B Flashcards
Words that start with the letter B
1
Q
Baconian
A
adj. Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon or his system of philosophy
2
Q
Bacterium
A
n. A microbe
3
Q
Badger
A
v. To pester
4
Q
Baffle
A
v. To foil or frustrate
5
Q
Bailiff
A
n. An officer of court having custody of prisoners under arraignment
6
Q
Baize
A
n. A single-colored napped woolen fabric used for table-covers, curtains, etc…
7
Q
Bale
A
n. A large package prepared for transportation or storage
8
Q
Baleful
A
adj. Malignant
9
Q
Ballad
A
n. Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form
10
Q
Balsam
A
n. A medical preparation, aromatic and oily, used for healing
11
Q
Banal
A
adj. Commonplace
12
Q
Carcarole
A
n. A boat-song of Venetian gondoliers
13
Q
Barograph
A
n. An instrument that registers graphically and continuously that atmospheric pressure
14
Q
Barometer
A
n. An instrument for indicating the atmospheric pressure per unit of surface
15
Q
Barring
A
prep. Apart from
16
Q
Baritone
A
adj. Having a register higher than bass and lower than tenor
17
Q
Bask
A
v. To make warm by genial heat
18
Q
Bass
A
adj. Low in tone or compass
19
Q
Baste
A
v. To cover with melted fat, gravy, while cooking
20
Q
Baton
A
n. An official staff borne either as a weapon or as an emblem of authority or privilege
21
Q
Battalion
A
n. A body of infantry composed of two or more companies, forming a part of a regiment
22
Q
Batten
A
n. A narrow strip of wood
23
Q
Batter
A
n. A thick liquid mixture of two or more materials beaten together, to be used in cookery
24
Q
Bauble
A
n. A trinket
25
Bawl
v. To proclaim by outcry
26
Beatify
v. To make supremely happy
27
Beatitude
n. Any state of great happiness
28
Beau
n. An escort or lover
29
Becalm
v. To make quiet
30
Beck
v. To give a signal to, by nod or gesture
31
Bedaub
v. To smear over, as with something oily or sticky
32
Bedeck
v. To cover with ornament
33
Bedlam
n. Madhouse
34
Befog
v. To confuse
35
Befriend
v. To be a friend to, especially when in need
36
Beget
v. To produce by sexual generation
37
Begrudge
v. To envy one of the possession of
38
Belate
v. To delay past the proper hour
39
Belay
v. To make fast, as a rope, by winding round a cleat
40
Belie
v. To misrepresent
41
Believe
v. To accept as true on the testimony or authority of others
42
Belittle
v. To disparage
43
Belle
n. A woman who is a center of attraction because of her beauty, accomplishments, etc...
44
Bellicose
adj. Warlike
45
Belligerent
adj. Manifesting a warlike spirit
46
Bemoan
v. To lament
47
Benediction
n. A solemn invocation of the divine blessing
48
Benefactor
n. A doer of kindly and charitable acts
49
Benefice
n. A church office endowed with funds or properly for the maintenance of divine service
50
Beneficent
adj. Characterized by charity and kindness
51
Beneficial
adj. Helpful
52
Beneficiary
n. One who is lawfully entitled to the profits and proceeds of an estate or property
53
Benefit
n. Helpful result
54
Benevolence
n. Any act of kindness or well-doing
55
Benevolent
adj. Loving others and actively desirous of their well-being
56
Benign
adj. Good and kind of heart
57
Benignant
adj. Benevolent in feeling, character, or aspect
58
Benignity
n. Kindness of feeling, disposition, or manner
59
Benison
n. Blessing
60
Bequeath
v. To give by will
61
Bereave
v. To make desolate with loneliness and grief
62
Berth
n. A bunk or bed in a vessel, sleeping-car, etc...
63
Beseech
v. To implore
64
Beset
v. To attack on all sides
65
Besmear
v. To smear over, as with any oily or sticky substance
66
Bestial
adj. Animal
67
Bestrew
v. To sprinkle or cover with things strewn
68
Bestride
v. To get or sit upon astride, as a horse
69
Bethink
v. To remind oneself
70
Betide
v. To happen to or befall
71
Betimes
adv. In good season or time
72
Betroth
v. To engage to marry
73
Bevel
n. Any inclination of two surfaces other than 90 degrees
74
Bewilder
v. To confuse the preceptions or judment of
75
Bibliomania
n. The passion for collecting books
76
Bibliography
n. A list of the words of an author, or the literature bearing on a particular subject
77
Bibliophile
n. One who loves books
78
Bibulous
adj. Fond of drinking
79
Bide
v. To await
80
Biennial
n. A plant that produces leaves and roots the first year and flowers and fruit the second
81
Bier
n. A horizontal framework with two handles at each end fro carrying a corpse to the grave
82
Bigamist
n. One who has two spouses at the same time
83
Bigamy
n. The crime of marrying any other person while having a legal spouse living
84
Bight
n. A slightly receding bay between headlands, formed by a long curve of a coast-line
85
Bilateral
adj. Two-sided
86
Bilingual
adj. Speaking two languages
87
Biograph
n. A bibliographical sketch or notice
88
Biography
n. A written account of one's life, actions, and characters
89
Biology
n. The science of life or living organisms
90
Biped
n. An animal having two feet
91
Birthright
n. A privilege or possession into which one is born
92
Bitterness
n. Acridity, as to the taste
93
Blasé
adj. Sated with pleasure
94
blaspheme
v. To indulge in profane oaths
95
Blatant
adj. Noisily or offensively loud or clamorous
96
Blaze
n. A vivid glowing flame
97
Blazon
v. To make widely or generally known
98
Bleak
adj. Desolate
99
Blemish
n. A mark that mars beauty
100
Blithe
adj. Joyous
101
Blithesome
adj. Cheerful
102
Blockade
n. The shutting up of a town, a frontier, or a line of coast by hostile forces
103
Boatswain
n. A subordinate officer of a vessel, who has general charge of the rigging, anchors, etc...
