Wordlist B-1

(babble – bent)

babble•Chatter idly

Diana loves to babble on her mobile phone with her friends.

bacchanalian•Drunken

Jeff’s bacchanalian habits led him to imprisonment many times.

badger•Pester•Annoy

The constant badgering of the toddler angered the mother no end.

badinage•Teasing conversation

A lot of badinage occurred at Clint’s party as it was organized only for males.

baffle•Frustrate•Perplex

The students were baffled by the strange rule imposed by the school authorities.

bait•Harass•Tease

He always baits Sarah about her loud makeup.

baleful•Menacing•Deadly

The baleful glances of the terrier frightened Jack immensely and made him run away from the party.

balk•Stop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue

Wilson balked at the job description and refused to accept it and hence the attractive remuneration.

ballast•Heavy substance used to add stability or weight

Extra ballast was attached to the boat to anchor it in place.

balm•Something that relieves pain

She got a little relief from her severe headache after applying some balm.

balmy•Mild•Fragrant

The balmy weather was perfectly suitable for a full day picnic.

banal•Hackneyed•Commonplace•Lacking originality

The over-stretched comic situations and dialogues made the film banal and hence, a flop.

bandy•Discuss lightly•Exchange blows or words

They bandied around the difficult situation.

bane•Cause of ruin

Whether a particular invention is a boon or a bane, entirely depends on the judicious use of it.

baneful•Destructive•Causing ruin or death

The baneful rains and flood caused many lives to lose.

bantering•Good-naturedly ridiculing

The ceaseless bantering irritated Jane so much that she simply got up and left the party.

barb•Sharp projection from fishhook etc.•Pointed comment

Henry’s constant barbs about her recent failure in her exams disheartened Gina no end.

bard•poet

“Geetanjali” is an extensive and beautiful work of the famous bard, Rabindranath Tagore.

barefaced•Shameless•Bold•Unconcealed

It was such a barefaced lie that it immediately got caught.

baroque•Highly ornate

The baroque architecture of the Taj Mahal impressed the tourists greatly.

barrage•Barrier laid down by artillery fire•Overwhelming profusion

After being released from the prison, the politician had to face a barrage of news reporters and cameras.

barrister•Counselor-at-law

Mr. Fox was appointed as the new barrister in Florida this year.

barterer•trader

Dorothy turned down the marriage proposal of Steve when she came to know that he was a mere barterer and not an industrialist as claimed by him.

bask•Luxuriate•Take pleasure in warmth

Tina loved to bask in the new found glory of stardom.

bastion•Stronghold•Something seen as a source of protection

The Sinhagad fort was considered as a bastion by Shivaji and very imperative for the battle against the Mughals.

bate•Let down•Restraint

Henry had to bate his curiosity to open his birthday gifts till all the guests left the party.

bauble•Trinket•Trifle

After stealing the diamond necklace of Mrs. Thomson, Keith discovered that it was only a bauble that was not worth much.

bawdy• Indecent•Obscene

The hosts of the party were embarrassed by the bawdy behaviour of Kim.

beatific• Blissful

The beatific environment calmed the frayed nerves of Sam.

beatify•Bless or sanctify•Proclaim someone dead to be one of the blessed

Mother Teresa was beatified as she had cared for the abandoned people in India.

beatitude•Blessedness•State of bliss

After visiting the holy shrine, they felt a sense of beatitude and calmness.

bedizen•Dress with vulgar finery

Joy had bedizened herself with a disgusting array of bead necklaces and loud makeup.

bedraggle•Wet thoroughly

She reached home late at night in a bedraggled condition which angered her parents immensely.

beeline•Direct, quick route

As soon as they reached at the wedding, Karan made a beeline for the food station.

befuddle•Confuse thoroughly

The inefficient professor tried hard to explain the topic to the students, but it befuddled them all the more.

beget•Father•Produce•Give rise to

It’s a known fact that hatred and jealousy beget a lot of crimes these days.

begrudge•Resent

Diane did not begrudge the success of her competitor but rather took it quite graciously.

beguile•Amuse•Cheat

Due to his beguiling nature, he has hordes of admirers at any party.

behemoth•Huge creature•Something of monstrous size or power

Khali, the behemoth wrestler is very popular in India.

beholden•Obligated• Indebted

The educational institutes are more beholden to their respective trustees and committees, than to their students.

behoove•Be incumbent upon

It doesn’t behoove a woman of such a respectable family to behave in such atrocious and vulgar manner.

