John Wiley And Sons Webster''s New World - Essential vocabulary_J-K

J – K
jaded (JAY did) adj. 1. worn out; weary; tired; 2. satiated or dulled from
overindulging
• After having studied all night, Amber was jaded by morning.
• Having handled hundreds of homicide cases over the years, the detective’s
view of humanity has become rather jaded.
• The social worker tried not to be jaded at each new family abuse case she
encountered, but it was difficult.
[-ly adv.]
journal (JOER nil) n. 1. a daily record of events; diary; 2. the records of an orga-
nization’s transactions; ledger; 3. a newspaper, daily or otherwise
• Daniel Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe is in the form of a journal kept by a cast-
away on a desert island.
• The treasurer of any corporation must keep a journal of all the financial
transactions.
• Many local newspapers contain the word journal in their names, like New
York City’s lamented Journal-American.
judge (JUHJ) vt. 1. to hear arguments and decide the outcome; 2. to decide the
outcome of a contest; 3. to form an opinion; to estimate; 4. to criticize —n. 1. a
public official elected or appointed for purposes of vt. #1 and #3; 2. a contest
decider; 3. one qualified to form an opinion or to criticize; 4. a critic
• In most civil cases, a jury is not used, and a single person must judge the
merits of the case.
• Would you like to judge a contest to determine the most beautiful pig?
• You judge which of the two chairs is more comfortable.
• Do you judge the new automobiles as being of higher or lower quality than
last year’s models?
• The position of judge is considered one of great trust.
• The judge will decide which pie is tastiest.
• Years of experience are required to refine one’s taste buds to the point
where (s)he can qualify as a judge of fine wines.

• When it comes to movies, everyone’s a judge.
[-d, judging, -ment n.] [Syn. decide]
judicial (joo DISH il) adj. 1. pertaining to judges, courts, or their functions;
2. enforced or set by order of a court or judge; 3. suitable to or like a judge; 4. fair
and unbiased
• Laws are passed and signed subject to judicial review.
• For a search warrant to be valid, it must bear a judicial signature.
• Strict codes of behavior govern judicial proceedings.
• A court must follow judicial procedures evenhandedly.
justice (JUHS tis) n. 1. impartiality and fairness; 2. the quality of being correct;
right; 3. sound reason; validity; 4. deserved results; reward or penalty for good or
bad deeds, respectively; 5. procedure of a court of law; 6. a judge
146
13_571656 ch09.qxd 11/10/04 12:37 PM Page 146
• Justice must be meted out equally to all; anything else is unjust.
• Justice must allow no favoritism of any kind.
• Justice requires that the good be rewarded and the evil be punished.
• The courts of law in this country are charged with administering justice.
•A justice of the peace has the power to perform weddings.
justify (JUHS ti fy) vt. 1. to show to be right; vindicate; 2. to supply lawful
grounds for; warrant —vi. 1. to show sufficient reason for doing something; prove;
2. to align a row or rows of type on a page
• The town cited the fire hazard caused by old wiring to justify upgrading its
electrical code.
• Law officers must present a judge with some evidence of wrongdoing to
justify getting a wiretap warrant.
• Mr. Jones must justify his having cut down Mrs. Smith’s oak tree.
• The lines of type on most papers that you submit in school are justified on
the left.
[justified, -ing, justification n.]

juxtaposition (JUHX tuh puh ZISH in) n. placed side by side or close together
• Words that modify other words should be placed in juxtaposition to the
words they modify.
• When returning home after grocery shopping, it is preferable to place the
trunk of the car in juxtaposition with the door to your house nearest the
kitchen.
knowledge (NAH lij) n. 1. information; awareness; understanding; 2. acquain-
tance with the facts; 3. the complete body of information; enlightenment
• Do you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of Waldo?
• It is important to have a thorough knowledge of the facts before reaching
any conclusion about them.
• An encyclopedia attempts to catalog all the knowledge of mankind, and it
does it alphabetically for convenience.
QUICK REVIEW #51
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
J – K: SAT Words 147
1. jaded
2. journal
3. judge
4. judicial
5. justice
6. justify
7. juxtaposition
8. knowledge
a. nearby
b. fairness
c. vindicate
d. information
e. wearied

