
label | label: n. 1 identification, identifier, ID, mark, marker, earmark, tag, ticket, sticker, stamp, imprint, hallmark, brand, Brit docket: The label shows the weight, composition, and price of the contents. A proper shipping label should show both source and destination. 2 name, denomination, designation, appellation, nickname, epithet, sobriquet, classification, characterization, description: It is difficult to give a label to the kind of novels she writes. 3 trade mark, trade name, brand, logo, mark: Many supermarket chains market products under their own label. --v. 4 identify (as), mark, tag, earmark, ticket, stamp, hallmark, imprint, brand, Brit docket: In those days, every liberal was labelled a communist. Prepared food packages must be labelled with their ingredients. 5 name, denominate, designate, call, term, dub, classify, categorize, pigeon-hole, class, characterize, describe, portray, identify, Colloq US peg: We cannot label Voltaire either spiritualist or materialist.
laborious | laborious: adj. 1 arduous, burdensome, onerous, strenuous, gruelling, back-breaking, Herculean, exhausting, taxing, tiring, fatiguing, wearying, wearisome, toilsome, difficult, tough, hard, uphill, stiff: Few realize how laborious farm work can be. 2 painstaking, detailed, careful, thorough, diligent, scrupulous, exhaustive, steady, steadfast, relentless, unrelenting, dogged, assiduous, sedulous, persevering, persistent, untiring, tireless, indefatigable, unremitting: After laborious research the virus was finally identified. 3 industrious, hard-working, dogged, determined, unwavering, obstinate, stubborn, unflagging, obdurate: He made a laborious effort to get ahead. 4 laboured, strained, forced, ponderous, overworked: The book contains some of the most laborious prose ever written.
labour | labour: n. 1 toil, (hard) work, travail, exertion, effort, laboriousness, strain, drudgery, pains, industry, slavery, donkey-work, Colloq sweat, grind, elbow-grease, Brit swot: They know the labour involved in building a road. 2 employees, workers, wage-earners, labourers: A meeting between labour and management is scheduled for today. 3 effort, task, job, chore, undertaking: Raising funds for the museum was a labour of love. 4 travail, childbirth, parturition, labour pains, contractions, delivery: She went into labour at midnight, and the twins were born just after four. --v. 5 work, toil, travail, drudge, strain, strive, struggle, slave, Colloq sweat, grind, Brit peg away (at), swot: We laboured hard to get where we are today. 6 dwell on, overdo, overemphasize, harp on, overstress, strain, Colloq belabour: I heard you the first time, so don''t labour the point. 7 labour under. be burdened or troubled or distressed by, be deluded or deceived by, be disadvantaged by, suffer, endure: He is labouring under a misapprehension. She labours under the impression that she will not be affected by a lack of education.
laboured | laboured: adj. 1 strained, forced, difficult, hard, laborious, heavy: His breathing became laboured. 2 overdone, excessive, overwrought, ornate, elaborate, overworked, over-embellished, contrived, affected, artificial, unnatural: Her writing style is very laboured and much too stiff.
labourer | labourer: n. worker, workman, hand, blue-collar worker, working man, manual worker, drudge, Colloq Brit navvy: Get some labourers to clear away that rubble.
labyrinthine | labyrinthine: adj. labyrinthian, maze-like, mazy, tortuous, sinuous, winding, convoluted, complicated, confusing, perplexing, puzzling, enigmatic, baffling, confounding, complex, Daedalian or Daedalean or Daedalic, daedal, intricate, Byzantine, twisted, gnarled, snarled, tangled, knotted, knotty, Gordian: The plot was so labyrinthine that the audience was unable to follow it.