belabor• Explain or go over

excessively or to a ridiculous degree•Assail verbally

With extreme cruelty, they belabored him for misbehaving at the party, and locked him up without food and drink for three days.

belated•delayed

Shaina gave Tina her belated birthday wishes as she had been out of town on that day.

beleaguer•Besiege or attack•Harass

The enemies continued to beleaguer the citizens by curtailing the supply of essential commodities in the market.

belie•Contradict•Give a false impression

The proof belies the claims made by the accused and hence is found guilty and prosecuted.

belittle•Disparage•depreciate

Henry continues to belittle his brother Sandy on the smallest pretext and that too in front of other people.

bellicose•warlike

Bellicose situation arose when an emergency was declared in the state due to communal riots.

belligerent•Quarrelsome

Her neighbors are so belligerent that they even fight when the volume of her television is slightly more than the usual.

bemoan•Lament•Express disapproval of

Gerald bemoaned the death of his young son who died in a car accident due to rash driving.

bemused•Confused•Bewildered

Ramen was so bemused by the directions on the map that he stopped the car and started walking towards his destination which was just five metres away.

benediction•Blessing

They went to the church to get benediction for their infant.

benefactor•Gift giver•Patron

She does not know the identity of her benefactor who has been sending money for her education anonymously since her childhood.

beneficent•Kindly•Doing good

She thought that undue advantage was being taken of her benficent attitude and henceforth stopped giving donations to the nearby orphanage.

beneficial•Helpful•Useful

They decided to go ahead with the agreement as it was mutually beneficial.

beneficiary•Person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy

Dianne is the sole beneficiary of her husband’s property as they are childless and have no close relatives.

benevolent•Generous•charitable

Due to his benevolent nature, Mr. Chopra occupied a respectable position in society.

benign•Kindly•Favorable•Not malignant

Henry was such a benign person that he donated half of his property to charity.

benison•Blessing

When the monk started chanting the holy benison, everyone was overwhelmed by emotions.

bent•Determined•Natural talent or inclination

In spite of tremendous pressure from his family to pursue medicine, John is bent on joining a rock group.

Wordlist B-2

(bequeath – bluster)

bequeath•Leave to someone by means of a will•Hand down

Aunt Maurice bequeathed half her property to her niece, Beatrice and half to her caretaker, Mrs. Gomes.

berate•Scold strongly

She berated the clerk for being inefficient and asked him to quit the job immediately.

bereavement•State of being deprived of something valuable or beloved

She, in a state of bereavement, was unable to attend college for two weeks.

bereft•Deprived of•Lacking

Suddenly bereft of his superstardom, he sank into depression and soon died.

berserk•Frenzied

The mare of the bridegroom went berserk at the sound of crackers and toppled him to the ground.

beseech•Beg•Plead with

Fiona beseeched her father to spend more time with her and not just send her the money.

beset•Harass•Trouble

It was heart-rending to watch a deer beset by a pack of wolves in a television programme.

besiege•Surround with armed forces•harass

When it was not possible to capture the king, the army decided to besiege the city, thus cutting it off from any outside aid.

besmirch•Soil•Defile

When Clara’s parents came to know that Sean was responsible for besmirching their daughter, they got him arrested.

bestial•Beast-like•Brutal• Inhuman

Raising her voice against the bestial treatment given to her by her friend, Fiona filed a suit against her.

bestow•Confer

Happy with his performance, the Chairman decided to bestow the Excellence Award upon Sam.

betoken•Signify• Indicate

The hustle and bustle at the international airport betoken Heathrow’s importance.

betray•Be unfaithful•Reveal unconsciously or unwillingly

The Intelligence Bureau is very strict with those who are found to betray their country.

betroth•Become engaged to marry

Diana and Gerald decided to get betrothed before they leave for higher studies abroad.

bevy•Large group

The actor was mobbed by a bevy of journalists when he came out of the airport.

bicameral•Two-chambered, as in a legislative body

The Indian Government is a bicameral unit.

bicker•Quarrel

The child complained to the police about constant bickering between his parents.

biennial•Every two years

Parsley is a biennial plant, taking two years to grow completely.

bifurcated•Divided into two branches•Forked

While walking to the theater, Jerry came across a bifurcated road and hence was completely confused, compelling him to ask for directions from passersby.

bilious•Suffering from indigestion• Irritable

Due to his bilious nature, Tim has become highly unpopular in his social circle.

bilk•Swindle•Cheat

Gerald has stooped to such a level that he doesn’t hesitate to bilk his own kith and kin.

