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GRE Vocab > B > Flashcards

B Flashcards

(81 cards)

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1
Q

Baffling

A

making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe

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2
Q

Baleful

A

harmful; ominous; causing evil

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3
Q

Balk

A
  1. hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking;
  2. thwart or hinder (a plan or person)
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4
Q

Balloon

A
  1. large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air; small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck;
  2. verb: become inflated; ride in a hot air balloon
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5
Q

Banal

A

so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring.

Nor is it his material, which sticks to deft takes on relatively banal subjects like chain stores or hipster attitudes.

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6
Q

Bandy

A

discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly

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7
Q

Baneful

A

causing harm or ruin; pernicious; destructive

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8
Q

Banish

A

send (someone) away from a country or place as an official punishment.

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9
Q

Banter

A

light teasing repartee; verb be silly or tease one another

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10
Q

Barefaced

A

with no effort to conceal

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11
Q

Barrage

A

artificial obstacle built across a river

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12
Q

Barren

A

too poor to produce much or any vegetation; showing no results or achievements; unproductive; bleak or lifeless

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13
Q

Baseness

A

unworthiness by virtue of lacking higher values

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14
Q

Bask

A

enjoy warmth and light

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15
Q

Bearing

A

relation; relevance.

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16
Q

Beatify

A

to bless; make happy or ascribe a virtue to

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17
Q

Bedizen

A

to adorn especially in a cheap showy manner

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18
Q

Befriend

A

act as a friend to (someone) by offering help or support.

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19
Q

Beguile

A
  1. charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way.
  2. trick (someone) into doing something.
  3. help (time) pass pleasantly.
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20
Q

Beholden

A

owing thanks or having a duty to someone in return for help or a service.

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21
Q

Belabor

A

beat hard

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22
Q

Belie

A

(of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict.

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23
Q

Bellicose

A

inclined to fighting

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24
Q

Belligerence

A

hostile or warlike attitude or nature; a natural disposition to be hostile

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25
Bemuse
puzzle, confuse, or bewilder (someone).
26
Benefactor
person who has given help
27
**Benevolence (*adj*. Benevolent)**
wish or activity in doing good
28
Benign
harmless; kind in disposition or manner
29
Benison
blessing
30
Bequest
arrangement to give something at death
31
Berate
scold sharply
32
Bereft
1. deprived of or lacking (something); 2. (of a person) sad and lonely, especially through someone's death or departure
33
Betray
unintentionally reveal; be evidence of.
34
Bewilder
puzzle; confuse
35
Bias
prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
36
Bigot
stubborn; narrow-minded person
37
Bilge
bulge; the protuberance of a cask
38
Bilk
cheat somebody out of what is due, especially money *So-called boiler-rooms, where corrupt brokers **bilked** investors by manipulating stocks, were giving way to insider-trading.*
39
Bizarre
conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
40
Blandishment
flattery intended to persuade
41
Blandness
polite manner; comforting; uninteresting
42
Blasé
bored with pleasure or dissipation
43
Blatant
(of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly.
44
Bleak
unpleasantly cold and damp
45
Blemish
spoil the appearance of (something) that is otherwise aesthetically perfect.
46
Blight
have a severely detrimental effect on.
47
Blithe
1. showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper; 2. carefree and happy and lighthearted
48
Blunder
an embarrassing mistake
49
Blunt
(of a person or remark) uncompromisingly forthright.
50
Board
a stout length of sawn timber
51
Bog
wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation
52
Boggle
(of a person or a person's mind) be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something
53
Bogus
not genuine or true; fake.
54
Boisterous
noisy; restraint
55
Bolster
support or strengthen; prop up.
56
Bombast
pompous or pretentious talk or writing *But he lost his nerve as a coproducer, going for stadium **bombast** instead of the unadorned grit these stories of hard times demand.*
57
Boon
a thing that is helpful or beneficial.
58
**Boorish (*n*. boor)**
crude; rude
59
Braggart
a person who boasts about achievements or possessions.
60
Brandish
wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
61
Brash
self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way
62
Brass
yellow metal (mixing copper and zinc)
63
Breach
1. an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of conduct 2. make a gap in and break through (a wall, barrier, or defense)
64
Brazen
bold and without shame. endure an embarrassing or difficult situation by behaving with apparent confidence and lack of shame.
65
Brevity
concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.
66
Bridle
bring (something) under control; curb.
67
Brisk
quick and energetic
68
Brittle
easily broken
69
Broach
bring up; announce; begin to talk about (a sensitive subject)
70
Brobdingnagian
gigantic
71
Bromide
1. any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs; 2. a trite or obvious remark
72
Brood
hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
73
Brook
to tolerate; endure
74
Brummagem
cheap, showy, or counterfeit
75
Bucolic
relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.
76
Buoyancy
an optimistic and cheerful disposition.
77
Buoyant
able to float; light-hearted
78
Burgeon
grow and flourish
79
Burlesque
a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor
80
Burnish
to polish; rub to a shine
81
Buttress
a support, usually of stone or brick

GRE Vocab (24 decks)

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