Words that should be added to The Challenge (J-L)

Th@1Guy (United States of America)
These itemizations of words should be incorporated into The Challenge to further challenge its participants, and they conveniently encompass a wide assortment of words that range in difficulty.
D, E, F, G-H, I, J-L, M, N-O, P, Q-R, S, T-U, V-Z, Other
261 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. jab
    poke or thrust abruptly
  2. jabberwocky
    nonsensical language
  3. jackanapes
    someone who is unimportant but cheeky and presumptuous
  4. jack of all trades
    a man skilled in various odd jobs and other small tasks
  5. jade
    a semiprecious gemstone that is usually green
  6. jalopy
    a car that is old and unreliable
  7. jamais vu
    being unfamiliar with something that is actually familiar
  8. jamb
    a vertical side piece of a door or window frame
  9. jamboree
    a festive party or celebration
  10. Jane Doe
    an unknown woman who is a party to legal proceedings
  11. jasper
    a semiprecious gemstone that is often red
  12. jaywalk
    cross the road at a place not meant for pedestrians
  13. je ne sais quoi
    something indescribable
  14. jeremiad
    a long and mournful complaint
  15. jetsam
    part of a ship's cargo thrown overboard to lighten the load
  16. jezebel
    a shameless impudent scheming woman
  17. jihad
    a holy struggle by a Muslim for a moral or political goal
  18. Jim Crow
    barrier preventing blacks from participating in activities
  19. jingoistic
    fanatically patriotic
  20. jittery
    characterized by jerky movements
  21. jive
    a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s
  22. jockey
    someone employed to ride horses in horse races
  23. jocosity
    fun characterized by humor
  24. jocularity
    a feeling of facetious merriment
  25. John Doe
    a hypothetical average man
  26. joie de vivre
    a keen or exuberant enjoyment of life
  27. join
    cause to become joined or linked
  28. joist
    a beam used to support a floor or ceiling
  29. jollify
    celebrate noisily or engage in uproarious festivities
  30. journeyman
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  31. joust
    fight someone in a tournament on horseback
  32. joy
    the emotion of great happiness
  33. joyful
    full of or producing great happiness
  34. jubilate
    to express great joy
  35. judicial review
    the court's power to decide whether a law is constitutional
  36. judiciary
    the system of law courts that administer justice
  37. jugular
    relating to or located in the region of the neck or throat
  38. jukebox
    a cabinet containing an automatic record player
  39. jury-rigged
    done or made using whatever is available
  40. just
    and nothing more
  41. just deserts
    an outcome in which virtue triumphs over vice
  42. justified
    having words so spaced that lines have straight even margins
  43. kamikaze
    a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash
  44. kangaroo court
    an irregular unauthorized court
  45. karaoke
    singing popular songs accompanied by a recording
  46. keel
    one of the main longitudinal beams of the hull of a vessel
  47. keeper
    one having charge of buildings or grounds or animals
  48. keep one's nose to the grindstone
    work doggedly or persistently
  49. keepsake
    something of sentimental value
  50. kenning
    a compound word serving as a metaphorical name for something
  51. kerchief
    a square scarf folded into a triangle and worn over the head
  52. ketch
    a sailing vessel with two masts
  53. kettle of fish
    informal terms for a difficult situation
  54. keynote
    (music) the first note of a diatonic scale
  55. keystone
    the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
  56. kiln
    a furnace for firing, burning, or drying porcelain or bricks
  57. kimono
    a loose robe originating in Japan
  58. kind
    having a tender and considerate and helpful nature
  59. kindness
    the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane
  60. kinesiology
    the study of the mechanics and anatomy of human movement
  61. kinesis
    a movement that is a response to a stimulus
  62. kinesthetic
    of or relating to kinesthesis
  63. kinetic energy
    the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of motion
  64. kingdom come
    the end of time
  65. kith
    your friends and acquaintances
  66. kitsch
    excessively gaudy or sentimental art
  67. kittenish
    playful like a lively kitten
  68. kleptomania
    an impulse to steal in the absence of any economic motive
  69. klutz
    someone who is clumsy
  70. knavery
    lack of honesty; acts of lying or cheating or stealing
  71. knee jerk
    a reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap
  72. kneel
    rest one's weight on one's knees
  73. knob
    a circular rounded projection or protuberance
  74. know-how
    the (technical) knowledge and skill required to do something
  75. knowledge
    the result of perception, learning, and reasoning
  76. koinonia
    Christian fellowship or communion with God or with fellow Christians; said in particular of the early Christian community
  77. kvetch
    express complaints, displeasure, or unhappiness
  78. laboriously
    in a laborious manner
  79. labyrinthine
    resembling a maze in form or complexity
  80. lackey
    a servile or submissive follower
  81. lactic
    of or relating to or obtained from milk
  82. lactose
    a sugar that occurs only in milk
  83. lacuna
    a blank gap or missing part
  84. lade
    fill or place a load on
  85. ladle
    a spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle
  86. lagniappe