104
Bodice
n. A woman's ornamental corset-shaped laced waist
105
Bodily
adj. Corporeal
106
Boisterous
adj. Unchecked merriment or animal spirits
107
Bole
n. The trunk or body of a tree
108
Bolero
n. A Spanish dance, illustrative of the passion of love, accompanied by caste nets and singing
109
Boll
n. A round pod or seed-capsule, as a flax or cotton
110
Bolster
v. To support, as something wrong
111
Bomb
n. A hollow projectile containing an explosive material
112
Bombard
v. To assail with any missile or with abusive speech
113
Bombardier
n. A person who has charge of mortars, bombs, and shells
114
Bombast
n. Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects
115
Boorish
adj. Rude
116
Bore
v. To weary by tediousness or dullness
117
Borough
n. An incorporated village or town
118
Bosom
n. The breast or the upper front of the thorax of a human being, especially of a woman
119
Botanical
adj. Connected with the study or cultivation of plants
120
Botanize
v. To study plant-life
121
Botany
n. The science that treats of plants
122
Bountiful
adj. Showing abundance
123
Bowdlerize
v. To expurgate in editing (a literary composition) by omitting words or passages
124
Bowler
n. In cricket, the player who delivers the ball
125
Boycott
v. To place the products or merchandise of under a ban
126
Brae
n. Hillside
127
Braggart
n. A vain boaster
128
Brandish
v. To wave, shake, or flourish triumphantly or defiantly, as a sword or spear
129
Bravado
n. An aggressive display of boldness
130
Bravo
interj. Well Done
131
Bray
n. A loud harsh sound, as the cry of an ass or the blast of a horn
132
Braze
v. To make of or ornament with brass
133
Brazier
n. An open pan or basin for holding live coals
134
Breach
n. The violation of official duty, lawful right, or a legal obligation
135
Breaker
n. One who trains horses, dogs, etc...
136
Breech
n. The buttocks
137
Brethren
n. pl. Members of a brotherhood, gild, profession, association, or the like
138
Brevity
n. Shortness of duration
139
Bric-a-brac
n. Objects of curiosity or for decoration
140
Bridle
n. The head-harness of a horse consisting of a head-stall, a bit, and the reins
141
Brigade
n. A body of troops consisting of two or more regiments
142
Brigadier
n. General officer who commands a brigade, ranking between a colonel and a major-general
143
Brigand
n. One who lives by robbery and plunder
144
Brimstone
n. Sulfur
145
Brine
n. Water saturated with salt
146
Bristle
n. One of the coarse, stiff hairs of swing; used in brush-making, etc.
147
148
Britannia
n. The United Kingdom of Great Britain
149
Briticism
n. A word, idiom, or phrase characteristic of Great Britain or the British
150
Brittle
adj. Fragile
151
Broach
v. To mention, for the first time
152
Broadcast
adj. Disseminated far and wide
153
Brogan
n. A coarse, heavy shoe
154
Brogue
n. Any dialectic pronunciation of English, especially that of the Irish people
155
Brokerage
n. The business of making sales and purchases for a commission; a broker
156
Bromine
n. A dark reddish-brown, non-metallic liquid element with a suffocating odor
157
Bronchitis
n. Inflammation of the bronchial tubes
158
Bronchus
n. Either of the two subdivisions of the trachea conveying air into the lungs
159
Brooch
n. An article of jewelry fastened by a hinged pin and hook on the underside
160
Brotherhood
n. Spiritual or social fellowship or solidarity
161
Browbeat
v. To overwhelm, or attempt to do so, by stern, haughty, or rude address or manner
162
Brusque
adj. Somewhat rough or rude in manner or speech
163
Buffoon
n. A clown
164
Buffoonery
n. Low drollery, coarse jokes, etc...
165
Bulbous
adj. Of, or pertaining to, or like a bulb
166
Bullock
n. An Ox
167
Bulrush
n. Any one of various tall rusk-like plants growing in damp ground or water
168
Bulwark
n. Anything that gives security or defense
169
Bumper
n. A cup or glass filled to the brim, especially one to be drunk as a toast or health
170
Bumptious
adj. Full of offensive and aggressive self-conceit
171
Bungle
v. To execute clumsily
172
Buoyancy
n. Power or tendency to float on or in a liquid or gas
173
Buoyant
adj. Having the power or tendency to float or keep afloat
174
Bureau
n. A chest of drawers for clothing, etc...
175
Bureaucracy
n. Government by departments of men transacting particular branches of public business
176
Burgess
n. In colonial times, a member of the lower house of the legislature of Maryland or Virginia
177
Burgher
n. An inhabitant, citizen or freeman of a borough burgh, or coroporate town
178
Burnish
v. To amek brillant or shining
179
Bursar
n. A treasurer
180
Bustle
v. To hurry
181
Butt
v. To strike with or as with the head, or horns
182
Butte
n. A conspicuous hill, low mountain, or natural turret, generally isolated
183
Buttress
n. Any support or prop
184
By-law
n. A rule or law adopted by an association, a corporation, or the like
