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GRE Vocab > B > Flashcards

B Flashcards

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1
Q

Baffling

A

making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe

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2
Q

Baleful

A

harmful; ominous; causing evil

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3
Q

Balk

A
  1. hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking;
  2. thwart or hinder (a plan or person)
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4
Q

Balloon

A
  1. large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air; small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck;
  2. verb: become inflated; ride in a hot air balloon
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5
Q

Banal

A

so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring.

Nor is it his material, which sticks to deft takes on relatively banal subjects like chain stores or hipster attitudes.

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6
Q

Bandy

A

discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly

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7
Q

Baneful

A

causing harm or ruin; pernicious; destructive

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8
Q

Banish

A

send (someone) away from a country or place as an official punishment.

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9
Q

Banter

A

light teasing repartee; verb be silly or tease one another

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10
Q

Barefaced

A

with no effort to conceal

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11
Q

Barrage

A

artificial obstacle built across a river

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12
Q

Barren

A

too poor to produce much or any vegetation; showing no results or achievements; unproductive; bleak or lifeless

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13
Q

Baseness

A

unworthiness by virtue of lacking higher values

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14
Q

Bask

A

enjoy warmth and light

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15
Q

Bearing

A

relation; relevance.

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16
Q

Beatify

A

to bless; make happy or ascribe a virtue to

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17
Q

Bedizen

A

to adorn especially in a cheap showy manner

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18
Q

Befriend

A

act as a friend to (someone) by offering help or support.

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19
Q

Beguile

A
  1. charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way.
  2. trick (someone) into doing something.
  3. help (time) pass pleasantly.
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20
Q

Beholden

A

owing thanks or having a duty to someone in return for help or a service.

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21
Q

Belabor

A

beat hard

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22
Q

Belie

A

(of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict.

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23
Q

Bellicose

A

inclined to fighting

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24
Q

Belligerence

A

hostile or warlike attitude or nature; a natural disposition to be hostile

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25
Q

Bemuse

A

puzzle, confuse, or bewilder (someone).

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26
Q

Benefactor

A

person who has given help

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27
Q

Benevolence (adj. Benevolent)

A

wish or activity in doing good

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28
Q

Benign

A

harmless; kind in disposition or manner

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29
Q

Benison

A

blessing

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30
Q

Bequest

A

arrangement to give something at death

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31
Q

Berate

A

scold sharply

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32
Q

Bereft

A
  1. deprived of or lacking (something);
  2. (of a person) sad and lonely, especially through someone’s death or departure
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33
Q

Betray

A

unintentionally reveal; be evidence of.

34
Q

Bewilder

A

puzzle; confuse

35
Q

Bias

A

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

36
Q

Bigot

A

stubborn; narrow-minded person

37
Q

Bilge

A

bulge; the protuberance of a cask

38
Q

Bilk

A

cheat somebody out of what is due, especially money

So-called boiler-rooms, where corrupt brokers bilked investors by manipulating stocks, were giving way to insider-trading.

39
Q

Bizarre

A

conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

40
Q

Blandishment

A

flattery intended to persuade

41
Q

Blandness

A

polite manner; comforting; uninteresting

42
Q

Blasé

A

bored with pleasure or dissipation

43
Q

Blatant

A

(of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly.

44
Q

Bleak

A

unpleasantly cold and damp

45
Q

Blemish

A

spoil the appearance of (something) that is otherwise aesthetically perfect.

46
Q

Blight

A

have a severely detrimental effect on.

47
Q

Blithe

A
  1. showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper;
  2. carefree and happy and lighthearted
48
Q

Blunder

A

an embarrassing mistake

49
Q

Blunt

A

(of a person or remark) uncompromisingly forthright.

50
Q

Board

A

a stout length of sawn timber

51
Q

Bog

A

wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation

52
Q

Boggle

A

(of a person or a person’s mind) be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something

53
Q

Bogus

A

not genuine or true; fake.

54
Q

Boisterous

A

noisy; restraint

55
Q

Bolster

A

support or strengthen; prop up.

56
Q

Bombast

A

pompous or pretentious talk or writing

But he lost his nerve as a coproducer, going for stadium bombast instead of the unadorned grit these stories of hard times demand.

57
Q

Boon

A

a thing that is helpful or beneficial.

58
Q

Boorish (n. boor)

A

crude; rude

59
Q

Braggart

A

a person who boasts about achievements or possessions.

60
Q

Brandish

A

wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.

61
Q

Brash

A

self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way

62
Q

Brass

A

yellow metal (mixing copper and zinc)

63
Q

Breach

A
  1. an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of conduct
  2. make a gap in and break through (a wall, barrier, or defense)
64
Q

Brazen

A

bold and without shame. endure an embarrassing or difficult situation by behaving with apparent confidence and lack of shame.

65
Q

Brevity

A

concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.

66
Q

Bridle

A

bring (something) under control; curb.

67
Q

Brisk

A

quick and energetic

68
Q

Brittle

A

easily broken

69
Q

Broach

A

bring up; announce; begin to talk about (a sensitive subject)

70
Q

Brobdingnagian

A

gigantic

71
Q

Bromide

A
  1. any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs;
  2. a trite or obvious remark
72
Q

Brood

A

hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing

73
Q

Brook

A

to tolerate; endure

74
Q

Brummagem

A

cheap, showy, or counterfeit

75
Q

Bucolic

A

relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.

76
Q

Buoyancy

A

an optimistic and cheerful disposition.

77
Q

Buoyant

A

able to float; light-hearted

78
Q

Burgeon

A

grow and flourish

79
Q

Burlesque

A

a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

80
Q

Burnish

A

to polish; rub to a shine

81
Q

Buttress

A

a support, usually of stone or brick

GRE Vocab (24 decks)

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