Page 158 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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L: SAT Words
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.]