lace | lace: n. 1 lace-work, tatting, openwork, filigree, mesh, web, webbing, net, netting, network: She wore a collar of handmade lace. 2 shoelace, shoestring, bootlace, cord, string, thong, tie, lacing: They made me remove my belt, tie, and laces before locking me in a cell. --v. 3 thread, weave, string, twine, interweave, intertwine: First lace the cord through the eyelets, then draw it tight. 4 spike, fortify, strengthen: I saw her lace my punch with vodka, so I didn''t drink it. 5 lace into. a attack, assault, beat, assail, thrash, belabour, fall on or upon, set upon, pounce on or upon, lay into, Colloq light into: The brothers laced into one another with a fury. b berate, scold, revile, attack, upbraid, castigate, rant or rave at: She really laced into me for being an hour late for dinner.
lacerate | lacerate: v. gash, cut, slash, tear, rip, claw, mangle; wound, rend, hurt: My feet were lacerated by the sharp stones. She suffered a lacerating attack from him for forgetting to pass on the message.
lack | lack: n. 1 want, deficiency, dearth, absence, scarcity, shortage, need, insufficiency, paucity, deficit, inadequacy: We suffered from a severe lack of water. The orchestra is experiencing a serious lack of talent at the moment. --v. 2 want, need, require, be deficient in, be or fall short of, be without: He lacks the votes needed to win. Simon lacks the ability to paint any better.
lackadaisical | lackadaisical: adj. 1 lethargic, languorous, languid, listless, lazy, sluggish, spiritless, idle, indolent, inactive, slothful, fain�ant: She''s much too lackadaisical to go out and get a job. 2 unenthusiastic, dull, apathetic, insouciant, uncaring, unconcerned, indifferent, blas�, cold, cool, lukewarm, tepid, unexcited, phlegmatic, unemotional, unexcitable, uninterested, unimpressed, uninspired, unmoved, pococurante: How can you explain the government''s lackadaisical attitude towards the greenhouse effect?
lacklustre | lacklustre: adj. drab, dull, lustreless, flat, dingy, colourless, dismal, dreary, unexciting, boring, prosaic, tiresome, tedious, wearisome, uninteresting, two-dimensional, insipid, vapid, bland, unimaginative, thick, slow, dense, Colloq wishy-washy, blah: He gave a very lacklustre performance as Shylock. She has been leading a lacklustre life since John left.
lad | lad: n. boy, young man, fellow, schoolboy, youth, juvenile, youngster, hobbledehoy, stripling, (street) urchin, (street) Arab, gamin, Colloq guy, (little) shaver, kid, US sprout: Round up a few of the lads for a game of football.
ladylike | ladylike: adj. well-bred, well-born, aristocratic, noble; refined, respectable, cultured, polished, elegant, mannerly, gracious, genteel, courteous, polite, courtly, dignified, proper, correct, decorous: I cannot believe that Mrs Gibson did not behave in a ladylike way.
lag | lag: v. 1 fall behind, linger, loiter, delay, straggle, trail, hang back, dally, dawdle, inch or poke along: If you lag behind too far, you''ll never catch up. 2 diminish, decrease, slacken, abate, slow (down or up), flag, wane, ebb, falter, fail, let up, fall (off or away), ease (up), lighten: Contributions to the fund are lagging. Military preparations are lagging.
laggard | laggard: n. straggler, idler, dawdler, loiterer, slouch, sluggard, loafer, snail, loller, Colloq Brit slowcoach , US slowpoke: As a young boy he was always the laggard, dragging along behind everyone else.
lair | lair: n. 1 den, burrow, hole, nest, tunnel, cave, hollow, covert: We cautiously approached the lair of the man-eating tiger. 2 hide-out, hideaway, retreat, hiding-place, refuge, asylum, sanctuary, Colloq hidey-hole or hidy-hole: Oliver will not emerge from his lair before tea-time.
laissez-faire | laissez-faire: n. laisser-faire, laissez-faireism, free enterprise, non-intervention, non-interference, freedom, free trade, individualism, laissez-aller or laisser-aller, deregulation, decontrol, laxness: The government''s policy of laissez-faire has spurred business on.
