious heart kept him from enjoying the special occasion.

Luminous

(adj.) emitting light; shining; also enlightened or intelligent

1. The luminous quality of the precious stone made it look like a fallen star.
2. They found their way through the darkness by heading toward the luminous object in the distance.

Lunge

(v.) to move suddenly

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

Lurid

(adj.) glowing through haze; shocking, sensational

1. A lurid sun shone upon them as they watched the sun set on the beach.
2. The tabloid specialized in lurid stories about celebrities' indiscretions.

Lustrous

(adj.) bright; radiant; shining

1. Surrounded by rubies, the lustrous diamond looked magnificent.

Luxuriant

(adj.) to grow with energy and in great abundance

1. The luxuriant flowers grew in every available space.