B

Question 1

balk

(v.)

Answer 1

to stop, block abruptly

(Edna’s boss balked at her request for another raise.)

Question 2

ballad

(n.)

Answer 2

a love song

(Greta’s boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their walk through the dark woods.)

Question 3

banal

(adj.)

Answer 3

dull, commonplace

(The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.)

Question 4

bane

(n.)

Answer 4

a burden

(Advanced physics is the bane of many students’ academic lives.)

Question 5

bard

(n.)

Answer 5

a poet, often a singer as well

(Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard
in the history of the English language.)

Question 6

bashful

(adj.)

Answer 6

shy, excessively timid

(Frankie’s mother told him not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party.)

Question 7

battery

(n.)

Answer 7

1. a device that supplies power
2. assault, beating

1. (Most cars run on a combination of power from a battery and gasoline.)
2. (Her husband was accused of assault and battery after he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

Question 8

beguile

(v.)

Answer 8

to trick, deceive

(The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

Question 9

behemoth

(n.)

Answer 9

something of tremendous power or size

(The new aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

Question 10

benevolent

(adj.)

Answer 10

marked by goodness or doing good

(Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community.)

Question 11

benign

(adj.)

Answer 11

favorable, not threatening, mild

(We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

Question 12

bequeath

(v.)

Answer 12

to pass on, give

(Jon’s father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.)

Question 13

berate

(v.)

Answer 13

to scold vehemently

(The angry boss berated his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

Question 14

bereft

(adj.)

Answer 14

devoid of, without

(His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.)

Question 15

beseech

(v.)

Answer 15

to beg, plead, implore

(The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his starving family.)

Question 16

bias

(n.)

Answer 16

a tendency, inclination, prejudice

(The judge’s hidden bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision.)

Question 17

bilk

(v.)

Answer 17

cheat, defraud

(The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

Question 18

blandish

(v.)

Answer 18

to coax by using flattery

(Rachel’s assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

Question 19

blemish

(n.)

Answer 19

an imperfection, flaw

(The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)

Question 20

blight

(n.)

Answer 20

1. a plague, disease
2. something that destroys hope

1. (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.)
2. (His bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)

Question 21

boisterous

(adj.)

Answer 21

loud and full of energy

(The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterous speeches on television.)

Question 22

bombastic

(adj.)

Answer 22

excessively confident, pompous

(The singer’s bombastic performance disgusted the crowd.)

Question 23

boon

(n.)

Answer 23

a gift or blessing

(The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach.)

Question 24

bourgeois

(n.)

Answer 24

a middle-class person, capitalist

(Many businessmen receive criticism for their bourgeois approach to life.)

Question 25

brazen | (adj.)

Answer 25

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

Question 26

brusque | (adj.)

Answer 26

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

Question 27

buffet | 1.(v.) 2.(n.)

Answer 27

1. to strike with force 2. an arrangement of food set out on a table ## Footnote 1. (The strong winds **buffeted** the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2. (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our **buffet** and ate standing up.)

Question 28

burnish | (v.)

Answer 28

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

Question 29

buttress | 1.(v.) 2.(n.)

Answer 29

1. to support, hold up 2. something that offers support ## Footnote 1. (The column **buttresses** the roof above the statue.) 2. (The **buttress** supports the roof above the statues.)