lambaste | lambaste: v. 1 beat, whip, scourge, flog, lash, maul, horsewhip, cane, birch, thrash, bludgeon, trounce, drub, pummel, batter, belabour, cudgel: Terry threatened to lambaste anyone who interfered. 2 censure, rebuke, scold, reprimand, chide, admonish, reprove, upbraid, berate, scold, revile, attack, castigate, flay, Colloq dress down, get on (someone''s) back, rake or haul over the coals, US call down, Slang chew or bawl out: The press lambasted the company for its unfair employment policies.
lame | lame: adj. 1 crippled, disabled, handicapped, hobbled, limping, incapacitated, impaired, halting, halt, spavined, Colloq US gimpy: The mare was found to be lame after the previous day''s hunting. 2 feeble, weak, flimsy, thin, unconvincing, unpersuasive, awkward, clumsy, poor, ineffective, Colloq half-baked: Refusing to go because you have a headache sounds like a pretty lame excuse to me.
lament | lament: v. 1 mourn, bemoan, bewail, wail, weep (over), grieve (for or over), keen (over), sorrow (for or over): A year later, and she is still lamenting the death of her hamster?! --n. 2 lamentation, moaning, mourning; keen, dirge, elegy, knell, Requiem, monody, threnody, thanatopsis, epicedium, Scots and Irish coronach: Laments for Kitty''s late husband were heard throughout the village.
lamentable | lamentable: adj. deplorable, wretched, miserable, terrible, distressing, awful, regrettable, pitiful, despicable, intolerable, unfortunate: The hall was left in a lamentable state after the party. His death was presaged by a lamentable series of events.
lamentation | lamentation: n. mourning, grieving, moaning, weeping, wailing, crying, sobbing, lamenting: The lamentation went on far into the night.
lampoon | lampoon: n. 1 burlesque, caricature, satire, parody, pasquinade or pasquil, squib, Colloq take-off, Brit send-up: The students published a hilarious lampoon of the teaching staff. --v. 2 burlesque, caricature, satirize, parody, pasquinade or pasquil, mock, ridicule, squib, US skewer, Colloq take off, put or run down, Brit send up: The cows we hold most sacred are often lampooned by irreverent cartoonists.
lance | lance: n. 1 spear, pike, javelin, assegai; lancet: He transfixed the knight with his lance, and claimed victory in the joust. --v. 2 pierce, stab, puncture, prick, incise, open, slit: The boil must be lanced at once to draw out the poison.
land | land: n. 1 earth, (solid) ground, terra firma: After weeks in an open boat, Captain Bligh was relieved to have land under his feet again. 2 dirt, earth, soil, turf, sod, loam, mould: Trumble tilled the land as his ancestors had done for generations. 3 property, grounds, real property or realty or US and Canadian also real estate, acreage; estate: How much land goes with the house? 4 fatherland, motherland, nation, country, homeland, native land: The land of our fathers flowed with milk and honey. --v. 5 arrive, alight, light, touch or come or go down, splash down, settle on or upon, come to rest, berth, dock, disembark, debark, go ashore, deplane, dismount: The plane was forced to land on the water. We land at dawn. 6 catch, capture, take captive, Colloq bag: He was unable to land the shark unaided. 7 Colloq get, secure, obtain, win, acquire: He finally landed a job with his father-in-law. Sadie finally landed a millionaire!
landing | landing: n. 1 touchdown, alighting, splashdown, docking: The fog made landing quite dangerous. 2 disembarkation, deplaning, arrival: After landing, passengers proceed through passport control. 3 landing-place, dock, pier, jetty, wharf, quay: We walked onto the landing to watch the ship come in.
landlady | landlady: n. 1 proprietor or proprietress, lady of the house, mistress, manager or Brit manageress, hostess: My landlady owns three bed and breakfasts. 2 See landlord, 2, below.
landlord | landlord: n. 1 host, publican, proprietor, innkeeper, hotelier, manager, restaurateur, Boniface: Landlord! Two pints of your best bitter! 2 landlady, landowner, householder, (property) owner, lessor, Brit freeholder: My landlord has raised my rent claiming that his expenses have increased.
