B Flashcards
Baffling
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
Baleful
harmful; ominous; causing evil
Balk
- hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking;
- thwart or hinder (a plan or person)
Balloon
- large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air; small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck;
- verb: become inflated; ride in a hot air balloon
Banal
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.
Bandy
discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly
Baneful
causing harm or ruin; pernicious; destructive
Banish
send (someone) away from a country or place as an official punishment.
Banter
light teasing repartee; verb be silly or tease one another
Barefaced
with no effort to conceal
Barrage
artificial obstacle built across a river
Barren
too poor to produce much or any vegetation; showing no results or achievements; unproductive; bleak or lifeless
Baseness
unworthiness by virtue of lacking higher values
Bask
enjoy warmth and light
Bearing
relation; relevance.
Beatify
to bless; make happy or ascribe a virtue to
Bedizen
to adorn especially in a cheap showy manner
Befriend
act as a friend to (someone) by offering help or support.
Beguile
- charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way.
- trick (someone) into doing something.
- help (time) pass pleasantly.
Beholden
owing thanks or having a duty to someone in return for help or a service.
Belabor
beat hard
Belie
(of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict.
Bellicose
inclined to fighting
Belligerence
hostile or warlike attitude or nature; a natural disposition to be hostile
Bemuse
puzzle, confuse, or bewilder (someone).
Benefactor
person who has given help
Benevolence (adj. Benevolent)
wish or activity in doing good
Benign
harmless; kind in disposition or manner
Benison
blessing
Bequest
arrangement to give something at death
Berate
scold sharply
Bereft
- deprived of or lacking (something);
- (of a person) sad and lonely, especially through someone’s death or departure
Betray
unintentionally reveal; be evidence of.
Bewilder
puzzle; confuse
Bias
prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
Bigot
stubborn; narrow-minded person
Bilge
bulge; the protuberance of a cask
Bilk
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.
Bizarre
conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
Blandishment
flattery intended to persuade
Blandness
polite manner; comforting; uninteresting
Blasé
bored with pleasure or dissipation
Blatant
(of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly.
Bleak
unpleasantly cold and damp
Blemish
spoil the appearance of (something) that is otherwise aesthetically perfect.
Blight
have a severely detrimental effect on.
Blithe
- showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper;
- carefree and happy and lighthearted
Blunder
an embarrassing mistake
Blunt
(of a person or remark) uncompromisingly forthright.
Board
a stout length of sawn timber
Bog
wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation
Boggle
(of a person or a person’s mind) be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something
Bogus
not genuine or true; fake.
Boisterous
noisy; restraint
Bolster
support or strengthen; prop up.
Bombast
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.
Boon
a thing that is helpful or beneficial.
Boorish (n. boor)
crude; rude
Braggart
a person who boasts about achievements or possessions.
Brandish
wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
Brash
self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way
Brass
yellow metal (mixing copper and zinc)
Breach
- an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of conduct
- make a gap in and break through (a wall, barrier, or defense)
Brazen
bold and without shame. endure an embarrassing or difficult situation by behaving with apparent confidence and lack of shame.
Brevity
concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.
Bridle
bring (something) under control; curb.
Brisk
quick and energetic
Brittle
easily broken
Broach
bring up; announce; begin to talk about (a sensitive subject)
Brobdingnagian
gigantic
Bromide
- any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs;
- a trite or obvious remark
Brood
hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
Brook
to tolerate; endure
Brummagem
cheap, showy, or counterfeit
Bucolic
relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.
Buoyancy
an optimistic and cheerful disposition.
Buoyant
able to float; light-hearted
Burgeon
grow and flourish
Burlesque
a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor
Burnish
to polish; rub to a shine
Buttress
a support, usually of stone or brick
