Kaleidoscope (n): kuh-lahy-duh-skohp
A kaleidoscope is a toy in the shape of a tube with a small hole at one end If you look through the hole and turn the other end of the tube, you can see a pattern of colours which changes as you turn the tube round
Ken (n): ken
If something is beyond your ken, you do not have enough knowledge to be able to understand it = range of knowledge
I cannot answer your question since this matter is beyond my ken
Kinship (n): kin-ship
Kinship is the relationship between members of the same family
He claims kinship with my cousin
Kiosk (n): kee-osk
A kiosk is a small building or structure from which people can buy things such as sandwiches or newspapers through an open window = open pavilion
I was getting cigarettes at the kiosk
Kismet (n): kiz-mit (805)
The things that will happen to you in your life = fate
Kith (n): kith
You can refer to your friends and family as your kith and kin
He always helped both his kith and kin
Kitsch (n): kich
You can refer to a work of art or an object as kitsch if it is showy and thought by some people to be in bad taste = pretentious and showy
The local stone was made into key rings and other tourist kitsch
Kleptomania (n): klep-tuh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh
A kleptomaniac is a person who cannot control their desire to steal things, usually because of a medical condition
Her kleptomania was source of embarrassment to her parents
Knavery (n): ney-vuh-ree
dishonest behaviour
The knavery when discovered made him lose all his credibility as a good human being
Knell (n): nel (810)
If you say that something sounds the death knell for a particular person or thing, you mean it will cause that person or thing to fail, end, or cease to exist
The tax increase sounded the death knell for the business
Knoll (n): nohl
A knoll is a low hill with gentle slopes and a rounded top
= a little rounded hill, a hillock
The little knol over there is a place of tourist’s attraction
Labyrinth (n): lab-uh-rinth
If you describe a place as a labyrinth, you mean that it is made up of a complicated series of paths or passages, through which it is difficult to find your way = maze
I got lost again in the labyrinth of the corridors and could not find my way back to the classroom
Lackey (n): lak-ee
If you describe someone as a lackey, you are critical of them because they follow someone’s orders completely, without ever questioning them = servant
The lackey informed the master that somebody was waiting
Lagniappe (n): lan-yap
A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase
Lagoon (n): luh-goon (815)
A lagoon is an area of calm sea water that is separated from the ocean by a line of rock or sand
Laity (n): ley-i-tee
The laity are all the people involved in the work of a church who are not clergymen, monks, or nuns
The Church and the laity were increasingly active in charity work
Languor (n): lang-ger
Languor is a pleasant feeling of being relaxed and not having any energy or interest in anything = weariness
We were overcome with languor when we came back to the huts after the long trek
Larceny (n): lahr-suh-nee
Larceny is the crime of stealing = robbery
He was charged with larceny and put into jail
Lassitude (n): las-i-tood, -tyood
Lassitude is a state of tiredness, laziness, or lack of interest = lazy and inactive
Shareholders blamed the company’s lackluster performance on the lasssitude of the management
Largess (n): lahr-jes (820)
Largesse is a generous gift of money or a generous act of kindness = generous gift
In India, general elections are often preceded by government largesse in the form of tax cuts
Latitude (n): lat-i-tood
Latitude is freedom to choose the way in which you do something = freedom
He would be given every latitude in forming a new government
Leaven (n): lev-uhn
If a situation or activity is leavened by or with something, it is made more interesting or cheerful = raise dough
The mixture was left overnight to leaven before being baked in the oven
Lechery (n): lahr-suh-nee
Lechery is the behaviour of men who are only interested in women sexually = gross lewdness, lustfulness
His lechery made him the enemy of every self-respecting husband and father in the county
Lectern (n): lek-tern
A lectern is a high sloping desk on which someone puts their notes when they are standing up and giving a lecture = podium
The lecturer ascended the lectern amidst clapping from the audience
Lectern (n): lek-tern (825)
A lectern is a high sloping desk on which someone puts their notes when they are standing up and giving a lecture = reading desk
