Book3 Flashcards
(200 cards)
1
Q
barrister
A
counselor-at-law or lawyer in the higher court of law; CF. bar
2
Q
solicitor
A
lawyer in the lower court of law
3
Q
barterer
A
trader; V. barter: trade; exchange good for other goods rather than money
4
Q
bask
A
luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth
5
Q
luxuriate
A
take pleasure in great comfort
6
Q
bastion
A
stronghold; something seen as a source of protection; Ex. the last bastion of male chauvinism
7
Q
bate
A
let down; lessen the force of; moderate; restrain; Ex. with bated breath; CF. abate
8
Q
bauble
A
trinket; cheap jewel; trifle
9
Q
bawdy
A
indecent; obscene; about sex in a rude funny way; CF. bawd
10
Q
beatific
A
giving or showing bliss; blissful
11
Q
bliss
A
complete happiness; ADJ. blissful
12
Q
beatitude
A
blessedness; state of great happiness
13
Q
mystic
A
of hidden meaning and spiritual power; Ex. mystic ceremonies; N. CF. mysticism
14
Q
bedizen
A
dress with vulgar finery
15
Q
finery
A
beautiful clothes for a special occasion
16
Q
bedraggle
A
wet thoroughly; ADJ. bedraggled: draggled
17
Q
beeline
A
direct quick route
18
Q
befuddle
A
confuse thoroughly
19
Q
fuddle
A
make stupid or confused as with alcholic drink; N. in a fuddle: confused
20
Q
beget
A
father; become the father of; produce; give rise to
21
Q
begrudge
A
envy; give or allow unwillingly; grudge; Ex. We shouldn’t begrudge him his success.
22
Q
grudge
A
deep feeling of dislike; Ex. grudge fight; V.
23
Q
beguile
A
deceive; mislead or delude; cheat; pass time pleasantly; charm or attract; Ex. beguiling smile
24
Q
behemoth
A
huge creature; something of monstrous size or power
25
beholden
obligated; indebted; owing thanks; obliged or indebted from gratitude
26
behoove(behove)
be suited to; be incumbent upon; be right and necessary; Ex. It behooves one to do.
27
belabor
harp on; dwell on tediously; explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally; beat severely; attack physically
28
belated
delayed
29
beleaguer
besiege or attack (with an army); harass; beset
30
belie
contradict; give a false impression; disguise; Ex. The poor sales belied our high hopes; Ex. Her smile belies her true feeling of displeasure.
31
belittle
disparage; depreciate
32
bellicose
warlike
33
belligerent
quarrelsome
34
bemoan
lament; moan for; express sorrow or disapproval of
35
bemused
confused; lost in thought; preoccupied
36
benediction
blessing
37
benefactor
gift giver; patron; person who does good or who gives money for a good purpose
38
beneficent
kindly; doing good
39
beneficial
helpful; useful; advantageous
40
beneficiary
person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will
41
benefit
advantage; anything that brings helpl, advantage, or profit; money provided by the government to the people; fund-raising public entertainment; Ex. unemployment benefit; V: receive benefits; be beneficial to; give benefits
42
benevolent
generous; charitable; having a wish to do good
43
benign
kindly; favorable; not malignant (disease); Ex. benign tumor
44
benison
blessing
45
bent
determined; Ex. bent on advancing in the business; N: natural talent or inclination
46
bequeath
leave to someone by means of a will; hand down in his will; N. bequest
47
berate
scold strongly
48
bereavement
state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved; state of being bereaved or bereft
49
bereaved
deprived of (someone beloved through death)
50
bereft
deprived of (something valuable); lacking
51
berserk
mad with violent anger; frenzied; madly excited
52
beseech
beg; plead with
53
beset
harass or trouble from all directions; hem in
54
hem
surround tightly so that movement is impossible; Ex. hem in; N.
55
besiege
surround with armed forces; harass (with requests); annoy continually
56
besmirch
soil; defile; make dirty
57
bestial
beastlike; brutal; inhuman; very cruel
58
bestow
confer
59
betoken
signify; indicate; be a sign of
60
token
outward sign; Ex. a token of our gratitude
61
betray
be unfaithful; reveal (unconsciously or unwillingly); Ex. Her trembling hands betray her anxiety.
