| GRE word list -B |
| babble |
to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds |
| backhanded |
INDIRECT, DEVIOUS; especially:SARCASTIC |
| backset |
SETBACK |
| badge |
a device or token especially of membership in a society
or group |
| badger |
to harass or annoy persistently |
| badinage |
playful repartee:BANTER |
| baffle |
to check or break the force or flow of by or as if by
a baffle |
| bait |
ENTICE, LUREto attack in speech or writing as by derision
or insult; to gall or exasperate by repeated wanton attacks |
| baleful |
deadly or pernicious in influence |
| balk |
to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle:BLOCK |
| balky |
refusing or likely to refuse to proceed, act, or function
as directed or expected |
| ballad |
a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for
singing |
| ballast |
Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship
or the gondola of a balloon to enhance stability. |
| ballet |
a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery
to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere |
| balm |
a balsamic resin, especially:one from small tropical
evergreen trees |
| balmy |
having the qualities of balm:SOOTHING |
| bamboozle |
to deceive by underhanded methods:DUPE, HOODWINK |
| ban |
to prohibit especially by legal means ban:protect |
| banal |
lacking originality, freshness, or novelty:TRITE |
| baneful |
productive of destruction or woe:seriously harmful |
| banish |
to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual
resort or continuance, especially compulsory removal from
a country not necessarily one's own |
| banister |
a handrail with its supporting posts |
| banquet |
a sumptuous feast; especially :an elaborate and often
ceremonious meal for numerous people often in honor of
a person |
| barb |
a biting or pointedly critical remark or comment |
| barbarous |
mercilessly harsh or cruel |
| bareface |
Having no covering over the face. |
| barefaced |
OPEN, UNCONCEALED |
| bargain |
to negotiate over the terms of a purchase, agreement,
or contract:HAGGLE |
| baroque |
characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity,
or flamboyance |
| barren |
lacking vegetation, especially useful vegetation |
| barter |
to trade by exchanging one commodity for another |
| base |
being of comparatively low value and having relatively
inferior properties |
| baseboard |
a molding covering the joint of a wall and the adjoining
floor |
| bathetic |
exceptional commonplaceness:TRITENESS |
| bedeck |
to clothe with finery:DECK |
| bedlam |
a place, scene, or state of uproar and confusion |
| belabor |
to explain or insist on excessively |
| beleaguer |
TROUBLE, HARASS |
| belie |
to show (something) to be false or wrong |
| belittle |
to speak slightingly of:DISPARAGE |
| bellicose |
favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars |
| belligerence |
an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or
disposition |
| bellwether |
One that serves as a leader or as a leading indicator
of future trends |
| bemoan |
to express deep grief or distress over |
| bend |
to make submissive:SUBDUE,COMPROMISE |
| benediction |
the invocation of a blessing |
| beneficent |
doing or producing good; especially :performing acts
of kindness and charity |
| benign |
a:showing kindness and gentleness b:FAVORABLE, WHOLESOME |
| bent |
a strong inclination or interest:BIAS |
| bequest |
something bequeathed:LEGACY |
| berate |
to scold or condemn vehemently and at length |
| beseech |
to request earnestly:IMPLORE |
| besmirch |
SULLY, SOIL |
| betray |
to deliver to an enemy by treachery |
| bibliography |
a list of writings with time and place of publication
(such as the writings of a single author or the works
referred to in preparing a document etc.) |
| bibliophile |
a lover of books especially for qualities of format;
also :a book collector |
| bigot |
a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his
or her own opinions and prejudices |
| bit |
the jaws of tongs or pincers |
| bland |
not irritating, stimulating, or invigorating:SOOTHING |
| blandishment |
something that tends to coax or cajole:ALLUREMENT |
| blase |
bored with pleasure or dissipation |
| blaspheme |
to speak of or address with irreverence |
| blast |
a violent gust of wind |
| blatant |
completely obvious, conspicuous, or obtrusive especially
in a crass or offensive manner:BRAZEN |
| blazon |
to publish widely:PROCLAIM |