    a small gift given by a merchant to a customer
  87. laissez faire
    a doctrine that government should not interfere in commerce
  88. laissez-faire
    with minimally restricted freedom, especially in commerce
  89. lambaste
    censure severely or angrily
  90. lambent
    softly bright or radiant
  91. lame duck
    an elected official still in office who has not been reelected
  92. lamia
    (folklore) a corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living
  93. laminate
    cover with a thin sheet of plastic or other material
  94. lanai
    a veranda or roofed patio with furniture
  95. lance
    a long pointed rod used as a weapon
  96. landfall
    the seacoast first sighted on a voyage
  97. landlocked
    surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land
  98. landlord
    a property owner who leases property or housing to others
  99. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
  100. lapidary
    relating to precious stones or the art of working with them
  101. lapidation
    the act of pelting with stones
  102. larch
    any of numerous conifers of the genus Larix all having deciduous needlelike leaves
  103. lard
    soft white semisolid fat obtained from pigs
  104. lariat
    a long looped rope used to catch animals
  105. larva
    immature form of an animal between the egg and adult stages
  106. laryngitis
    an inflammation characterized by hoarseness or loss of voice
  107. latency
    the state of being not yet evident or active
  108. lather
    the froth produced by soaps or detergents
  109. Latino
    a native of Latin America
  110. latitudinal
    of or relating to latitudes north or south
  111. laughter
    the activity of laughing
  112. launder
    cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water
  113. laundering
    washing clothes and bed linens
  114. laureate
    someone honored for great achievements
  115. laurel
    a small aromatic tree with shiny dark green leaves
  116. lavatory
    a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
  117. lawless
    without order or control
  118. laxative
    stimulating evacuation of feces
  119. laxity
    an absence of rigor or strictness
  120. lay
    put into a certain place
  121. layabout
    person who does no work
  122. layman
    someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person
  123. lazybones
    a lazy person
  124. lea
    a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
  125. leach
    cause a liquid to slowly seep or be drawn out
  126. lead
    take somebody somewhere
  127. leakage
    the discharge of a fluid from some container
  128. leal
    faithful and true
  129. lean
    incline or bend from a vertical position
  130. learning
    the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge
  131. leastways
    if nothing else
  132. leavened
    made light by aerating, as with yeast or baking powder
  133. leave no stone unturned
    search thoroughly and exhaustively
  134. lebensraum
    new territory thought to be necessary for a nation
  135. lecherous
    given to excessive indulgence in sexual activity
  136. ledger
    a record in which commercial accounts are recorded
  137. leech
    carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worm
  138. leek
    plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild Allium ampeloprasum
  139. leer
    look suggestively or obliquely
  140. leeward
    on the side away from the wind
  141. left wing
    those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare
  142. legalism
    strict conformity to the law rather than its spirit
  143. legalize
    sanction or make permissible by law
  144. legato
    connecting the notes
  145. legitimately
    in a manner acceptable to common custom
  146. legume
    an erect or climbing bean or pea plant
  147. lei
    a circular band of flowers or other foliage
  148. leitmotif
    a recurring melody in a piece of music
  149. lend
    give temporarily; let have for a limited time
  150. leprechaun
    a mischievous elf in Irish folklore
  151. leprosy
    communicable disease characterized by wasting of body parts
  152. lesser
    of smaller size or importance
  153. levitation
    the phenomenon of rising as if by supernatural means
  154. lexical
    of or relating to words
  155. liberality
    the trait of being generous in behavior and temperament
  156. libertarianism
    an ideological belief in freedom of thought and speech
  157. libido
    (psychoanalysis) a Freudian term for sexual urge or desire
  158. library
    a place containing books and other materials for reading
  159. lieu
    the post or function properly occupied or served by another
  160. lifeblood
    the blood considered as the seat of vitality
  161. lifeline
    line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning
  162. lifelong
    continuing through life
  163. lifestyle
    a manner of living that reflects the person's values and attitudes
  164. ligature
    the act of tying or binding things together
  165. light year
    the distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year
  166. ligneous
    consisting of or resembling wood
  167. like clockwork
    with regularity and precision
  168. liken
    consider or describe as similar or equal
  169. likewise
    in a similar manner
  170. lily-livered
    easily frightened
  171. limelight
    a focus of public attention
  172. limestone
    a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals
  173. limitation
    an act of restricting (as by regulation)
  174. limiting
    restricting the scope or freedom of action
  175. limousine
    large luxurious car; usually driven by a chauffeur
  176. lingerie