Before speaking, the speaker arranged his papers on the lectern
Legerdemain (n): lej-er-duh-meyn
when you deceive people cleverly = deceitful cleverness
His financial legerdemain parted many a men from their money
Lesion (n): lee-zhuhn
A lesion is an injury or wound to someone's body = injury
Her daughter suffered a brain lesion at birth
Levee (n): lev-ee
a special wall built to stop a river flooding
As the river rose and theratened to overflow the levee, emergency workers rushed to reinforce the walls with sandbags
Levity (n): lev-i-tee
Levity is behaviour that shows a tendency to treat serious matters in a non-serious way = lightness, frivolity
The levity of the atmosphere at the party helped in raising her spirits too
Lexicographer (n): lek-si-kog-ruh-fer (830)
Lexicography is the activity or profession of writing dictionaries = compiler of a dictionary
The lexicographers are on constant move to compile the latest version of the dictionary
Lexicon (n): lek-si-kon
The lexicon of a particular subject is all the terms associated with it The lexicon of a person or group is all the words they commonly use = dictionary
Liaison (n): lee-ey-zawn
Liaison is co-operation and the exchange of information between different organizations or between different sections of an organization
Liaison between police forces and the art world is vital to combat art crime
Libertine (n): lib-er-teen, -tin
If you refer to someone as a libertine, you mean that they are sexually immoral and do not care about the effect their behaviour has on other people = casanova
One wonders why she puts up with her libertine husband?
Libido (n): li-bee-doh
A person's libido is the part of their personality that is considered to cause their emotional, especially sexual, desires
Lack of sleep is a major factor in loss of libido
Libretto (n): li-bret-oh (835)
The libretto of an opera is the words that are sung in it = text of an opera
Lieu (n): loo
If you do, get, or give one thing in lieu of another, you do, get, or give it instead of the other thing, because the two things are considered to have the same value or importance = instead of
He left what little furniture he owned to his landlord in lieu of rent
Limbo (n): lim-boh
If you say that someone or something is in limbo, you mean that they are in a situation where they seem to be caught between two stages and it is unclear what will happen next
The negotiations have been in limbo since mid-December
Lineage (n): lin-ee-ij
Someone’s lineage is the series of families from which they are directly descended = ancestry
They can trace their lineage directly back to the 18th century
Lineaments (n): lin-ee-uh-muhnt
Features especially of the face
The artist sketched the lineaments of her face to perfection
Litany (n): lit-n-ee (840)
If you describe what someone says as a litany of things, you mean that you have heard it many times before, and you think it is boring or insincere = supplicatory prayer
The manufacturers received a litany of complaints from dissatisfied customers
Litigation (n): lit-i-gey-shuhn
Litigation is the process of fighting or defending a case in a civil court of law = lawsuit
Try to settle this amicably; I do not want to start litigation
Litotes (n): lahy-tuh-teez
ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (eg I shan’t be sorry for I shall be glad)
Lode (n): lohd
a vein of metal ore in the earth
Longevity (n): lon-jev-i-tee
Longevity is long life = long life
The worms have a longevity of about two years
Lout (n): lout (845)
If you describe a man or boy as a lout, you are critical of them because they behave in an impolite or aggressive way =clumsy person
The delivery boy is an awkward lout
Lubricity (n): loo-bris-i-tee
slipperiness, evasiveness
Lucre (n): loo-ker
People sometimes refer to money or profit as lucre, especially when they think that it has been obtained by dishonest means = money
He earned the lucre by luring people into their false means
Luster (n): luhs-ter
Lustre is gentle shining light that is reflected from a surface, for example from polished metal = shine, gloss
Gold retains its lustre for far longer than other metals
Machinations (n): mak-uh-ney-shuhn
You use machinations to describe secret and complicated plans, especially to gain power = schemes
He used political machinations to come back into power
Madrigal (n): mad-ri-guhl (850)
A madrigal is a song sung by several singers without any musical instruments = pastoral song
Madrigals were popular in England in the sixteenth century