| bleach |
to remove color or stains from |
| blemish |
to spoil by a flaw |
| blight |
a disease or injury of plants resulting in withering,
cessation of growth, and death of parts without rotting |
| bliss |
complete happiness |
| blunder |
a gross error or mistake resulting usually from stupidity,
ignorance, or carelessness |
| blunt |
to make less sharp or definite |
| blur |
to make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance;obscure |
| blurb |
A brief publicity notice, as on a book jacket. |
| blurt |
to utter abruptly and impulsively ? usually used with
out |
| bluster |
to talk or act with noisy swaggering threats |
| boding |
an omen, prediction, or presentiment especially of coming
evil:PORTENT ,FOREBODING |
| boggle |
to hesitate because of doubt, fear, or scruples |
| boisterous |
noisily turbulent:ROWDY |
| bolster |
a structural part designed to eliminate friction or
provide support or bearing |
| bombast |
pretentious inflated speech or writing |
| bonhomie |
good-natured easy friendliness |
| bonus |
something in addition to what is expected or strictly
due |
| boo |
to deride especially by uttering boo |
| boon |
BENEFIT, FAVOR |
| boor |
a rude or insensitive person |
| bootless |
USELESS, UNPROFITABLE |
| bore |
to make a hole by or as if by boring |
| bottleneck |
NARROW {bottleneck:indefinite} ?????? |
| bough |
a branch of a tree; especially :a main branch |
| bound |
a:to make secure by tying b:to confine, restrain, or
restrict as if with bonds c:to put under an obligation
d:to constrain with legal authority |
| box |
to fight with the fists:engage in boxing box:fight:debate:argue |
| bracing |
giving strength, vigor, or freshness |
| bracket |
an overhanging member that projects from a structure
(as a wall) and is usually designed to support a vertical
load or to strengthen an angle |
| brackish |
REPULSIVE |
| braggadocio |
a:empty boasting b:arrogant pretension:COCKINESS |
| braid |
made by intertwining three or more strands |
| braided |
Produced by or as if by braiding |
| brake |
to retard or stop by a brake |
| brash |
done in haste without regard for consequences |
| brassy |
being shamelessly bold |
| brattish |
an ill-mannered annoying child |
| bravura |
marked by an ostentatious display of skill |
| bray |
to emit (an utterance or a sound) loudly and harshly |
| brazen |
marked by contemptuous boldness |
| breach |
to make a breach in |
| breezeway |
a roofed often open passage connecting two buildings
(as a house and garage) or halves of a building |
| brevity |
shortness or conciseness of expression |
| bribe |
to induce or influence by or as if by bribery |
| bridle |
to restrain, check, or control with or as if with a
bridle |
| brisk |
keenly alert:LIVELY |
| bristle |
to take on an aggressive attitude or appearance (as
in response to a slight) |
| brittle |
easily broken, cracked, or snapped |
| broach |
to open for the first time |
| bromide |
a commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion |
| browbeat |
to intimidate by a stern manner or arrogant speech |
| bruit |
to noise abroad:REPORT |
| buck |
to refuse assent:BALK |
| bucolic |
relating to or typical of rural life |
| budge |
to give way:YIELD |
| buffer |
to lessen the shock of:CUSHION |
| buffoon |
a ludicrous figure:CLOWN |
| bulge |
a protuberant or swollen part or place |
| bully |
one habitually cruel to others who are weaker |
| bumper |
a device for absorbing shock or preventing damage |
| bumptious |
presumptuously, obtusely, and often noisily self-assertive:OBTRUSIVE |
| bungle |
to act or work clumsily and awkwardly |
| buoy |
support;uplift |
| buoyant |
a:capable of floating b:CHEERFUL, GAY |
| burgeon |
to grow and expand rapidly:FLOURISH |
| burial |
the act or process of burying |
| burlesque |
mockery usually by caricature |
| burnish |
to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing numb:insensible:burnish:lustrous |
| burrow |
to construct by tunneling |
| busybody |
an officious or inquisitive person |
| butt |
to thrust or push head foremost:strike with the head
or horns |
| buttress |
1. to furnish or shore up with a buttress; also :SUPPORT,
STRENGTHEN 2. a projecting structure of masonry or wood
for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building |
| bygone |
gone by:PAST; especially:OUTMODED |
| byline |
a line at the beginning of a news story, magazine article,
or book giving the writer's name |