f. evaluate
g. unbiased
h. diary
13_571656 ch09.qxd 11/10/04 12:37 PM Page 147
L
lame (LAYM) adj. 1. disabled or crippled, especially in one or both legs;
2. stiff and painful; 3. weak; unconvincing; ineffectual
• When Lucy fell off the horse and hurt her leg, there was a danger that she
might be lame for life.
• While running the bases, Sebbie came up lame and had to limp off the
field.
• “The dog ate my homework” is universally recognized as a very lame
excuse.
[lamer, lamest, lamely adv.]
languid (LANG wid) adj. 1. lacking vitality; drooping; weak; 2. lacking interest;
3. indifferent; sluggish
• After his bout with mononucleosis, Jim was languid for a number of weeks.
• Ian’s interest in mathematics is lacking and can best be described as
languid.
• Kathy was unprepared for her trip to Quebec because of her languid
attempts to learn enough French.
[languidly adv., languidness n.]
latent (LAY tint) adj. hidden; present but not visible; inactive —n. a fingerprint
left at a crime scene
• Brown-eyed Jose carries a latent blue eye color gene.
• Ali has a latent desire to dress like a fireman.
[-ly adv., latency n.] [Syn. potential, quiescent]
lavish (LA vish) adj. 1. very generous in spending or giving; 2. more than
enough; abundant —vt. to give or spend abundantly on
•A lavish amount of green paint was used to cover the brown front lawn.

• Jim’s friend Shaila was lavish in her gifts to him.
• All the wedding guests lavished attention on the new bride.
[-ed, -ing, -ly adv., -ness n.] [Syn. profuse]
legislation (LEJ is LAY shin) n. 1. the act or process of making a law; 2. the law
itself
• Congress is currently considering legislation to require all citizens to keep
physically fit.
• The process of legislation usually takes a fairly lengthy amount of time.
• There is no legislation requiring that all children be fed ice cream for
dessert, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.
legislator (LEJ is LAY tir) n. one who makes laws; a member of a legislative
body, such as an assemblyman, a congressman, or a senator
• Legislators are elected for a specific length of time.
• A U.S. senator has the longest term of any American legislator, namely 6
years.
[Syn. lawmaker]
148
14_571656 ch10.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 148
legitimacy (li JIT im is ee) n. the quality of being legally correct; lawful; sanc-
tioned by law or custom; reasonable and just
• Don’t give anybody your personal information online, unless you’re 100%
certain of that person’s legitimacy.
• The legitimacy of backroom poker games is doubtful.
• The legitimacy of Virgil’s tracing Rome’s history back to the Trojan War is
questionable but artful.
[Syn. lawfulness]
levee* (LEV ee) n. 1. a retaining wall built beside a river to prevent flooding; a
dike; 2. a landing place on the riverbank; 3. a ridge of earth built around a field
that is to be irrigated
• Levees are common sights on the lower Mississippi River.

• If you’re planning to take a riverboat, you just might find yourself on the
levee, waiting for the Robert E. Lee.
liberal (LIB ir el) adj. 1. not restricted; 2. generous; 3. plentiful; ample; abundant;
4. not limited to the literal meaning; 5. tolerant of views other than one’s own
• A loose-fitting sweatshirt allows one a liberal amount of arm movement.
• The mayor was liberal in his praise for the fire department.
• Tina put a liberal amount of strawberry jam on her roll.
• Some judges have a liberal interpretation of the meaning of the law.
• A university is a place for a liberal exchange of viewpoints.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. progressive (in the political sense)]
library (LY bre ree) n. 1. a collection of books, films, magazines, CDs, etc., espe-
cially a large one that is systematically arranged; 2. a public or private institution in
charge of such a collection; 3. the building in which the aforementioned is housed
• The Library of Congress is one serious collection.
• One of the greatest losses to Western civilization was the burning of the
Library at Alexandria (Egypt, not Virginia).
• Helene and Judy met to do some reading at the public library.
linchpin (LINCH pin) n. 1. a pin that goes through the outer end of an axle to
prevent the wheel from falling off; 2. anything that holds the parts of a whole
together
• Most automobiles use cotter pins as their linchpins.
• Evers was the linchpin of the Cubs great double-play trio, Tinkers to Evers
to Chance.
• The keystone is the linchpin or the true arch.
literal (LIT oer il) adj. 1. having to do with letters of the alphabet; 2. word for
word; following the exact words or meaning of the original; 3. interpreting things
according to their precise meaning
• Placing something in literal order is another way of saying alphabetizing.
• Ben was very literal, so when his girlfriend told him to “go jump in the
lake,” he went looking for a lake to jump into.

