Vocabulary builder B

476	Baconian	adj.	Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon or his system of philosophy.
477	bacterium	n.	A microbe.
478	badger	v.	To pester.
479	baffle	v.	To foil or frustrate.
480	bailiff	n.	An officer of court having custody of prisoners under arraignment.
481	baize	n.	A single-colored napped woolen fabric used for table-covers, curtains, etc.
482	bale	n.	A large package prepared for transportation or storage.
483	baleful	adj.	Malignant.
484	ballad	n.	Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.
485	balsam	n.	A medical preparation, aromatic and oily, used for healing.
486	banal	adj.	Commonplace.
487	barcarole	n.	A boat-song of Venetian gondoliers.
488	barograph	n.	An instrument that registers graphically and continuously the atmospheric pressure.
489	barometer	n.	An instrument for indicating the atmospheric pressure per unit of surface.
490	barring	prep.	Apart from.
491	baritone	adj.	Having a register higher than bass and lower than tenor.
492	bask	v.	To make warm by genial heat.
493	bass	adj.	Low in tone or compass.
494	baste	v.	To cover with melted fat, gravy, while cooking.
495	baton	n.	An official staff borne either as a weapon or as an emblem of authority or privilege.
496	battalion	n.	A body of infantry composed of two or more companies, forming a part of a regiment.
497	batten	n.	A narrow strip of wood.
498	batter	n.	A thick liquid mixture of two or more materials beaten together, to be used in cookery.
499	bauble	n.	A trinket.
500	bawl	v.	To proclaim by outcry.
501	beatify	v.	To make supremely happy.
502	beatitude	n.	Any state of great happiness.
503	beau	n.	An escort or lover.
504	becalm	v.	To make quiet.
505	beck	v.	To give a signal to, by nod or gesture.
506	bedaub	v.	To smear over, as with something oily or sticky.
507	bedeck	v.	To cover with ornament.
508	bedlam	n.	Madhouse.
509	befog	v.	To confuse.
510	befriend	v.	To be a friend to, especially when in need.
511	beget	v.	To produce by sexual generation.
512	begrudge	v.	To envy one of the possession of.
513	belate	v.	To delay past the proper hour.
514	belay	v.	To make fast, as a rope, by winding round a cleat.
515	belie	v.	To misrepresent.
516	believe	v.	To accept as true on the testimony or authority of others.
517	belittle	v.	To disparage.
518	belle	n.	A woman who is a center of attraction because of her beauty, accomplishments, etc.
519	bellicose	adj.	Warlike.
520	belligerent	adj.	Manifesting a warlike spirit.
521	bemoan	v.	To lament
522	benediction	n.	a solemn invocation of the divine blessing.
523	benefactor	n.	A doer of kindly and charitable acts.
524	benefice	n.	A church office endowed with funds or property for the maintenance of divine service.
525	beneficent	adj.	Characterized by charity and kindness.
526	beneficial	adj.	Helpful.
527	beneficiary	n.	One who is lawfully entitled to the profits and proceeds of an estate or property.
528	benefit	n.	Helpful result.
529	benevolence	n.	Any act of kindness or well-doing.
530	benevolent	adj.	Loving others and actively desirous of their well-being.
531	benign	adj.	Good and kind of heart.
532	benignant	adj.	Benevolent in feeling, character, or aspect.
533	benignity	n.	Kindness of feeling, disposition, or manner.
534	benison	n.	Blessing.
535	bequeath	v.	To give by will.
536	bereave	v.	To make desolate with loneliness and grief.
537	berth	n.	A bunk or bed in a vessel, sleeping-car, etc.
538	beseech	v.	To implore.
539	beset	v.	To attack on all sides.
540	besmear	v.	To smear over, as with any oily or sticky substance.
541	bestial	adj.	Animal.
542	bestrew	v.	To sprinkle or cover with things strewn.
543	bestride	v.	To get or sit upon astride, as a horse.
544	bethink	v.	To remind oneself.
545	betide	v.	To happen to or befall.
546	betimes	adv.	In good season or time.
547	betroth	v.	To engage to marry.
548	betrothal	n.	Engagement to marry.
549	bevel	n.	Any inclination of two surfaces other than 90 degrees.
550	bewilder	v.	To confuse the perceptions or judgment of.
551	bibliomania	n.	The passion for collecting books.
552	bibliography	n.	A list of the words of an author, or the literature bearing on a particular subject.
553	bibliophile	n.	One who loves books.
554	bibulous	adj.	Fond of drinking.
555	bide	v.	To await.
556	biennial	n.	A plant that produces leaves and roots the first year and flowers and fruit the second.
557	bier	n.	A horizontal framework with two handles at each end for carrying a corpse to the grave.
558	bigamist	n.	One who has two spouses at the same time.
559	bigamy	n.	The crime of marrying any other person while having a legal spouse living.
560	bight	n.	A slightly receding bay between headlands, formed by a long curve of a coast-line.
561	bilateral	adj.	Two-sided.
562	bilingual	adj.	Speaking two languages.
563	biograph	n.	A bibliographical sketch or notice.
564	biography	n.	A written account of one's life, actions, and character.
565	biology	n.	The science of life or living organisms.
566	biped	n.	An animal having two feet.
567	birthright	n.	A privilege or possession into which one is born.
568	bitterness	n.	Acridity, as to the taste.
569	blase	adj.	Sated with pleasure.
570	blaspheme	v.	To indulge in profane oaths.
571	blatant	adj.	Noisily or offensively loud or clamorous.
572	blaze	n.	A vivid glowing flame.
573	blazon	v.	To make widely or generally known.
