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irreproachable
(adj.) without blame or faults
The honesty of the priest made him irreproachable.
itinerary
(n.) travel plan; schedule; course
Their trip's itinerary was disrupted by an unexpected snow storm.
jaded
(adj.) worn-out
A person may become jaded if forced to work too many hours.
jargon
(n.) incoherent speech; specialized vocabulary in certain fields
The conversation was nothing but jargon, but then the speakers were nothing
but cartoon characters who specialize in an oddly bracing form of gibberish.
The engineers' jargon is indecipherable to a layperson.
jeopardy
(n.) danger; peril
The campers realized they were in potential jeopardy when the bears surrounded
their camp.
jester
(n.) a person employed to amuse
The jester tried all of his tricks to get the girl to laugh.
jettison
(v.) to throw overboard goods to lighten a vehicle; to discard
To raise the balloon above the storm clouds, they had to jettison the
ballast.
jocund
(adj.) happy, cheerful, genial, gay
The puppy kept a smile on the jocund boy's face.
The jocund atmosphere was due to the team's victory in the playoffs.
jollity
(n.) being fun or jolly
The jollity of the crowd was seen in the cheering and laughing.
jovial
(adj.) cheery; jolly; playful
She was a jovial person, always pleasant and fun to be with.
judicious
(adj.) to have or show sound judgment
Because the elder was judicious, the tough decisions were left to him.
Putting money away for a rainy day is a judicious decision.
juncture
(n.) critical point; meeting
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
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
It was difficult to ken exactly what she had in mind.
My ken of the situation proved to be incorrect.
kindle
(v.) ignite; arouse
Being around children kindled her interest in educational psychology.
kinship
(n.) family relationship; affinity
Living in close proximity increased the kinship of the family.
kith
(n.) relatives and acquaintances
Our kith will meet at the family reunion.
knavery
(n.) a dishonest act
An act of knavery is cause for loss of trust.
The teacher refused to have knavery in his classroom.
knead
(v.) mix; massage
After mixing the ingredients, they kneaded the dough and set it aside
to rise.
knotty
(adj.) to be puzzling or hard to explain
The mystery was knotty.
labyrinth
(n.) maze
Be careful not to get lost in the labyrinth of vegetation.
lacerate
(v.) to tear or mangle; to wound or hurt
Sharp knives may lacerate the skin of an unsuspecting user.
Her rejection will lacerate my self-esteem.
laconic
(adj.) sparing of words; terse, pithy
After a laconic introduction the program began.
The people enjoyed the public addresses of the laconic queen.
laggard
(n.; adj.) a person who has fallen behind; moving slowly
The laggard child was lost in the crowd.
The train was laggard.
Anything can happen in a swim meet: Last year's leader can become this
year's laggard.
lambaste
(v.) to scold or beat harshly
If the boy broke the lamp his father will surely lambaste him.
lambent
(adj.) traveling gently over surface; flickering
The lambent flame lit the dark room as the breeze wafted in.
lament
(v.; n.) to mourn or grieve; expression of grief or sorrow
The boy is lamenting the loss of his pet.
Pedro's only lament was that his wife didn't outlive him.
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