• Only a few sects nowadays live their lives according to a literal interpreta-
tion of Holy Scripture.
[-ly adv.]
L: SAT Words 149
14_571656 ch10.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 149
literary (LIT oer ER ee) adj. 1. having to do with books or writing; 2. tending
toward the more formal, polished language of writing rather than that of everyday
speech; 3. familiar with or well versed in literature (the classics)
• A library can be thought of as a living museum of literary works.
• It is doubtful that anyone ever spoke in the literary language that charac-
terizes Shakespeare’s plays.
•A literary critic must have enough experience to be able to judge a work
against many other examples.
literature (LIT er uh TYUR) n. 1. all writings in prose or poetry, especially of an
imaginative nature, without regard to their merit, distinguished from those of sci-
entific writing, reporting of news, etc.; 2. those writings considered to have lasting
merit, either because of their excellence of form or the value of their examples; 3.
printed matter of any kind
• The literature of the late twentieth century runs the gamut from the philos-
ophy of the existentialists to the adventures of Harry Potter.
• The classics of literature comprise a number of books that have survived for
centuries and are still being reproduced.
• Among the less lasting literature of recent years, we must count the bill-
boards extolling the merits of certain drinks.
QUICK REVIEW #52
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
150 Essential Vocabulary
1. lame
2. languid

3. latent
4. lavish
5. legislation
6. legislator
7. legitimacy
8. levee
9. liberal
10. library
11. linchpin
12. literal
13. literary
14. literature
a. lettered
b. glue
c. legality
d. precise
e. collection
f. writings
g. laws
h. dike
i. potential
j. lawmaker
k. profuse
l. generous
m. ineffectual
n. sluggish
14_571656 ch10.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 150
litigant (LIT i gnt) n. a party to a lawsuit
• The two litigants entered the courtroom to plead their cases before Judge
Judy.

• The first litigant was a bride, suing the dress alterer for having ruined her
wedding.
livid (LIV id) adj. 1. discolored by a bruise; 2. lead colored often taken to mean
whitish or pale; 3. very angry; enraged
• Lori’s elbow was livid where she had bumped it.
• Barney’s face went livid, as if he had seen a ghost.
• When Joe saw that he had been charged for the use of the limousine that
had not shown up, he became livid with rage.
[-ity, -ness n.] [Syn. pale]
loathe (LOHTH) vt. to feel intense disgust or distaste for; detest; despise
• Dina absolutely loathed the combination of green and pink.
• Don’t you just loathe being asked where you’d like to eat and then ending
up at your friend’s choice of restaurant?
• As a general rule, country-and-western music lovers loathe hip-hop.
[-d, loathing] [Syn. hate]
lobbyist (LAHB ee ist) n. a person in the employ of a special interest group who
tries to persuade legislators or government administrators to act in the interest of
his/her employers
• It used to be very difficult to get antismoking bills passed because of the
strength of the tobacco lobbyists.
• The word lobbyist is peculiarly American and originated with people but-
tonholing legislators in the lobby of the Capitol building on their way to
vote on or debate a bill.
logo (LOH goh) n. a distinctive company symbol, trademark, etc. that is
designed to be associated with that company only and to get instant recognition
for that company
• A good logo evokes the name of the company without the need to spell
it out.
• The dog listening to the gramophone horn with the words “his master’s
voice” remains a logo of RCA.

