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WORD LIST 6.
b
| Word | Definition | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Bard | Poet | The ancient bard Homer, sang of the fall of Troy. |
| Barefaced | Shameless, bold, unconcealed | Shocked by Ned's barefaced lies, his mother grounded him. |
| Baroque | Highly ornate | The architects found the flamboyance of baroque architecture interesting and amusing. |
| Barrage | Barrier laid down by artillery fire, overwhelming profusion | The army retreated through the barrage of heavy cannons. |
| Barrister | Counsellor-at-law | |
| Barterer | Trader | The barterer exchanged trinkets for the natives' furs. |
| Bask | luxuriate, take pleasure in warmth | |
| bastion | stronghold, something seen as a source of protection | The villagers fortified the town halls, hoping this improvised bastion would help them from the guerrilla raids. |
| bate | let down, restrain | Until it was time to open the presents, the children had to bate their breath. |
| bauble | trinket, trifle | The child was delighted with the bauble she had won in the grab bag. |
| bawdy | indecent, obscene | Jack took offence at Jill's bawdy remarks.What kind of young man did she think he was? |
| beatific | giving bliss, blissful | The beatific smile on the child's face made us very happy. |
| beatitude | blessedness, state of bliss | Growing closer to God each day, the mystic achieved a state of indescribable beatitude. |
| bedizen | dress with vulgar finery | The witch doctors were bedizened in their gaudiest costumes. |
| bedraggle | wet thoroughly | |
| beeline | N. direct, quick route | As soon as the movie was over, Jim made a beeline for th exit. |
| befuddle | V. confuse thoroughly | |
| beget | V. father, produce, give rise to | One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another. |
| begrudge | V. resent | |
| beguile | V. mislead or delude, cheat, pass time | |
| beholden | Adj. obligated, indebted | Since I do not wish to be beholden to anyone, I cannot accept this favor. |
| behoove | V. be suited to, be incumbent upon | In this time of crises, it behooves all of us to remain calm and await the instructions of our superiors. |
| belabor | V. explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree, assail verbally | The debate coach warned his student not to bore the audience by belaboring her point. |
| beleaguer | V. besiege or attack, harass | The babysitter was surrounded by a crowd of unmanageable brats who relentlessly beleaguered her. |
| bellicose | Adj. warlike | His bellicose disposition alienated his friends. |
| belligerent | Adj. quarrelsome | Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and quarrelsome and tried to pick fights with strangers. |
| bemoan | V. lament, express disapproval of | The widow bemoaned the death of her beloved husband. Although the critics bemoaned the serious flaws in the author's novels, each year his latest novel topped the best-seller list. |
| bemused | Adj. confused, lost in thought | Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face. |
| benediction | N. blessing | The appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction. |
| benefactor | N. gift giver, patron | Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him gifts. |
| beneficiary | N. a person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will. | In Scrooge's will, he made Tiny Tim his beneficiary; everything he left would go to young Tim. |
| benevolent | Adj. generous and charitable | Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees |
| benign | Adj. kindly, favorable, not malignant | Though her benign smile and gentle bearing made Miss Marple seem a sweet old lady, in reality she was a tough-minded shrewd observer of human nature. |
| benison | N. blessing | Let's pray that the benison of peace once more shall prevail among the nations of the world. |
| bent | Adj. N.determined, natural talent or inclination | Bent on advancing in this business world, the secretary-heroine of Working Girl had a true bent for high finance. |
| bequeath | V. leave to someone by means of a will | In his will, father _bequeathed_ his watch to Philip; the _bequest_ meant a lot to the boy. |
| berate | V. scold strongly | He feared she would 'berate' him for his forgetfulness. |
| bereavement | N. state of being deprived of something valuable or loved | Illness 'bereaved' them of their mother. The war 'bereaved' them of their home. |
| bereft | Adj. deprived of, lacking | The foolish gambler soon found himself bereft of funds. |
| berserk | Adj. frenzied | Angered, he went berserk and began to wreck the room. |
| beseech | V. beg, plead with | The workaholic executive's wife 'beseeched' him to spend more time with their son. |
| beset | V. harass or trouble, hem in | Many vexing problems 'beset' the American school system. Sleeping Beauty's castle was 'beset' on all sides by dense thickets that hid it from view. |
| besiege | V. surround with armed forces, harass (with requests) | When the bandits 'besieged' the village, the villagers holed up in the Town Hall and prepared to withstand the long siege. Members of the new administration were 'besieged' by job applications from people who had worked on the campaign. |
| besmirch | V. soil, defoil | The scandalous remarks in the newspaper, besmirch the reputation of every member of the society. |
| bestial | Adj. beastlike, inhuman, brutal | According to legend, the werewolf was able to abandon its human form to acquire a 'bestial' form. The Red Cross sought to put and end to the 'bestial' treatment of prisoners of war. |
| betoken | V. signify, indicate | A kiss that betokens one's affection. |
| bevy | N. a large group | The movie actor was surrounded by a bevy of starlets. |
| bicker | V. quarrel | The children 'bickered' morning, noon and night, exasperating their parents. |
| bigotry | N. stubborn intolerance to beliefs other than own. | Brought up in a democratic atmosphere, the student was shocked by the bigotry and narrowness expressed by several of his classmates. |
| bilious | Adj. suffering from indigestion, irritable | His bilious temperament was apparent to all who heard him rant about his difficulties. |
| bilk | V. swindle, cheat | The con man specialized in 'bilking' insurance companies. |
| billowing | Adj. swelling out in waves, surging | Standing over the air vent, Marilyn Monroe tried vainly to control her billowing skirt. |
| bivouac | N. temporary encampment | While in bivouac, we spent the night in our sleeping bags under the stars. |
| blanch | V. bleach, whiten | Although age had 'blanched' his hair, he was still vigorous and energetic. |
| bland | Adj. soothing or mild, agreeable | Jill tried a 'bland' ointment for her sunburn. However when Jack absent-mindedly patted her on the sunburned shoulder, she couldn't maintain her 'bland' persona. |
| blandishment | N. flattery | Despite the salesman's 'blandishments', the customer did not buy the outfit. |
| blasé | Adj. bored with pleasure or dissipation | Although Beth was thrilled with the idea of a trip to Paris as her classmates were, she tried to act super cool and blasé, as if she'd been abroad hundreds of times. |
| blasphemy | N. irreverence, sacrilege, cursing | According to my brother, who was a Dodgers' fan, cheering for another team was 'blasphemy'. |
| blighted | Adj. suffering from a disease, destroyed | Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 'blighted'. |
| blithe | Adj. gay, joyous | Shelly called the skylark a "blithe spirit" because of its happy song. |
| blowhard | N. talkative boaster | A "blowhard" is a braggart, while to "blow hard" is to forcibly expel one's breath. |
| bludgeon | N. club, heavy-headed weapon | The ruffian was armed with a 'bludgeon'. "I fear I may have 'bludgeoned' Moriarty to death," said Sherlock Holmes. |
| bluff | N. high, steep cliff; Adj. rough but good natured | She was astounded when he dove from the high bluff into the waters below. A big, bluff, generous man. |
| behemoth | N. huge creature, something of monstrous size or power | Sportscasters nicknamed the linebacker "The Behemoth" |
Created by:
megsshere
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