ACT - SAT Vocab Words - B, E

Question 1

balk

Answer 1

(v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss balkedat her request for another raise.)

Question 2

ballad

Answer 2

(n.) a love song (Greta’s boyfriend played her a balladon the guitar during their walk through the dark woods.)

Question 3

banal

Answer 3

(adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banaland unimpressive.)

Question 4

bane

Answer 4

(n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the baneof many students’ academic lives.)

Question 5

bard

Answer 5

(n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.)

Question 6

bashful

Answer 6

(adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie’s mother told him not to be bashfulwhen he refused to attend the birthday party.)

Question 7

battery

Answer 7

(n.) a device that supplies power (Most cars run on a combination of power from a batteryand gasoline.) 2. (n.)assault, beating (Her husband was accused of assault and batteryafter he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

Question 8

beguile

Answer 8

(v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiledhis partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

Question 9

behemoth

Answer 9

(n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several behemothsthat the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

Question 10

benevolent

Answer 10

(adj.) marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers should be commended for their benevolentservice to the community.)

Question 11

benign

Answer 11

(adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

Question 12

bequeath

Answer 12

(v.) to pass on, give (Jon’s father bequeathedhis entire estate to his mother.)

Question 13

berate

Answer 13

(v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss beratedhis employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

Question 14

bereft

Answer 14

(adj.) devoid of, without (His family was bereftof food and shelter following the tornado.)

Question 15

beseech

Answer 15

(v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant beseechedthe king for food to feed his starving family.)

Question 16

bias

Answer 16

(n.) a tendency, inclination, prejudice (The judge’s hidden biasagainst smokers led him to make an unfair decision.)

Question 17

bilk

Answer 17

(v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilkedseveral clients out of thousands of dollars.)

Question 18

blandish

Answer 18

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel’s assistant tried to blandishher into accepting the deal.)

Question 19

blemish

Answer 19

(n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemisheson the surface of the wooden furniture.)

Question 20

blight

Answer 20

(n.) a plague, disease (The potato blightdestroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)

Question 21

boisterous

Answer 21

(adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterousspeeches on television.)

Question 22

bombastic

Answer 22

(adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer’s bombasticperformance disgusted the crowd.)

Question 23

boon

Answer 23

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boonfor many businesses located near the beach.)

Question 24

bourgeois

Answer 24

(n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for their bourgeoisapproach to life.)

Question 25

brazen

Answer 25

(adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist’s brazen attempt to plagiarize Hemingway’s story.)

Question 26

brusque

Answer 26

(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain’s brusque manner offended the passengers.)

Question 27

buffet

Answer 27

(v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

Question 28

burnish

Answer 28

(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.)

Question 29

buttress

Answer 29

(v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

Question 30

ebullient

Answer 30

(adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

Question 31

eclectic

Answer 31

(adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

Question 32

ecstatic

Answer 32

(adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when theylearned that they had won the lottery.)

Question 33

edict

Answer 33

(n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

Question 34

efface

Answer 34

(v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

Question 35

effervescent

Answer 35

(adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)

Question 36

efficacious

Answer 36

(adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I’m still sniffling.)

Question 37

effrontery

Answer 37

(n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

Question 38

effulgent

Answer 38

(adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

Question 39

egregious

Answer 39

(adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.)

Question 40

elaborate

Answer 40

(adj.) complex, detailed, intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move.)

Question 41

elated

Answer 41

(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated.)

Question 42

elegy

Answer 42

(n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

Question 43

elicit

Answer 43

(v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was, I elicited no response from the stone-faced policeman.)

Question 44

eloquent

Answer 44

(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying.)

Question 45

elucidate

Answer 45

(v.) to clarify, explain (I didn’t understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

Question 46

elude

Answer 46

(v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the police.)

Question 47

emaciated

Answer 47

(adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

Question 48

embellish

Answer 48

(v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding lace curtains.) 2. (v.)to add details to, enhance (When Harry told me that he had “done stuff” on his vacation, I asked him to embellish upon his account.)

Question 49

embezzle

Answer 49

(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company’s funds.)

Question 50

emend

Answer 50

(v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will emend what I have written.)

Question 51

eminent

Answer 51

(adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj. conspicuous (There is an eminent stain on that shirt.)

Question 52

emollient

Answer 52

(adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

Question 53

emote

Answer 53

(v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote, or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

Question 54

empathy

Answer 54

(n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such empathy for my sister when she’s in pain that I cry too.)

Question 55

empirical

Answer 55

(adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.) 2. (adj. capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.)

Question 56

emulate

Answer 56

(v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.)

Question 57

enamor

Answer 57

(v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by “of” or “with” (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

Question 58

encore

Answer 58

(n.) the audience’s demand for a repeat performance; also the artist’s performance in response to that demand (At the end of the concert, all the fans yelled, “Encore! Encore!” but the band did not come out to play again.)

Question 59

encumber

Answer 59

(v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

Question 60

enervate

Answer 60

(v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

Question 61

enfranchise

Answer 61

(v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women.)

Question 62

engender

Answer 62

(v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

Question 63

enigmatic

Answer 63

(adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

Question 64

enmity

Answer 64

(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

Question 65

ennui

Answer 65

(n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui that I don’t look forward to anything, not even my birthday party.)

Question 66

entail

Answer 66

(v.) to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)

Question 67

enthrall

Answer 67

(v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

Question 68

ephemeral

Answer 68

(adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she’d love me forever, but her “forever” was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

Question 69

epistolary

Answer 69

(adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,” because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day.)

Question 70

epitome

Answer 70

(n.) a perfect example, embodiment (My mother, the epitome of good taste, always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

Question 71

equanimity

Answer 71

(n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

Question 72

equivocal

Answer 72

(adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn’t know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

Question 73

erudite

Answer 73

(adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

Question 74

eschew

Answer 74

(v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

Question 75

esoteric

Answer 75

(adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students cannot understand the physicist’s esoteric theories.)

Question 76

espouse

Answer 76

(v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal rights.)

Question 77

ethereal

Answer 77

(adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

Question 78

etymology

Answer 78

(n.) the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of etymology, I know that the word “quixotic” derives from Don Quixote and the word “gaudy” refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

Question 79

euphoric

Answer 79

(adj.) elated, uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had given birth to twins.)

Question 80

evanescent

Answer 80

(adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

Question 81

evince

Answer 81

(v.) to show, reveal (Christopher’s hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

Question 82

exacerbate

Answer 82

(v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

Question 83

exalt

Answer 83

(v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most.)

Question 84

exasperate

Answer 84

(v.) to irritate, irk (George’s endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

Question 85

excavate

Answer 85

(v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh’s treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

Question 86

exculpate

Answer 86

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

Question 87

excursion

Answer 87

(n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

Question 88

execrable

Answer 88

(adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.)

Question 89

exhort

Answer 89

(v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university’s hiring policies.)

Question 90

exigent

Answer 90

(adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

Question 91

exonerate

Answer 91

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief’s confession exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

Question 92

exorbitant

Answer 92

(adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

Question 93

expedient

Answer 93

(adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one’s self-interest (In his bid for reelection, the governor made an expedient move by tabling all controversial legislation.)

Question 94

expiate

Answer 94

(v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

Question 95

expunge

Answer 95

(v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

Question 96

expurgate

Answer 96

(v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

Question 97

extant

Answer 97

(adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother’s extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

Question 98

extol

Answer 98

(v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat- loving brother.)

Question 99

extraneous

Answer 99

(adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

Question 100

extricate

Answer 100

(v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

Question 101

exult

Answer 101

(v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school’s halls.)