landmark | landmark: n. 1 feature, guide, guidepost; identification: The tower serves as a landmark for those seeking the castle. 2 turning-point, watershed, milestone, monument: His essay remains a landmark in philosophical thought. --attributive 3 critical, crucial, pivotal, important, historic, significant, precedent-setting, momentous, notable, noteworthy, major: This stands out as a landmark decision in the annals of criminal law.
landscape | landscape: n. prospect, view, scene, aspect, vista, countryside: Here and there the landscape is dotted with spinneys.
language | language: n. 1 speech, tongue, idiom, parlance, dialect, idiolect, patois, jargon, cant, argot, vernacular, Colloq lingo: How many languages do you speak? 2 communication, intercourse, interaction: Karl von Frisch studied the language of the bees. 3 jargon, lingua franca, vocabulary, terminology, vernacular, Colloq lingo: In medical language, a head cold is called ''coryza''. 4 wording, words, phrasing, phraseology, style, diction: Guarantees, insurance policies, and other such things should be written in simple language.
lanky | lanky: adj. thin, loose-jointed, lank, lean, gaunt, gangling, rangy, long-legged: They recruited three tall, lanky youths for the basketball team.
lap� | lap�: v. 1 Often, lap up. lick up, tongue; sip, drink: In a moment, the cat had lapped all the cream from the saucer. 2 wash, splash, ripple, plash, purl: The water rose till it was lapping at the doorstep. 3 lap up. a consume, drink, eat: The dog lapped up every last scrap of food. b accept, believe, credit, fall for, Colloq swallow (whole), buy: She lapped up Felix''s sob story and invited him in at once.
lap� | lap�: n. 1 circuit, orbit, ambit, circle, tour, trip, revolution: She runs four laps round the track every day for exercise. 2 flap, fold, lappet, projection, lapel, overlap: This lap hides the zip. --v. 3 overlap, fold, enfold, envelop, wrap: Lap the fabric so as to cover the seam.
lapse | lapse: n. 1 slip, error, mistake, fault, failing, oversight, blunder, shortcoming, omission, Formal lapsus, Colloq slip-up, fluff, goof: Apart from a brief lapse, the child behaved very well. Owing to a lapse, your payment was not credited. 2 gap, break, interval, intermission, interruption, pause, lacuna, hiatus, Prosody caesura, Colloq hold-up: Listeners in Scotland experienced a lapse in transmission, for which we apologize. 3 decline, lowering, fall, deterioration, drop, diminution, descent: There has been a serious lapse in church attendance. --v. 4 decline, lower, fall, drop, diminish, sink, slip, slump, subside, deteriorate: Despite the doctor''s best efforts, he lapsed into a coma. 5 run out, expire, be discontinued, become void, terminate, end, cease, stop: Your option to sell the shares at the offering price lapses on Friday. 6 pass, elapse, go by, slip away: Three months had lapsed since she last saw him.
large | large: adj. 1 big, great, broad, stout, heavy, thickset, chunky, stocky, heavy-set, brawny, husky, sturdy, hefty, muscular, strapping, burly, solid, weighty, corpulent, fat, obese, rotund, portly, adipose, beamy, overweight: Two large gentlemen came up and offered to help me find the door. 2 big, generous, bountiful, charitable, eleemosynary, philanthropic, open-handed, magnanimous, munificent, unselfish, big-hearted, large-hearted, substantial, considerable, ample, beneficent, liberal; goodly, kind, good; Colloq tidy: We have to thank Mr Wilson for large donations to our Christmas fund. 3 big, huge, ample, enormous, gigantic, immense, colossal, monumental, massive, mammoth, Brobdingnagian, gargantuan, elephantine, monstrous, staggering, sizeable, substantial, wide, broad, capacious, extensive, Colloq jumbo, US humongous, ginormous: The house has a large dining room. Supertankers are the largest ships afloat. --adv. 4 big, prominently, overwhelmingly, imposingly, eminently, pre-eminently: The problem looms large in the history of biology. --n. 5 at large. a free, unfettered, at liberty, on the loose, unconfined, unrestrained: One of the robbers is still at large. b generally, mainly, in general, chiefly, as a whole, in a body, altogether, in the main: The people at large support reductions in taxes.