62
betroth
become engaged to marry
63
bevy
large group; Ex. a bevy of starlets
64
bicameral
two-chambered as a legislative body
65
bicker
quarrel
66
biennial
every two years
67
bifurcated
divided into two branches; forked
68
bigotry
stubborn intolerance
69
bigot
one who is intolerant (in matters of religion or politics)
70
intolerant
not willing to accept ways of thinking different from one's own; CF. tolerant; CF. tolerate
71
bilious
suffering from indigestion; sick from having too much bile; irritable; easily irritated
72
bilk
swindle; cheat
73
billowing
swelling out in waves; surging
74
billow
large wave of water; a great swell or surge (of smoke); V: surge, swell, roll in billows
75
swell
long wave of water that moves continuously without breaking; V.
76
surge
powerful movement of or like a wave; V.
77
bivouac
temporary encampment; camp without tents; V.
78
bizarre
fantastic; violently contrasting; noticeably odd; strikingly unconventional
79
blanch
bleach; whiten; make white or pale
80
bland
soothing or mild (food); agreeable; causing no trouble or offence
81
blandishment
flattery
82
blare
loud or harsh roar or screech; dazzling blaze of light
83
screech
unpleasant high sharp sound; shriek; V.
84
dazzle
make blind with a sudden intense light; amaze; fill with wonder
85
blasé
bored with pleasure or dissipation; uninterested or bored
86
blasphemy
irreverence; sacrilege; cursing; bad language about God or holy things; V. blasphem; ADJ. blasphemous; CF. sacrilege
87
blatant
extremely (offensively) obvious; loudly offensive; Ex. blatant lie; N. blatancy
88
bleak
cold or cheerless; frigid; unlikely to be favorable; depressing
89
blighted
suffering from a disease; destroyed
90
blight
plant disease; V: infect with blight; ruin; destroy
91
blithe(blithesome)
gay; joyous
92
bloated
(unpleasantly) swollen or puffed as with water or air
93
blowhard
talkative boaster; braggart
94
bludgeon
club; heavy-headed weapon; V.
95
bluff
pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff; ADJ: rough but good-natured
96
blunder
error; stupid mistake
97
blurt
utter impulsively from nervousness or excitement
98
bluster
blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully; speak in a noisy or bullying manner; CF. breeze, gust, gale
99
bully
one who is habitually cruel to weaker people; V.
100
bode
foreshadow; portend
101
bogus
counterfeit; not authentic; intentionally false; Ex. bogus interview
102
bohemian
unconventional (in an artistic way)
103
boisterous
violent; rough; noisy
104
bolster
support; reinforce
105
bolt
door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric; large roll of cloth; V: dash or dart off; fasten (a door); gobble down
106
dart
move or throw suddenly and quickly
107
gobble
eat very quickly
108
bombardment
attack (as with missiles or bombs); V. bombard
109
bombastic
pompous; using inflated language
110
bombast
grandiloquent, pompous speech
111
boon
blessing; benefit; something very helpful
112
boorish
rude; insensitive
113
boor
rude, insensitive person
114
bouillon
clear beef (or meat) soup
115
bountiful
generous; graciously generous; showing bounty
116
gracious
kind in a generous way (to someone less important)
117
bourgeois
middle class; selfishly materialistic; too interested in material possessions
118
bovine
cowlike; placid and dull; slow-thinking; calm
119
bowdlerize
expurgate; CF. Thomas Bowdler
120
brackish
somewhat saline
121
braggadocio
boasting
122
brag
boast
123
braggart
boaster; bragger
124
brandish
wave around (a weapon); flourish
125
bravado
swagger; assumed air of defiance; false show of bravery
126
swagger
walk or behave with an over-confident manner
127
brawn
human muscle; muscular strength; sturdiness
128
brawny
muscular; having well-developed muscles
129
sturdy
strong and firm (in the body)
130
brazen
insolent; without shame; bold; Ex. brazen lie; V: face with bold self-assurance or with unshamed confidence
131
brawl
noisy quarrel
132
breach
breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap; opening; V.