• Another well-recognized logo is the stylized “3M” of the Minnesota Mining
and Manufacturing Corp.
longevity (lawn JEV i tee) n. 1. long life span; length or duration of lives;
2. length of time spent employed or in service to a single company or individual
• The normal longevity of a dog is about 15 years but is shorter for larger
dogs.
• The longevity of a running back’s career in the NFL is less than 5 years.
L: SAT Words 151
14_571656 ch10.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 151
lubricant (LOOB ri kint) n. a substance for reducing friction by being spread
on one or both of the moving parts to form a film between them; grease, oil, or
graphite
• The use of axle grease as a lubricant in wheel hubs greatly extends the
longevity of both wheel and axle.
• If left uncorrected, the loss of lubricant from a car engine will surely doom
the engine.
lubricate (LOOB ri kayt) vt. 1. to make slippery or smooth; 2. to put a lubricant
onto or into —vi. to act as a lubricant
• It used to be standard practice at each oil change to lubricate the car’s ball
joints.
• This practice is no longer followed because most automotive ball joints
these days are self-lubricating.
[-d, lubricating]
lurid (LU rid) adj. harsh or shocking; vivid; sensational; shocking
• Tabloids love to feature lurid stories on their front pages to attract the
attention of impulse-buying shoppers.
• Nothing is as welcome at the box office as a lurid story about an ax
murderer or a cannibalistic doctor.
QUICK REVIEW #53
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most

nearly the same thing.
152 Essential Vocabulary
1. litigant
2. livid
3. loathe
4. lobbyist
5. logo
6. longevity
7. lubricant
8. lubricate
9. lurid
a. persuader
b. grease
c. shocking
d. suer
e. pale
f. graphite
g. symbol
h. duration
i. detest
14_571656 ch10.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 152
M – N
machination (MAK in AY shin) n. a secret or artful plot, usually one having
evil intention (usually plural)
• The machinations of the KGB have made for some pretty exciting spy novels.
• The Odessa File tells of the machinations of an organization designed to fur-
ther the cause of the Nazis after the war.
[Syn. plot]
malediction (MAL I DIK shin) n. 1. a curse or the calling down of an evil spell
on someone; 2. evil talk about someone; slander

• Giving one the evil eye is one form of malediction popular among some
European cultures.
• Certain Caribbean cultures carry out their maledictions through the use of
effigies called voodoo dolls.
• The newspaper story about Henry’s drug misuse was a malediction worthy
of a healthy sized lawsuit.
malinger* (muh LING oer) vt. to feign illness or injury to avoid work; to shirk
• They have a name for malingering in the army; it’s goldbricking.
• One who malingers and gets a reputation for so doing is not likely to
remain employed for very long, unless, of course, his/her employer is
his/her parent.
[-ed, -ing, -er n.]
mallet (MAL it) n. 1. a kind of hammer usually with a head of wood (used to
drive a chisel) or of hard rubber (used to bang out dents in sheet metal); 2. a long-
handled hammer with a cylinder-shaped head used for playing croquet or one with
an even longer handle used for playing polo; 3. a small, wooden hammer with a
round head used to play xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, etc.
• The body-shop worker uses a rubber mallet to hammer out small dents.
• A polo mallet has a very long handle because each player must strike the
ball while seated on a horse.
• Wooden mallets with ball-shaped heads are used to strike the keys on a
xylophone.
mandate* (MAN dayt) n. 1. an authoritative order, usually in writing; 2. the
overwhelming wishes of an elected official’s constituents, regarded as an order
—vt. to require, as by law
• As a result of World War I, mandates to rule certain areas that used to be
parts of the Ottoman Empire were issued by the League of Nations.
• The shop foreman has a mandate from ownership to require each worker to
put in 16 hours of overtime.
• Senator Strong’s overwhelming victory is a mandate for him to pursue

equal rights for women.
• The new law mandates a $300 fine for overtime parking.
[-d,* mandating]
153
15_571656 ch11.qxd 11/10/04 12:38 PM Page 153