largely | largely: adv. chiefly, mainly, as a rule, by and large, generally, in general, to a great extent, mostly, in great part, in great measure, in the main, on the whole, pretty much, essentially, at bottom, basically, fundamentally: The voters are largely in favour of keeping the present government.
largesse | largesse: n. largess, gifts, alms, grants, bonuses, endowments, presents, contributions, donations, hand-outs; support, subvention, aid, subsidy, charity, philanthropy, generosity, munificence, bounty, liberality, open-handedness: The church depends on the largesse of its members.
lark | lark: n. 1 frolic, spree, escapade, caper, fling, romp, adventure, revel, jape, game, antic, horseplay, shenanigans, mischief, prank, practical joke: The boys say they took the horse just as a lark. --v. 2 Often, lark about. frolic, caper, romp, revel, play, sport, cavort, gambol, Colloq skylark: We spent a lot of time larking about after our exams.
lascivious | lascivious: adj. 1 lustful, randy, lecherous, licentious, lewd, prurient, salacious, libidinous, erotic, sensual, lubricious or lubricous, ruttish, goatish, hircine, satyr-like, wanton, Cyprian, debauched, Slang horny, hot: I wouldn''t let that lascivious old man near my daughter. 2 pornographic, obscene, blue, lurid, indecent, smutty, dirty, Fescennine, filthy, vile, ribald, bawdy, gross, coarse, offensive: He said that such lascivious novels should be banned and certainly not read in schools.
lash� | lash�: n. 1 whip, scourge, cat-o''-nine-tails, cat, quirt, knout, bull-whip, thong; rope''s end: The bosun gave him twenty of the best with his lash. 2 stroke, blow, strike, slash, cut: Few could stand up after five lashes with his whip. --v. 3 flog, beat, thrash, switch, whip, scourge, horsewhip, lambaste, flail, smite, thwack, Colloq whack: Any boy was liable to be lashed for the most trivial misdemeanour. 4 lash out. attack, flay, lambaste, belabour, punish; criticize, berate, scold: She often lashes out at her critics quite virulently.
lash� | lash�: v. fasten, tie, bind, secure, rope, fix, strap, make fast: His crew lashed Odysseus to the mast as they sailed past the land of the Sirens.
lass | lass: n. girl, young woman, miss, mademoiselle, schoolgirl, Old-fashioned maiden, maid, damsel, demoiselle; Scots lassie, Irish colleen: He has married a young lass from Arbroath.
lasso | lasso: n. 1 lariat, rope, SW US reata or riata: The cowboy tossed the lasso round the calf''s neck. --v. 2 rope: He lassoed steers to practise for the rodeo.
last� | last�: adj. 1 hindmost, rearmost, aftermost; final: I was the last person to board the plane. 2 latest, newest, most recent or up to date: What was the subject of his last novel? During the last week I have seen seven films. 3 final, concluding, terminal, ultimate, terminating: The last train to London leaves at eleven. She was the last speaker of Cornish. 4 definitive, conclusive, decisive, closing: That is my last word on the subject. --adv. 5 behind, at or in the end, in or at the rear, after: My horse always seems to come in last. --n. 6 end, termination, finish: That was the last we ever saw of Charlie. 7 at last. finally, eventually, ultimately, at length: At last we shall see the results of our work.
last� | last�: v. 1 continue, endure, survive, keep on, persist, remain, stay, abide, carry on, hold out, Colloq go the distance: He wouldn''t last a day in my job. 2 wear, stand up, endure, survive: This shirt has lasted through innumerable washings.
last� | last�: n. mould, matrix, form, model, pattern: These shoes were not made on the same last as those.