billowing•Swelling out in waves•Surging

The billowing sails of the ship present a beautiful sight to the onlookers on the shore.

bivouac•Temporary encampment

The bivouacs, built to accommodate the workers who were constructing the roads, soon turned into a major slum in the city.

bizzare•Fantastic•Violently contrasting

The huge castle has been abandoned by its owners due to some bizzare incidents, and is now turning into ruins.

blanch•Bleach•Whiten

Samantha blanched when she heard about the horrible accident on the highway, as her son was coming home by the same road.

bland•Soothing•Mild

Patrick was tired of eating the bland food served in the hospital and yearned for some spicy, home-cooked food.

blandish•Cajole•Coax with flattery

Despite all her efforts, Dorothy was not able to blandish her son into eating healthy and nutritious food and staying away from junk food.

blandishment•Flattery

Tired of the blandishment by the salesperson, Gina decided to walk out of the store and search for another one.

blare•Loud, harsh roar or screech•Dazzling blaze of light

We were fed up of the constant blare of loudspeakers from the nearby party hall and decided to shift to another house in a peaceful locality.

blase•Bored with pleasure

Mrs. Jackson had a blasé expression on her face after she had spent two hours at the party.

blasphemous•Profane• Impious

His speech at the college reunion party was so blasphemous that his old friends were shocked to see his other side.

blatant•Extremely obvious•Loudly offensive

Very blatantly, Sandra’s father showed displeasure when introduced to her friend whom she intended to marry.

bleak•Cold•Cheerless

The world looked bleak and unappealing to Henry after he lost his wife in a tragic accident.

blighted•Suffering from a disease•Destroyed

Life seemed blighted to Martha when she was diagnosed with many diseases, almost all at once.

blithe•Gay• Joyous•Careless

Sam was such a cheerful and blithe person that it was difficult to imagine him suffering from a life-threatening disease.

bloated•Swollen or puffed as with water or air

Every morning when she gets out of her bed, her face looks bloated but as the hours pass by, it turns to normal.

blowhard•Talkative boaster

Jim is a blowhard, always blowing his own trumpet, thus making people avoid him at parties.

bludgeon•Club•Heavy-headed weapon

The victim was hit by a bludgeon, leading to severe injuries.

bluff•Pretense•Deception

His father could not see through his bluff when Andrew tried to convince him that he had not stolen his wallet.

blunder•Error

Tina made a huge blunder by antagonizing Mrs. Davidson, who was the Headmistress of her

son’s school.

blurt•Utter impulsively

Though they had kept it a secret till now, their child blurted out about the surprise party organized by her parents.

bluster•Blow in heavy gusts•Threaten emptily•Bully

The factory workers listened patiently to their manager’s bluster, threatening to throw them out as he was heavily drunk.

Wordlist B-3

(bode – buxom)

bode•Foreshadow•Portend

A clear sky generally bodes fair weather for the next few days.

bogus•Counterfeit•Not authentic

The plan of doubling the money in six months was a bogus one and many people lost money by investing in it.

bohemian•Unconventional

His attire is completely bohemian and consists of mainly skirts, shirts and bead necklaces.

boisterous•Violent•Rough•Noisy

The audience at the concert turned boisterous towards the end, forcing the singer to stop his performance.

bolster•Support•Reinforce

To bolster her son’s cricket skills, she bought him an expensive cricket kit so that he could learn to play well.

bolt•Dash or dart off•Fasten a door•Gobble down

Anne saw the children bolt out of the door in a hurry to catch the schoolbus.

bombardment•Attack ( as with missiles)

The bombardment by the terrorists left the town completely destroyed, with hundreds of dead people lying on the roads.

bombastic•Pompous•Using inflated language

Bertha’s behaviour at the party was so bombastic that we felt like leaving the party in disgust.

boon•Blessing•Benefit

His decision to stay off desserts appeared to be a boon now as recently he was diagnosed with diabetes and advised to stop consuming sugar.

boorish•Rude• Insensitive

Though the student was constantly interrupting the teacher, she calmly continued teaching the lesson as she was accustomed to his boorish behaviour.

bouillon•Clear beef soup

His mother made him a bowl of bouillon when he came home after attending the training camp for one month.

bountiful•Generous

Nature is bountiful in her gifts, only we fail to appreciate and conserve them with care.

bourgeois•Middle class•Selfishly materialistic•Dully conventional

As the party was organized by high society people, they resented having bourgeois families on their guest list.

bovine•Cow like•Placid and dull

Kathy’s bovine attitude made her uninteresting to her friends, who slowly drifted apart.