133
breadth
width; extent
134
brevity
conciseness; shortness of duration
135
brindled
tawny or grayish with streaks or spots (of animals)
136
tawny
brownish yellow
137
bristling
rising like bristles; showing irritation
138
bristle
short stiff hair; V: (hair or fur) stand up stiffly
139
brittle
hard but easily broken; difficult; unstable; Ex. brittle situation
140
broach
introduce as a subject; moot; open up
141
brocade
rich, figured(patterned) fabric
142
brochure
pamphlet
143
brooch
ornamental clasp; pin
144
clasp
hold firmly within arms
145
brook
tolerate; endure; Ex. brook no interference; N: small stream
146
browbeat
bully; intimidate
147
browse
graze; feed on growing grass; skim or glance at casually
148
graze
(of an animal) feed on growing grass; cause (an animal) to feed on grass; scrape (esp. the skin) or touch lightly in passing; brush; Ex. We can't graze the cattle till summer; N: surface wound
149
skim
read or glance through quickly; touch lightly in passing; brush; remove from the surface of a liquid
150
brunt
main impact or shock (of an attack or blow); Ex. brunt of the argument
151
brusque
blunt; abrupt; curt; not wanting to waste time being nice
152
buccaneer
pirate
153
bucolic
rustic; pastoral
154
buffet
strike forcefully; slap; batter; knock out; N: table with food set out for people to server themselves; meal at which people help themselves to food that's been set
155
slap
hit quickly with the flat part of the hand; N. CF. smack
156
buffoonery
clowning
157
buffoon
stupid person; clown
158
clown
act stupidly; play the fool; N.
159
bugaboo
bugbear; object of baseless terror
160
bullion
gold and silver in the form of bars
161
bulwark
strong wall built for defense; earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends
162
bungle
mismanage; blunder; botch; blow; spoil by clumsy behavior
163
botch
mismanage; blow
164
buoyant
able to float; cheerful and optimistic; N. buoyancy; Ex. buoyancy of wood/water/American market
165
bureaucracy
overregulated administrative system marked by red tape; ADJ. bureaucratic
166
burgeon
grow rapidly; grow forth; send out buds; Ex. burgeoning computer industry; CF. bludgeon
167
burlesque
give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly
168
burnish
make shiny by rubbing; polish
169
buttress
support; prop up; N. stationary structure to support wall; Ex. flying buttress
170
prop
support placed under or against something; V.
171
buxom
full-bosomed; plump; jolly
172
plump
pleasantly fat; nicely rounded
173
cabal
small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests
174
cache
hiding place; V.
175
cacophonous
discordant; inharmonious; N. cacophony: unpleasant mixture of loud sounds
176
cadaver
corpse; dead human body
177
cadaverous
like a corpse; pale
178
cadence
rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat; regular beat of sound; rhythm
179
cajole
persuade by praise or false promise; coax; wheedle
180
coax
persuade by flattery
181
calamity
disaster; misery
182
calculated
deliberately planned; likely
183
caldron(cauldron)
large kettle
184
caliber
ability; quality; diameter of the inside of a round cylinder; Ex. work of very high caliber
185
calligraphy
beautiful writing; excellent penmanship
186
callous
hardened; unfeeling; without sympathy for the sufferings of others; unkind
187
callus
area of thick hard skin
188
callow
youthful; immature; inexperienced
189
calorific
heat-producing; N. calorie
190
calumny
malicious misrepresentation; slander
191
camaraderie
good-fellowship; CF. comrade
192
cameo
shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film
193
canard
unfounded false rumor; exaggerated false report
194
candor
frankness; open honesty; ADJ. candid
195
canine
related to dogs; doglike
196
canker
any ulcerous sore; ulcer; any evil; CF. cancer
197
ulcer
sore place appearing on the skin inside or outside the body; Ex. stomach ulcer; ADJ. ulcerous; V. ulcerate
198
canny
shrewd in money matters; thrifty
199
cant
insincere speech or expression of piety; jargon of thieves; special words used by a particular group of people
200
cantankerous
ill-humored; irritable
