Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
96 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
bacchanalian
|
drunken
|
|
|
badinage
|
teasing conversation
|
|
|
bait
|
harrass; tease
|
|
|
baleful
|
threatening; menacing; sinister; foreshadowing evil
|
|
|
balk
|
stop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue
|
|
|
balk
|
(secondary meaning) foil
|
|
|
ballast
|
heavy substance used to add stability or weight
|
|
|
balm
|
something that relieves pain
|
|
|
banal
|
*hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality
|
|
|
bandy
|
discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly
|
|
|
bane
|
curse; cause of ruin
|
|
|
baneful
|
destructive; causing ruin or death
|
|
|
barb
|
sharp projection from fishhook or other object; openly cutting remark
|
|
|
baroque
|
highly ornate
|
|
|
barrage
|
barrier layed down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion
|
|
|
barrister
|
counselor-at-law
|
|
|
bastion
|
stronghold; something seen as a source of protection
|
|
|
bate
|
let down; restrain
|
|
|
bauble
|
trinket; trifle
|
|
|
beatific
|
showing or producing joy; blissful
|
|
|
beatify
|
bless or sanctify; proclaim someone dead to be one of the blessed
|
|
|
beatitude
|
blessedness; state of bliss
|
|
|
bedizen
|
dress with vulgar finery
|
|
|
bedraggle
|
wet thoroughly
|
|
|
beguile
|
mislead or delude; ceat; pass time
|
|
|
behemoth
|
huge creature; something of a monstrous size or power
|
|
|
beholden
|
obligated; indebted
|
|
|
behoove
|
be necessary or proper for; be incumbent upon
|
|
|
belabor
|
explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally
|
|
|
beleaguer
|
besiege or attack; harrass
|
|
|
belie
|
*contradict; give a false impression
|
|
|
bellicose
|
warlike; pugnacious; naturally inclined to fight
|
|
|
belligerent
|
quarrelsome
|
|
|
bemused
|
confused; lost in thought; preoccupied
|
|
|
benediction
|
blessing
|
|
|
benefactor
|
gift giver; patron
|
|
|
beneficent
|
*kindly; doing good
|
|
|
benevolent
|
generous; charitable
|
|
|
benison
|
blessing
|
|
|
bequeath
|
leave to someone by means of a will; hand down
|
|
|
bereavement
|
state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved
|
|
|
bereft
|
deprived of; lacking
|
|
|
beset
|
harrass or trouble; hem in
|
|
|
besiege
|
surround with armed forces; harrass (with requests)
|
|
|
betoken
|
signify; indicate
|
|
|
betroth
|
become engaged to marry
|
|
|
bevy
|
large group
|
|
|
bicameral
|
two-chambered, as a legislative body
|
|
|
biennial
|
every two years
|
|
|
bifurcated
|
divided into two branches; forked
|
|
|
bilious
|
suffering from a liver complaint; peevishly ill humoured
|
|
|
bilk
|
swindle; cheat
|
|
|
bivouac
|
temporary encampent
|
|
|
bland
|
soothing or mild; agreeable
|
|
|
blandish
|
cajole; coax with flattery
|
|
|
blandishment
|
flattery
|
|
|
blasé
|
bored with pleasure or dissipation
|
|
|
blighted
|
suffering from a disease; destroyed
|
|
|
blithe
|
carefree and unconcerned (perhaps foolishly so); cheerful and gay
|
|
|
blowhard
|
talkative boaster
|
|
|
bluff
|
rough but good-natured
|
|
|
bluff
|
(secondary meaning) pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff
|
|
|
bluster
|
blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily
|
|
|
bode
|
foreshadow; portend
|
|
|
bohemian
|
unconventional (in an artistic way)
|
|
|
boisterous
|
violent; rough; noisy
|
|
|
bolster
|
*support; reinforce
|
|
|
bolt
|
door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric
|
|
|
bolt
|
(secondary meaning) dash or dart off; fasten (a door); gobble down
|
|
|
bombastic
|
*pompous; using inflated language
|
|
|
boon
|
blessing; benefit
|
|
|
boorish
|
*rude; insensitive
|
|
|
bovine
|
cowlike; placid and dull
|
|
|
bourgeois
|
middle class; selfishly materialistic; dully conventional
|
|
|
bowdlerize
|
expurgate (clean, remove offensive parts)
|
|
|
braggadocio
|
boasting
|
|
|
brandish
|
wave around; flourish
|
|
|
brindled
|
tawny or grayish with streaks or spots
|
|
|
bristling
|
rising like bristles; showing irritation
|
|
|
broach
|
introduce; open up
|
|
|
brocade
|
rich, figured fabric
|
|
|
brook
|
tolerate; endure
|
|
|
browbeat
|
bully; intimidate
|
|
|
browse
|
graze; skim or glance at casually
|
|
|
brunt
|
main impact or shock
|
|
|
brusque
|
blunt; abrupt
|
|
|
bucolic
|
rustic; pastoral
|
|
|
buffet
|
(secondary meaning; rhymes with Muffett) slap; batter; knock about
|
|
|
bugaboo
|
bugbear; object of baseless terror
|
|
|
bullion
|
gold and silver in the form of bars
|
|
|
bulwark
|
earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends
|
|
|
burgeon
|
*grow forth; send out buds
|
|
|
burlesque
|
give an imitation that ridicules
|
|
|
burnish
|
*make shiny by rubbing; polish
|
|
|
buttress
|
*support; prop up
|
|
|
buxom
|
full-bosomed; plump; jolly
|