lasting | lasting: adj. permanent, enduring, durable, everlasting, long-term, undying, eternal: She made a lasting contribution to ophthalmology.
late | late: adj. 1 tardy, delayed, overdue, behindhand, dilatory, unpunctual; belated, US past due: He was even late for his own wedding. Better late than never. Your mortgage payment is late again. 2 recent, last, new, fresh, current, up to date: Have you got a copy of a late edition of today''s newspaper? 3 deceased, departed, dead; former, past, ex-, recent, previous, preceding, old (See also 5., below.): Here is a song by the late, great Bing Crosby. He has a meeting with Lord Pamby, late chairman of United Oxidation. 4 of late. See 5., below. --adv. 5 recently, lately, previously, formerly, once, heretofore, in recent or former time(s), of late, latterly (See also 3., above.): They are dining tonight with Sir Keith, late of Scotland Yard. 6 till or at an advanced hour or time: I was up late last night. She married late. 7 tardily, unpunctually, belatedly: We arrived too late for the first act. 8 recently, lately: As late as a week ago they were still holding the job open for her.
lately | lately: adv. See late, 5.
latest | latest: adj. 1 See last�, 2. 2 fashionable, current, modern, up to the minute, Colloq in: She drives the latest model. --n. 3 most recent or up-to-date or modern development or news or example: What''s the latest? Have you seen the latest in scuba gear?
lather | lather: n. 1 suds, froth, foam: He spread lather on his face and began to shave. 2 sweat; dither, fuss, pother, flutter, Colloq tizzy, state, flap: He got into a real lather when he missed the train. --v. 3 soap (up); foam, froth: The barber lathered my chin thoroughly. 4 thrash, beat, belabour, maul, drub, flog, whack, pummel, buffet, whip, flail, lash: If he dared to swear, his father would lather him.
laud | laud: v. praise, commend, celebrate, sing or speak or sound the praises of, honour, acclaim, extol, glorify, promote, advance, recommend, exalt: Bramble''s paintings have been lauded by leading art critics the world over.
laudable | laudable: adj. praiseworthy, meritorious, creditable, admirable, outstanding, excellent, noteworthy, notable, commendable, estimable, creditable: He has made a laudable effort to keep up in his work.
laudatory | laudatory: adj. laudative, praiseful, eulogistic, panegyric(al), encomiastic(al), complimentary, favourable: None of the laudatory comments made in the introduction was true.
laugh | laugh: v. 1 titter, giggle, snigger, snicker, chuckle, chortle, guffaw, split one''s sides, Colloq break or crack up, roll on the floor, go into hysterics, roar with laughter, hoot: Whenever he wore his hat, they couldn''t stop laughing. 2 Often, laugh at. a deride, ridicule, mock (at), jeer (at), make a mockery of, poke fun (at), make fun or sport (of), make an ass or a fool (out) of, tease, taunt, pull (someone''s) leg, satirize, pasquinade or pasquil, parody, lampoon, jest (at), joke (about), scoff (at), scorn, Colloq Brit take the mickey out of, US roast: They laughed when I sat down - I didn''t know the chair was broken. Why did the other children laugh at you? b laugh away or off, spurn, dismiss, brush aside, minimize, shrug off, reject, ignore, disregard, deny, belittle, Colloq pooh-pooh: He laughed off his injury and insisted on continuing to work. --n. 3 titter, giggle, snigger, snicker, chuckle, chortle, guffaw, horse laugh: She would do anything for a laugh.
laughter | laughter: n. laughing, tittering, giggling, sniggering, snickering, chuckling, chortling, guffawing: Children''s laughter filled the air.