574	bleak	adj.	Desolate.
575	blemish	n.	A mark that mars beauty.
576	blithe	adj.	Joyous.
577	blithesome	adj.	Cheerful.
578	blockade	n.	The shutting up of a town, a frontier, or a line of coast by hostile forces.
579	boatswain	n.	A subordinate officer of a vessel, who has general charge of the rigging, anchors, etc.
580	bodice	n.	A women's ornamental corset-shaped laced waist.
581	bodily	adj.	Corporeal.
582	boisterous	adj.	Unchecked merriment or animal spirits.
583	bole	n.	The trunk or body of a tree.
584	bolero	n.	A Spanish dance, illustrative of the passion of love, accompanied by caste nets and singing.
585	boll	n.	A round pod or seed-capsule, as a flax or cotton.
586	bolster	v.	To support, as something wrong.
587	bomb	n.	A hollow projectile containing an explosive material.
588	bombard	v.	To assail with any missile or with abusive speech.
589	bombardier	n.	A person who has charge of mortars, bombs, and shells.
590	bombast	n.	Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects.
591	boorish	adj.	Rude.
592	bore	v.	To weary by tediousness or dullness.
593	borough	n.	An incorporated village or town.
594	bosom	n.	The breast or the upper front of the thorax of a human being, especially of a woman.
595	botanical	adj.	Connected with the study or cultivation of plants.
596	botanize	v.	To study plant-life.
597	botany	n.	The science that treats of plants.
598	bountiful	adj.	Showing abundance.
599	Bowdlerize	v.	To expurgate in editing (a literary composition) by omitting words or passages.
600	bowler	n.	In cricket, the player who delivers the ball.
601	boycott	v.	To place the products or merchandise of under a ban.
602	brae	n.	Hillside.
603	braggart	n.	A vain boaster.
604	brandish	v.	To wave, shake, or flourish triumphantly or defiantly, as a sword or spear.
605	bravado	n.	An aggressive display of boldness.
606	bravo	interj.	Well done.
607	bray	n.	A loud harsh sound, as the cry of an ass or the blast of a horn.
608	braze	v.	To make of or ornament with brass.
609	brazier	n.	An open pan or basin for holding live coals.
610	breach	n.	The violation of official duty, lawful right, or a legal obligation.
611	breaker	n.	One who trains horses, dogs, etc.
612	breech	n.	The buttocks.
613	brethren	n.	pl. Members of a brotherhood, gild, profession, association, or the like.
614	brevity	n.	Shortness of duration.
615	bric-a-brac	n.	Objects of curiosity or for decoration.
616	bridle	n.	The head-harness of a horse consisting of a head-stall, a bit, and the reins.
617	brigade	n.	A body of troops consisting of two or more regiments.
618	brigadier	n.	General officer who commands a brigade, ranking between a colonel and a major-general.
619	brigand	n.	One who lives by robbery and plunder.
620	brimstone	n.	Sulfur.
621	brine	n.	Water saturated with salt.
622	bristle	n.	One of the coarse, stiff hairs of swine: used in brush-making, etc.
623	Britannia	n.	The United Kingdom of Great Britain.
624	Briticism	n.	A word, idiom, or phrase characteristic of Great Britain or the British.
625	brittle	adj.	Fragile.
626	broach	v.	To mention, for the first time.
627	broadcast	adj.	Disseminated far and wide.
628	brogan	n.	A coarse, heavy shoe.
629	brogue	n.	Any dialectic pronunciation of English, especially that of the Irish people.
630	brokerage	n.	The business of making sales and purchases for a commission; a broker.
631	bromine	n.	A dark reddish-brown, non-metallic liquid element with a suffocating odor.
632	bronchitis	n.	Inflammation of the bronchial tubes.
633	bronchus	n.	Either of the two subdivisions of the trachea conveying air into the lungs.
634	brooch	n.	An article of jewelry fastened by a hinged pin and hook on the underside.
635	brotherhood	n.	Spiritual or social fellowship or solidarity.
636	browbeat	v.	To overwhelm, or attempt to do so, by stern, haughty, or rude address or manner.
637	brusque	adj.	Somewhat rough or rude in manner or speech.
638	buffoon	n.	A clown.
639	buffoonery	n.	Low drollery, coarse jokes, etc.
640	bulbous	adj.	Of, or pertaining to, or like a bulb.
641	bullock	n.	An ox.
642	bulrush	n.	Any one of various tall rush-like plants growing in damp ground or water.
643	bulwark	n.	Anything that gives security or defense.
644	bumper	n.	A cup or glass filled to the brim, especially one to be drunk as a toast or health.
645	bumptious	adj.	Full of offensive and aggressive self-conceit.
646	bungle	v.	To execute clumsily.
647	buoyancy	n.	Power or tendency to float on or in a liquid or gas.
648	buoyant	adj.	Having the power or tendency to float or keep afloat.
649	bureau	n.	A chest of drawers for clothing, etc.
650	bureaucracy	n.	Government by departments of men transacting particular branches of public business.
651	burgess	n.	In colonial times, a member of the lower house of the legislature of Maryland or Virginia.
652	burgher	n.	An inhabitant, citizen or freeman of a borough burgh, or corporate town.
653	burnish	v.	To make brilliant or shining.
654	bursar	n.	A treasurer.
655	bustle	v.	To hurry.
656	butt	v.	To strike with or as with the head, or horns.
657	butte	n.	A conspicuous hill, low mountain, or natural turret, generally isolated.
658	buttress	n.	Any support or prop.
659	by-law	n.	A rule or law adopted by an association, a corporation, or the like.