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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > B > Flashcards

B Flashcards

(91 cards)

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1
Q

bacchanalian

A

adj. pertaining to riotous or drunken festivity

The secretive club’s bacchanalian celebrations have attracted the interest of the local authorities.

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2
Q

baleful

A

adj. harmful

Some people believe that the moon can exert a baleful influence on people.

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3
Q

balk

A

v. to refuse

The student balked when the teacher asked him to rewrite his essay.

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4
Q

ballad

A

n. folk song, narrative poem

The performer sang a ballad telling the story of a runaway slave.

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5
Q

banal

A

adj. commonplace; trite

Many comedies employ the same banal situations.

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6
Q

bane

A

n. something causing death or destruction

Weapons of mass destruction are one of the great banes of the modern world.

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7
Q

banter

A

n. playful conversation

“OK, cut the banter and get back to work,” the foreman shouted to the workers as their break was ending.

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8
Q

barbarous

A

adj. uncivilized; lacking refinement

War sometimes shows that human beings are capable of barbarous behavior.

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9
Q

bard

A

n. poet

Many famous bards have been Poet Laureates of Britain.

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10
Q

baroque

A

adj. highly ornate

The hotel where I stayed in Paris was too baroque for my taste; I prefer a simple style.

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11
Q

bastion

A

n. fortification

Many people regard Australia as a bastion of democracy.

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12
Q

bawdy

A

adj. obscene

Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders is a bawdy eighteenth-century novel.

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13
Q

bedevil

A

v. plague; annoy; spoil

The new car model was bedeviled by so many problems that the manufacturer withdrew it from production.

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14
Q

bedizen

A

v. to dress in a showy, vulgar manner

The old actress was bedizened with costume jewelry.

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15
Q

beguile

A

v. to deceive, mislead; to charm or delight

We were so beguiled by the car’s appearance that we neglected to consider whether it was really suitable.

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16
Q

behaviorism

A

n. a school of psychology that studies only observable and measurable behavior

Psychologists who subscribe to the tenets of behaviorism believe that behavior can be explained without recourse to hypothetical constructs such as mind.

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17
Q

behemoth

A

n. huge creature; anything very large and powerful

Modern aircraft carriers are behemoths with a crew the size of a small town.

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18
Q

belabor

A

v. to insist repeatedly; harp on

The English teacher belabored the point that students must write in full sentences.

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19
Q

belated

A

adj. to late

I sent my wife a belated birthday card.

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20
Q

beleaguer

A

v. to harass

The army, beleaguered by enemy troops, was forced to surrender.

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21
Q

belie

A

v. to misrepresent

Jim’s tough appearance belies his soft heart.

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22
Q

belittle

A

v. to disparage; mark

Joe’s efforts to get a perfect GRE score were belittled, but no one was laughing when he got a perfect score.

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23
Q

bellicosity

A

v. condition of being warlike or aggressive

The increased bellicosity of nations in the region worried experts at the United Nations.

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24
Q

belligerence

A

n. hostility, tendency to fight

The student’s belligerence was always getting him into fights.