launch | launch: v. 1 start (off), set in motion, set or get going, begin, embark upon or on, initiate, inaugurate: The council is about to launch a scheme for dockside development. The attack was launched at dawn. 2 originate, establish, organize, set up, found, open, start: Robson is talking about launching a new company. 3 shoot, fire, discharge, hurl, throw, sling, pitch, fling, catapult, send, dispatch or despatch: The enemy launched ground-to-air missiles against our planes. 4 float, set afloat: Two frigates will be launched today. --n. 5 inauguration, start, initiation, opening: The launch of the offensive is scheduled for noon tomorrow. 6 boat, skiff, tender, motor boat, runabout, gig, dinghy: The launch will shuttle passengers between the pier and the cruise ship.
launder | launder: v. 1 wash, clean, scrub, cleanse: The chambermaid laundered three shirts for me. 2 legitimize, legitimatize, legitimate, legalize: The money from heroin was being laundered through several car dealerships.
laurels | laurels: n.pl. honour(s), distinction(s), fame, awards, tributes, rewards, acclaim, acclamation, glory, renown, celebrity, popularity, reputation; successes, accomplishments: With no new fields to conquer, he is resting on his laurels.
lavatory | lavatory: n. water-closet, WC, toilet, bathroom, Colloq Brit the Gents, the Ladies(''), Men''s (Room), rest room, privy, Chiefly military or institutional latrine; Nautical head; Brit (public) convenience, US equipment, outhouse; Colloq (little) boys'' or girls'' room, powder-room, Brit loo, lav, US can; Slang Brit bog: Our new house has two upstairs bathrooms and a downstairs lavatory.
lavish | lavish: adj. 1 profuse, abundant, liberal, copious, plentiful, prolific, opulent: He wore a silk tunic with lavish gold embroidery. 2 generous, liberal, open-handed, unstinting, bountiful, unsparing, unselfish, effusive, free: She showered the most lavish gifts on her children. 3 extravagant, wasteful, exaggerated, prodigal, improvident, excessive, unreasonable, immoderate, profligate, uncurbed, unrestrained, intemperate: The council was accused of lavish overspending on the civic centre. --v. 4 squander, waste, throw away, dissipate, spend, expend, sink: We lavished a fortune on the gardens. 5 shower, bestow, thrust, heap, pour: Granny always lavished gifts on us.
law | law: n. 1 rule, regulation, ordinance, statute, act, enactment, by-law, measure, edict, decree, order, directive, injunction, command, commandment, canon, mandate, ukase: They have a law that forbids smoking on aeroplanes. 2 corpus juris, (legal) code, constitution, rules and regulations, charter, Law equity: The law must be applied equally to all citizens. 3 principle, proposition, theory, theorem, formula, axiom, deduction, corollary, postulate, conclusion, inference: Not every observable phenomenon obeys the laws of physics.
lawful | lawful: adj. 1 legal, licit, legitimate, de jure, constitutional, just, rightful, valid, proper: I am the lawful heir. 2 permissible, allowable, justifiable, authorized, allowed, permitted: It is not lawful to let your dog foul the footpath.
lawless | lawless: adj. 1 anarchic(al), anarchistic, chaotic, unruly, unregulated: There was a lawless period between the revolution and the establishment of government. 2 illegal, illicit, unlawful, criminal, felonious, larcenous, dishonest, corrupt, venal, Colloq crooked: Holding a demonstration without a permit is a lawless act. 3 villainous, nefarious, wicked, sinful, flagitious, iniquitous, treacherous: He was once a member of a lawless motor-cycle gang.
lawn | lawn: n. sward, greensward, turf, sod, green: I lay back on the lawn and gazed at the sky.
lawyer | lawyer: n. counsel, advocate, member of the bar, legal practitioner, Brit solicitor, barrister, Queen''s or King''s counsel, bencher, US attorney(-at-law), counselor(-at-law), Slang US mouthpiece: We have turned the case over to a lawyer.
lax | lax: adj. 1 loose, slack, casual, slipshod, easygoing, careless, negligent, permissive, weak, indulgent, flexible, relaxed: Law enforcement has always been lax in that city. 2 imprecise, undefined, indefinite, non-specific, unspecific, vague, shapeless, amorphous, general, broad, inexact, hit-or-miss, careless, untidy, Colloq sloppy: His ideas about tactics are too lax for a military man.