    women's underwear and nightclothes
  177. lingo
    a characteristic language of a particular group
  178. lingua franca
    a common language used by speakers of different languages
  179. linguistics
    the scientific study of language
  180. liniment
    a topical liquid that relieves muscle stiffness and pain
  181. lintel
    a horizontal beam over a door or window
  182. lionhearted
    extraordinarily courageous
  183. lipid
    oily, insoluble organic compound that's a component of cells
  184. liquidity
    the state in which a substance exhibits a readiness to flow
  185. liquify
    become liquid or fluid when heated
  186. list
    a database containing an ordered array of items
  187. listen
    hear with intention
  188. listening
    the act of hearing attentively
  189. litigant
    a party to a lawsuit
  190. litigate
    engage in legal proceedings
  191. litmus
    a coloring material that turns red in acid solutions
  192. littoral
    of or relating to a coastal or shore region
  193. liturgical
    in accord with rites prescribed for public worship
  194. liturgy
    a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship
  195. livelong
    (of time) constituting the full extent or duration
  196. liven
    make lively
  197. livery
    a uniform, especially worn by servants and chauffeurs
  198. loaf
    loiter or hang around idly
  199. loafer
    a person who is idle and does no work
  200. loan
    the temporary provision of money (usually at interest)
  201. lobe
    a rounded projection that is part of a larger structure
  202. lobotomy
    surgery on nerves to and from the frontal lobe of the brain
  203. locale
    the scene of any event or action
  204. locality
    a surrounding or nearby region
  205. loch
    a long narrow inlet of the sea in Scotland
  206. locomotion
    the power or ability to move
  207. locomotive
    a self-propelled vehicle that draws a train along a track
  208. locust
    migratory grasshopper that moves in a swarm
  209. loess
    a fine accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the wind
  210. log
    a written record of messages sent or received
  211. loge
    balcony consisting of the forward section of a theater mezzanine
  212. loggerhead
    very large carnivorous sea turtle
  213. logistic
    relating to necessary details of operation
  214. logistics
    supplying an operation with labor and materials as needed
  215. logjam
    an immovable mass of cut wood blocking a river
  216. lonely
    lacking companions or companionship
  217. lonesome
    marked by sadness from being by oneself
  218. lone wolf
    a person who avoids the company or assistance of others
  219. long
    primarily spatial sense
  220. longanimity
    good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
  221. long haul
    a period of time sufficient for factors to work themselves out
  222. longing
    prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
  223. long run
    a period of time sufficient for factors to work themselves out
  224. loofah
    the loofah climber that has cylindrical fruit
  225. loon
    a person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought
  226. loop
    anything with a round or oval shape
  227. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
  228. loosely
    knitted in a loose manner
  229. lop
    cut off from a whole
  230. loquacity
    the quality of being wordy and talkative
  231. lot
    anything (straws or pebbles etc.) taken or chosen at random
  232. lough
    Irish word for a lake
  233. louse
    a wingless, parasitic insect
  234. love
    a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
  235. loving
    feeling or showing love and affection
  236. low
    less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
  237. lowbrow
    characteristic of a person who is not cultivated
  238. lowly
    of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
  239. loyalist
    a person who is faithful to a country, party, or cause
  240. lubricate
    make slippery or smooth
  241. lucre
    informal term for money
  242. lucubrate
    discuss in a scholarly way, especially in writing
  243. lug
    carry with difficulty
  244. luge
    a racing sled for one or two people
  245. lumen
    a cavity or passage in a tubular organ
  246. luminescence
    the emission of light without heat
  247. luminescent
    emitting light not caused by heat
  248. luminosity
    the quality of emitting or reflecting light
  249. lunacy
    foolish or senseless behavior
  250. lupine
    of or relating to or characteristic of wolves
  251. lust
    a strong sexual desire
  252. lustrate
    purify by means of a ritual
  253. lustrum
    a ceremonial purification of the Roman population every five years following the census
  254. luxuriate
    enjoy to excess
  255. lycanthrope
    a mythological creature that changes from a man to wild animal at night
  256. lycanthropy
    (folklore) the magical ability of a person to assume the characteristics of a wolf
  257. Lyme disease
    an acute inflammatory disease characterized by a rash with joint swelling and fever; caused by bacteria carried by the bite of a deer tick
  258. lymph
    a thin coagulable fluid (similar to plasma but) containing white blood cells (lymphocytes) and chyle; is conveyed to the blood stream by lymphatic vessels
  259. lynch
    kill without legal sanction
  260. lynching
    putting a person to death by mob action without due process
  261. lyre
    a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment
Created on Wed Mar 20 02:16:18 EDT 2013 (updated Sat Mar 28 00:04:23 EDT 2020)

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