| Question |
Answer |
| blithe(blithesome) |
gay; joyous |
| bloated |
(unpleasantly) swollen or puffed as with water or air |
| blotch |
spot; blot; CF. blot+botch |
| blowhard |
talkative boaster; braggart |
| bludgeon |
club; heavy-headed weapon; V. |
| blue |
gloomy; depressed |
| blues |
state of depression or melancholy; style of slow, mournful music (evolved from southern Black American songs) |
| bluff |
pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff; ADJ: rough but good-natured |
| blunder |
error; stupid mistake |
| blunt |
having a dull edge; abrupt and frank in speech or manner; brusque; V: make or become blunt |
| blurt |
utter impulsively from nervousness or excitement |
| blush |
become red in the face (from embarrassment or shame); become red or rosy; N. |
| bluster |
blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully; speak in a noisy or bullying manner; CF. breeze, gust, gale |
| bode |
foreshadow; portend |
| bog |
soft wet land; V: hinder or be hindered; Ex. bogged down in the mud |
| bogus |
counterfeit; not authentic; intentionally false; Ex. bogus interview |
| Bohemian |
unconventional (in an artistic way) |
| boisterous |
violent; rough; noisy |
| bolster |
support; reinforce |
| bolt |
door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric; large roll of cloth; V: dash or dart off; fasten (a | door); gobble down |
| bombardment |
attack (as with missiles or bombs); V. bombard |
| bombast |
grandiloquent, pompous speech |
| bombastic |
pompous; using inflated language |
| bookish |
fond of books and reading |
| boon |
blessing; benefit; something very helpful |
| boor |
rude, insensitive person |
| boorish |
rude; insensitive |
| boost |
lift by pushing up from below; increase; raise; N: push upward; increase |
| botch |
mismanage; blow |
| bouillon |
clear beef (or meat) soup |
| bound |
leap or spring; limit or confine; constitute the limit of; Ex. bounded by Canada; N: leap or jumping; boundary; ADJ: certain; having a duty to do something (legally or morally); confined by bonds; Ex. We are bound to be late; Ex. I am bound to |
| bountiful |
generous; graciously generous; showing bounty |
| bourgeois |
middle class; selfishly materialistic; too interested in material possessions |
| bout |
match; short period of great activity; Ex. wrestling bout; bout of drinking/flu |
| bovine |
cowlike; placid and dull; slow-thinking; calm |
| bowdlerize |
expurgate; CF. Thomas Bowdler |
| brackish |
somewhat saline |
| brag |
boast |
| braggadocio |
boasting |
| braggart |
boaster; bragger |
| braid |
plait; interweave strands or lengths of; make by weaving strands together; N: braided segment (as of hair) |
| brand |
trademark; mark burned on the hide of an animal; mark burned into the flesh of criminals; mark of disgrace; V: mark with a brand; give a lasting bad name; stigmatize; Ex. The press branded him a liar. |
| brandish |
wave around (a weapon); flourish |
| bravado |
swagger; assumed air of defiance; false show of bravery |
| brave |
face courageously; Ex. brave the storm |
| brawl |
noisy quarrel |
| brawn |
human muscle; muscular strength; sturdiness |
| brawny |
muscular; having well-developed muscles |
| brazen |
insolent; without shame; bold; Ex. brazen lie; V: face with bold self-assurance or with unshamed confidence |
| breach |
breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap; opening; V. |
| breadth |
width; extent |
| breed |
produce young; rear; bring up; produce (an undesirable condition); N: kind or sort of animal or plant |
| brevity |
conciseness; shortness of duration |
| bridle |
harness fitted about a horse's head (used to restrain); curb; check; V: put a bridle on; control or restrain; show anger |
| brim |
uppermost edge of a cup; projecting rim (as on a hat); Ex. The glass was full to the brim; V: be full to the brim |
| brindled |
tawny or grayish with streaks or spots (of animals) |
| brink |
edge (at the top of a cliff); Ex. on the brink of the Grand Canyon |
| brisk |
quick and active; marked by liveliness and vigor |
| bristle |
short stiff hair; V: (hair or fur) stand up stiffly |
| bristling |
rising like bristles; showing irritation |
| brittle |
hard but easily broken; difficult; unstable; Ex. brittle situation |
| broach |
introduce as a subject; moot; open up |
| brocade |
rich, figured(patterned) fabric |
| brochure |
pamphlet |
| broil |
cook by direct heat; N. |
| bromide |
platitude; chemical compound used to calm excitement |
| brooch |
ornamental clasp; pin |
| brood |
sit on in order to hatch; think deeply or worry anxiously; N: the young of certain animals; group of young birds hatched at one time |
| brook |
tolerate; endure; Ex. brook no interference; N: small stream |
| browbeat |
bully; intimidate |
| browse |
graze; feed on growing grass; skim or glance at casually |
| bruise |
injure without breaking the skin; N. |
| brunt |
main impact or shock (of an attack or blow); Ex. brunt of the argument |
| brusque |
blunt; abrupt; curt; not wanting to waste time being nice |
| buccaneer |
pirate |
| bucolic |
rustic; pastoral |
| buffet |
strike forcefully; slap; batter; knock out; N: table with food set out for people to server themselves; meal at which people help themselves to food that's been set |
| buffoon |
stupid person; clown |
| buffoonery |
clowning |
| bugaboo |
bugbear; object of baseless terror |
| bulge |
protruding part; swelling of a surface; Ex. The apple made a bulge in his pocket; V: swell outward; protrude |
| bulk |
size or volume (esp. when very large); main part; Ex. The bulk of the work has already been done; ADJ. bulky: having great size |
| bullion |
gold and silver in the form of bars |
| bully |
one who is habitually cruel to weaker people; V. |
| bulwark |
strong wall built for defense; earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends |
| bump |
hit or knock against with force; N. |
| bungle |
mismanage; blunder; botch; blow; spoil by clumsy behavior |
| buoyant |
able to float; cheerful and optimistic; N. buoyancy; Ex. buoyancy of wood/water/American market |
| bureaucracy |
overregulated administrative system marked by red tape; ADJ. bureaucratic |
| burgeon |
grow rapidly; grow forth; send out buds; Ex. burgeoning computer industry; CF. bludgeon |
| burlesque |
give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly |
| burnish |
make shiny by rubbing; polish |
| bust |
piece of sculpture showing a person's head, shoulders, and upper chest; V: break up; arrest; Ex. crimebuster |
| buttress |
support; prop up; N. stationary structure to support wall; Ex. flying buttress |
| buxom |
full-bosomed; plump; jolly |
| cabal |
small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests |
| cache |
hiding place; V. |
| cacophonous |
discordant; inharmonious; N. cacophony: unpleasant mixture of loud sounds |
| cadaver |
corpse; dead human body |
| cadaverous |
like a corpse; pale |
Beef Production