bowdlerize•Remove parts of a written work that might offend people

Diane was very upset with her publisher as he had bowdlerized her novel to such an extent that the story had many loopholes, leaving too much for explanation.

boycott•Refrain from buying or using

The workers decided to boycott the free lunch facility provided at the factory until they got a raise in their salaries.

brackish•Somewhat saline

Due to some technical problem, the tap water turned brackish and unfit for drinking.

braggadocio•Boasting

Fed up of Sarah’s braggadocio, her classmates avoided her and stopped inviting her for any parties or meetings.

braggart•Boaster

Jenny is such a braggart that once she claimed to be the owner of the Eiffel Tower.

brandish•Wave around•Flourish

Tim was so excited about playing King Arthur in the school play that he brandished his fake sword all day at home.

bravado•Swagger•Assumed air of defiance

Though John put up an act of bravado, he was afraid of staying alone at night in the abandoned castle.

brawn•Muscular strength•Sturdiness

The male models usually sport a brawny look, inspiring the youth to remain fit and healthy.

brazen• Insolent

Fiona has grown up to be so brazen that she has become an embarrassment to the family.

breach• Breaking of contract or duty• Fissure•Gap

There are some unwritten norms followed in the society which should never be breached.

brevity•Conciseness

Despite the brevity of the essay, the student had aptly discussed the topic and hence scored well.

brindled•Tawny or greyish with streaks or spots

Vincent was known in the neighbourhood as the owner of the brindled cat.

bristling•Rising like bristles•Showing irritation

When Jerry reached home late, his wife was waiting at the door, bristling with anger.

brittle•Easily broken

She was cleaning the brittle vase when it accidentally fell down and broke.

broach•Open up

Arthur was reluctant to broach the subject of selling the house to his children due to financial problems.

brocade•Rich, figured fabric

Cindy loved the white wedding gown with gold brocade and immediately bought it for herself.

brochure•Pamphlet

The brochure of an old age home came in the post and Peter decided to send them a cheque.

brooch•Ornamental clasp

The brooch Samantha wore was a family heirloom passed over through many generations.

brook•Tolerate•Endure

It was becoming increasingly difficult to brook the outlandish behaviour of Kim.

browbeat•Bully• Intimidate

Henry is a brave child and it is not easy to browbeat him.

browse•Graze•Skim

Violet always likes to browse through a book before buying it.

brunt•Main impact or shock

In case of any quarrel between them, Brenda always has to bear the brunt and apologise even when not wrong.

brusque•Blunt•Abrupt

Her brusque behaviour does not make her qualified to be in a job which requires good public relations skills.

buccaneer•Pirate

In old times, the ships carrying goods had to face buccaneers occasionally and were needed to be adequately prepared to put up a fight.

bucolic•Rustic•Pastoral

Mr. Nelson is a bucolic man, always remembering his days as a boy when he worked at a ranch.

buffet•Slap•Batter•Knock about

When Tim misbehaved with Olga, she got up to buffet him but stopped when she realized that he was drunk and decided to call the police.

buffoonery•Clowning

The professor refused to tolerate any buffoonery in the class and expelled the miscreants.

bugaboo•Bugbear•Object of baseless terror

Mother tried to convince Twinkle that her fears were bugaboo and put her to sleep by singing a lullaby.

bullion•Gold and silver in the form of bars

He earned a lot of money by trading in bullion when the price of gold and silver skyrocketed.

bulwark•Earthwork or other strong defense•Person who defends

At the time of a street fight, Bertie protected his younger brother as a bulwark.

bungle•Spoil by clumsy behaviour

She bungled the whole plan by blurting out everything to the whole class.

buoyant•Able to float•Cheerful and optimistic

Her buoyant nature helped her overcome the tragedy with a positive attitude.

bureaucracy•Government by bureaus

In a bureaucracy, it becomes difficult to take decisions in a short time as lengthy procedures need to be followed for any action.

burgeon•Grow forth•Send out buds

In spring, the plants burgeon with colorful buds and sweet fragrance.

burlesque•Give an imitation that ridicules

The actor was angered beyond control when a burlesque performance was enacted on stage, imitating him.

burnish•Make shiny by rubbing •Polish

The copper and brass artefacts should be regularly burnished to maintain their sheen.

buttress•Support•Prop up

In a court of law, all arguments need to be buttressed with proofs.

buxom•Full-blossomed•Plump• Jolly

A buxom lady confronted him when he entered the office without an appointment.