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25
bemuse
v. to confuse The class was bemused by the new teacher's vague directions.
26
benefactor
n. patron; one who helps others Judy discovered that a wealthy benefactor was going to pay for her college education.
27
beneficent
adj. kindly; doing good The billionaire is admired for his beneficent charitable contributions.
28
benevolent
adj. generous; charitable The benevolent billionaire donated half of his fortune to charity.
29
benighted
adj. unenlightened The poor benighted country had little success in its efforts to develop.
30
benign
adj. harmless, kind Shari was relieved when the doctor said her tumor was benign.
31
bequeath
v. to hand down Mr. Ford will bequeath all of his possessions to his wife.
32
berate
v. to scold The teacher berated the student for not handing in her homework in time.
33
beseech
v. to beg, plead The hostage beseeched his captors to release him.
34
bestial
adj. beastly Many bestial acts were committed during the war.
35
bestow
v. to give as a gift It is customary to bestow gifts on family and friends at Christmas.
36
bête noir
n. something especially dreaded or hated The novelist described mathematics as the bête noir of his childhood years.
37
betoken
v. to indicate, signify A wedding ring betokens the union of two people in marriage.
38
bevy
n. group A bevy of cheerleaders gathered around the quarterback after the football game.
39
bias
n. prejudice A teacher should treat students without bias.
40
bibliophile
n. book lover The bibliophile has a collection of over 20,000 books.
41
bicameral
adj. composed of two legislative branches The U.S. Congress is a bicameral body consisting of the senate and the House of Representatives.
42
bifurcate
v. to divide into two parts Let's bifurcate this apple so we can share it evenly.
43
bigotry
n. intolerance One definition of education is the process of losing our bigotry and becoming more accepting of others and their views.
44
bilateral
ad. two-sided The two countries have started bilateral talks about the dispute.
45
binary
adj. relating to something made of or based on two things or parts A binary star is a system of two stars that revolve about their common center of mass.
46
biomass
n. the amount of living matter in a unit area of a habitat; plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel Biomass is derived from five sources: garbage, waste, wood, landfill gases, and alcohol fuels.
47
bipartisan
adj. supported by two political parties The president is working to build bipartisan support for the plan.
48
biped
n. two-footed animal Human beings are bipeds.
49
bivouac
n. a temporary encampment The major ordered the battalion to make a bivouac in the park.
50
bizarre
adj. strikingly unusual; fantastic Dreams sometimes have bizarre events that could not occur in reality.
51
blandishment
n. flattery The retired couple couldn't resist the blandishments of the glossy travel brochure.
52
blasé
adj. bored because of frequent indulgence; unconcerned The veteran movie stuntman has became blasé about his work.
53
blasphemy
n. profanity, irreverence The suggestion that schools be abolished was considered blasphemy by the teacher's union.
54
blatant
adj. glaring, obvious First, eliminate blatant errors from your writing; then, worry about the small ones.
55
bleak
adj. cheerless; unlikely to be favorable People with little education often face a bleak future.
56
blight
n. affliction Researchers are studying the causes of the potato blight.
57
blithe
adj. joyful, cheerful; carefree In her youth Karen was a blithe spirit, but as she grew older she became more serious.
58
blitzkrieg
n. a swift, sudden military offensive, usually by combined air and mobile land forces Careful planning must be done to launch a successful blitzkrieg.
59
bludgeon
v. to hit The referee stopped the bout after one boxer began to bludgeon his opponent mercilessly.
60
bohemian
adj. unconventional in an artistic way The bohemian area of the tour attracted many artists, writers, and musicians.
61
boisterous
adj. rowdy, unrestrained The Red Sox fans became boisterous after their team won the World Series.
62
bolster
v. to give a boost to; prop up; support Many famous men were bolstered in their careers by the support of their wives.
63
bombastic
adj. pompous; using inflated language The audience was bored by the long, bombastic speech.
64
bona fide
adj. good faith, sincere, authentic "I expected each of you to make a bona fide effort in this class," the teacher told the class.
65
bonanza
n. large amount The oil company spent years drilling for oil hoping to find a bonanza -- a lost store of crude oil.
66
bonhomie
n. atmosphere of good cheer Dad and Mom like dinner to be filled with bonhomie.
67
boon
n. blessing Summer vacation is an extra week long this year -- what a boon!
68
boorish
adj. rude; insensitive Everyone avoids the boorish guy.
69
botanist
n. scientist who studies plants The botanist discovered a plant with the power to relieve pain.
70
bountiful
adj. plentiful The bountiful harvest means that we'll have plenty to eat this year.
71
bourgeois
adj. typical of the middle class The artist denounced his critics as bourgeois fools.
72
bourgeoisie
n. the middle class Television generally reflects the tastes of the bourgeoisie.
73
bovine
adj. cow-like Asked to describe the students walking slowly to the auditorium the English teacher said, "Bovine."
74
Brahmanism
n. Hinduism, the religious beliefs and practices of ancient India as reflected in the Vedas The scholar is studying monistic tendencies in the Rigveda, one of Brahminism's sacred books.
75
Brahmin
n. a member of a cultural and social elite The poet T.S. Eliot was a member of a well-known family of Boston Brahmins, the Eliots.
76
brazen
adj. bold, shameless The brazen girl locked her parents out of the house after being scolded for lying.
77
breach
n. violation "One more breach of school rules and you're out of here," the principal told the student.
78
brigand
n. outlaw Some brigands like Jesse James are romanticized in books and films.
79
broach
v. to mention for the first time Jason decided that he would broach the subject of marriage to his girlfriend over dinner.
80
bromide
n. a commonplace remark; a platitude The politician's speech is filled with bromides.
81
brusque
adj. abrupt in manner Although Professor Robinson is brusque with student, he always has their best interest at heart.
82
bucolic
adj. characteristic of the countryside; rustic; pastoral The inn's bucolic setting makes it a popular weekend retreat for city people.
83
buffoon
n. clown Why is it that every class in school has a buffoon?
84
bulwark
n. something serving as a defense U.S. military bases in South Korea are bulwarks against invasion by North Korea.
85
bureaucracy
n. government administration; management marked by diffused authority and inflexibility Modern democracies require vast bureaucracies to carry out the many functions of government.
86
bureaucratic
adj. rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure Fed up with bureaucratic delays, the customer sent an e-mail to the president of the company.
87
burgeon
v. to flourish, grow China's burgeoning population is putting severe strain on its natural resources.
88
burly
adj. brawny, husky The burly bouncer threw Billy out of the club for starting a fight.
89
burnish
v. to polish The soldier proudly burnished his medals.
90
bustle
n. commotion Raised on a farm, Jim isn't used to the bustle of a big city.
91
buttress
v. to reinforce, support This argument needs to be buttressed with additional evidence.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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