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B - WORDS GMAT

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
        Help!  

Word
Meaning
Example
Baleful   (adj.) harmful, malign, detrimental   After she was fired, she realized it was a baleful move to point the blame at her superior. The strange liquid could be baleful if ingested.  
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Banal   (adj.) trite; without freshness or originality   Attending parties became trite after a few weeks. It was a banal suggestion to have the annual picnic in the park, since that was where it had been for the past five years.  
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Baneful   (adj.) deadly or causing distress, death   Not wearing a seat belt could be baneful.  
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Baroque   (adj.) extravagant; ornate; embellished   The baroque artwork was made up of intricate details which kept the museum-goers enthralled. The baroque furnishings did not fit in the plain, modest home.  
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Bastion   (n.) a fortified place or strong defense   The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it.  
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Batten   (v.) to gain   The team could only batten by drafting the top player.  
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Bauble   (n.) a showy yet useless thing   The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf.  
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Beget   (v.) to bring into being   The king wished to beget a new heir.  
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Beholden   (adj.) indebted to   The children were beholden to their parents for the car loan.  
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Behoove   (v.) to be advantageous; to be necessary   It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.  
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Belittle   (v.) to make small; to think lightly of   The unsympathetic friend belittled her friend's problems and spoke of her own as the most important.  
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Bellicose   (adj.) quarrelsome; warlike   The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.  
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Bemuse   (v.) to preoccupy in thought   The girl was bemused by her troubles.  
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Benefactor   (n.) one who helps others; a donor   An anonymous benefactor donated $10,000 to the children's hospital.  
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Beneficent   (adj.) conferring benefits; kindly; doing good   He is a beneficent person, always taking in stray animals and talking to people who need someone to listen. A beneficent donation helped the organization meet its goal.  
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Benevolent   (adj.) kind; generous   The professor proved a tough questioner, but a benevolent grader. The benevolent gentleman volunteered his services.  
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Benign   (adj.) mild; harmless   A lamb is a benign animal, especially when compared with a lion.  
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Berate   (v.) scold; reprove; reproach; criticize   The child was berated by her parents for breaking the china.  
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Bereft   (v.; adj.) to be deprived of; to be in a sad manner; hurt by someone's death   The loss of his job will leave the man bereft of many luxuries. The widower was bereft for many years after his wife's death.  
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Beseech   (v.) to ask earnestly   The soldiers beseeched the civilians for help.  
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Besmirch   (v.) to dirty or discolor   The soot from the chimney will besmirch clean curtains.  
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Bestial   (adj.) having the qualities of a beast; brutal   The bestial employer made his employees work in an unheated room.  
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Betroth   (v.) to promise or pledge in marriage   The man betrothed his daughter to the prince.  
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Biased   (adj.) prejudiced; influenced; not neutral   The vegetarian had a biased opinion regarding what should be ordered for dinner.  
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Biennial   (adj.; n.) happening every two years; a plant which blooms every two years   The biennial journal's influence seemed only magnified by its infrequent publication. She has lived here for four years and has seen the biennials bloom twice.  
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Bilateral   (adj.) pertaining to or affecting both sides or two sides; having two sides   A bilateral decision was made so that both partners reaped equal benefits from the same amount of work. The brain is a bilateral organ, consisting of a left and right hemisphere.  
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Blasphemous   (adj.) irreligious; away from acceptable standards; speaking ill of using profane language   The upper-class parents thought that it was blasphemous for their son to marry a waitress. His blasphemous outburst was heard throughout the room.  
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Blatant   (adj.) obvious; unmistakable; crude; vulgar   The blatant foul was reason for ejection. The defendant was blatant in his testimony.  
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Blighted   (adj.) causing frustration or destruction   The blighted tornado left only one building standing in its wake.  
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Blithe   (adj.) happy; cheery; merry; a cheerful disposition   The wedding was a blithe celebration. The blithe child was a pleasant surprise.  
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Bode   (v.) to foretell something   The storm bode that we would not reach our destination.  
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Bombast   (n.) pompous speech; pretentious words   After he delivered his bombast at the podium, he arrogantly left the meeting. The presenter ended his bombast with a prediction of his future success.  
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Bombastic   (adj.) pompous; wordy; turgid   The bombastic woman talks a lot about herself.  
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Boor   (n.) a rude person   The boor was not invited to the party, but he came anyway.  
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Breadth   (n.) the distance from one side to another   The table cloth was too small to cover the breadth of the table.  
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Brevity   (n.) briefness; shortness   On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was the coin of the realm.  
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Brindled   (adj.) mixed with a darker color   In order to get matching paint we made a brindled mixture.  
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Broach   (v.) to introduce into conversation   Broaching the touchy subject was difficult.  
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Brusque   (adj.) abrupt in manner or speech   His brusque answer was neither acceptable nor polite.  
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Bucolic   (adj.) having to do with shepherds or the country   The bucolic setting inspired the artist.  
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Bumptious   (adj.) arrogant   He was bumptious in manner as he approached the podium to accept his anticipated award.  
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Bungler   (n.) a clumsy person   The one who broke the crystal vase was a true bungler.  
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Burgeon   (v.) to grow or develop quickly   The tumor appeared to burgeon more quickly than normal. After the first punch was thrown, the dispute burgeoned into a brawl.  
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Burlesque   (v.; n.) to imitate in a non-serious manner; a comical imitation   His stump speeches were so hackneyed, he seemed to be burlesquing of his role as a congressman. George Burns was considered one of the great practitioners of burlesque.  
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Burly   (adj.) strong; bulky; stocky   The lumberjack was a burly man.  
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Burnish   (v.) to polish by rubbing   The vase needed to be burnished to restore its beauty.  
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