lay� | lay�: v. 1 place, put (down), set (down), position, deposit; spread: Lay the cloth on the table, then lay the book on top of it. 2 set, arrange: The table was laid for four. 3 Often, lay down. establish, build, construct: Before I can argue my case, I must lay a firm foundation of trust. 4 stake, bet, wager, gamble, hazard, risk: I''ll lay ten to one that you won''t be able to move that crate. 5 destroy, suppress, exorcize: Did Edward ever succeed in laying that ghost of a rumour that haunted his career for so long? 6 present, offer, submit, set or put forth, advance, bring or put forward, set out: We have laid our proposal before the board. 7 charge, impute, direct, lodge, prefer, aim, attribute, ascribe: There is no justification for laying the blame on Leonard. 8 copulate (with), couple (with), have (sexual) intercourse (with), sleep (with), lie (with), bed, go to bed (with), mate (with), have sex (with), go all the way (with), service, Slang screw, shack up (with), Brit roger, Taboo fuck. 9 lay bare. expose, reveal, uncover, disclose, divulge, bring to light, show, unveil, lift the veil from: She laid bare the most intimate details of their relationship. 10 lay down. stipulate, require, demand, insist on, dictate: She laid down the conditions on which he could return home. 11 lay hold of. seize, grab, snatch, nab, catch or get hold of, get: I have been trying to lay hold of that book for weeks. 12 lay in. See 19 (a), below. 13 lay into. attack, assault, set about, assail, lambaste, belabour: We laid into the gang and gave them a sound drubbing. 14 lay it on. exaggerate, overstate, embroider: Don''t believe what Frank tells you - he really lays it on pretty thick sometimes. 15 lay low. See 18 (c), below. 16 lay off. a suspend; dismiss, discharge, fire, let go, cashier, drum out of the corps, Colloq (give the) sack, (give the) axe, kick out, (give the) boot, boot out, give (someone) his or her walking papers: Fifty workers were laid off because business was slack. b let up, quit (it), stop (it), cease, desist, leave off, leave alone, Colloq knock (it) off, cut (it) out, come off (it): I wish you''d lay off for a while and stop bothering me. You must lay off phoning your mother twice a day. 17 lay on. a provide, cater (for), supply: The company laid on quite a Christmas party. b impose, charge, assess; demand, require: In addition to enforcing payment of back taxes, they laid on a penalty of 20 per cent. 18 lay out. a design, plan, outline, sketch, arrange, set up: The art department laid out the advertisements for the new campaign. b advance, disburse, spend, expend, pay, give, contribute, Colloq shell out, ante up, kick in with, fork out: The salesmen often lay out the money for their expenses and are then reimbursed. c lay low, floor, prostrate, knock down or out, strike or cut down, flatten, fell, strike down, Colloq knock for six, kayo or K.O.: He laid out the challenger with a blow to the solar plexus. 19 lay up. a lay in, amass, accumulate, save (up), hoard, preserve, store, keep, put away, put by: We laid up a supply of canned goods for the winter. b hospitalize, incapacitate, disable, confine to bed, keep indoors: She has been laid up with a virus all week.
lay� | lay�: adj. 1 secular, non-clerical, laic, non-ecclesiastical: He served as a lay preacher for many years. 2 amateur, non-professional, non-specialist: Members of the lay public did not immediately understand the dangers of the greenhouse effect.
lay� | lay�: n. ballad, song, air, refrain, strain, melody; poem, ode, lyric, rhyme, ballade: Macaulay wrote a book entitled Lays of Ancient Rome .
lazy | lazy: adj. 1 indolent, slothful, dilatory, idle, shiftless, inactive, listless, fain�ant, otiose, slack, lax, lethargic: He''s so lazy and so rich that he pays someone just to walk his dog. 2 slow, languid, easy, easygoing, sluggish, slow-moving, languorous: The hot lazy summer days were whiled away fishing.
