Complete List of Terms and Definitions for Barrons Word List - B

Terms Definitions
 
 
 
 
 
CONFOUND 		Confuse; puzzle
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: No mystrey could confound Sherlock Holmes for long
 
 
 
 
 
Betray 		Be Unfaithful
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g:The president alone betokened the national identity
 
 
 
 
 
COMPACT 		Agreement or contract
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The signers of the Coalition Compact were establishing a form of government
 
 
 
 
Bode 		Indicate by signs





 
 
E.g: These signs bode bad news
 
 
 
 
BRAWN 		Possessing muscular strength
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g:He's got plenty of brains as well as brawn.
 
 
 
 
 
Bereft 		Deprieved of, lacking
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life
 
 
 
 
Braggadocio 		Vain and empty boasting
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Media stunts and braggadocio are no substitute for fair and effective law enforcement
 
 
 
 
 
Benevolent 		Kind, mild-mannered and generous
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Channa has been a benevolent contributor towards MSS activities
 
 
 
 
 
Bicameral 		Consisting of two chambers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The bicameral heart of a fish fascinate Jim.
 
 
 
 
 
Beguile 		Mislead or delude, cheat
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: He used his newspapers to beguile the readers into buying shares in his company
 
 
 
 
 
Blandishment 		flattery intended to persuade.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Despite the salesman's blandishment, the customer refused to buy the product.
 
 
 
 
 
CONCERTED 		Mutually agreed on; done together
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Its time for concerted action against Naxals, the Home Minister said.
 
 
Blunder 		Make a stupid, serious mistake
 
 
 
E.g: I think Dhoni made a tactical blunder by choosing jadeja over vinay kumar
 
 
 
 
 
Blanch 		become very pale
find something unpleasant and do not want to be involved with it
E.g:
His face blanched as he looked at her blood-drenched uniform.
There are places you can take physically handicapped children where staff don't blanch at the sight of a wheelchair.
 
 
 
 
 
Berserk 		crazy and out of control.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: He tossed back his head in a howl of berserk laughter.
 
 
 
 
 
Beseech 		Ask for or request earnestly
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: She beseeched him to cut his drinking and his smoking.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Blowhard 		A talkative and boastful person
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Robin is not a blowhard like frank.
 
 
 
 
 
Bemused 		Confused, lost in thought, preoccupied
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Rajeev was definitely bemused by the questions put forth in the interview
 
 
 
 
 
COLLATION 		Assembling in proper numerical or logical sequence
a light informal meal
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: Tea, sandwiches and cookies were offered at the collation
 
 
 
 
BOMBASTIC 		Pompous or overly wordy; High-sounding but with little meaning
 
 
 
 
E.g: He was vain and bombastic.
 
 
 
 
BOORISH 		behaviour that is rough, uneducated, and rude
 
 
 
 
E.g: The boorish rejection of an aged film star's attempt to make a comeback, is being made into a film.
 
 
 
 
BROACH 		Bring up a topic for discussion
 
 
 
 
E.g:Eventually I broached the subject of her early life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beholden 		Under a moral obligation to someone
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The franchisee owners felt beholden to Lalit Modi and felt its their duty to support him during the IPL Gate crisis.
 
 
 
 
 
Benediction 		A ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: She could only raise her hand in a gesture of benediction.
 
 
 
 
 
Beget 		To father, produce, give rise to
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: King Henry III wanted to beget a heir.
 
 
 
 
 
Bifurcated 		Divided or made into two parts
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The Bifurcation between Art cinema and Commercial cinema is reducing in India.
 
 
 
 
 
CONGEAL 		becomes very thick and sticky and almost solid
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The blood had started to congeal.
 
 
 
 
Bluster 		Blow hard
Be gusty, as of winds
Act in an arrogant, overly self assured, or conceited manner
 
E.g : He was still blustering, but there were tears in his eyes
 
 
 
 
BOVINE 		Dull and slow moving,stolid; like an Ox
 
 
 
 
 
E.g :I'm depressed by the bovine enthusiasm of the crowd's response.
 
 
 
 
 
Bigotry
  		the intolerance and prejudice of a bigot.(A bigot is a person who is intolerant of or takes offense to the opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from his or her own)
 
 
 
 
E.g: He deplored religious bigotry.
 
 
 
 
 
Bludgeon 		A club used as a heavy weapon
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The teached bludgeoned the students into learning maths formulas.
 
 
 
 
 
Bedraggle 		make wet and dirty, as from rain
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The begaar's bedraggled clothes forced the children to run away from him.
 
 
 
 
 
COMESTIBLE 		Any substance that can be used as food
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The roasted chicken and fried fish along with other comestibles made the party memorable.
 
 
 
 
BUNGLE 		Make a mess by behaving clumsily or foolishly.
 
 
 
 
E.g:Two prisoners bungled an escape bid after running either side of a lamp-post while handcuffed
 
 
 
 
BOWDLERIZE
  		Edit or modify the parts that are considered to be indecent
 
 
 
 
E.g : Its time to bowdlerize the novel before publishing, he said.
 
 
 
 
 
Barrage 		Heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than fire at a specific target
Address continuously and persistently
 
 
E.g: Unable to handle the barrage of questions fired at him in the parliment, Shashi Tharoor decided to quit, with immediate effect.
 
 
 
 
 
Bequeath 		Leave or give by will after one's death
 
 
 
 
E.g:
He bequeaths his successor an economy that is doing quite well
He bequeathed all his silver to his children.
 
 
 
 
Beatify 		declare (a dead person) to be blessed; the first step of achieving sainthood
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: On Sunday, the martyr will be beatified by the Vatican
 
 
 
 
Bouillon 		A thin soup of meat, or fish or vegetable stock
 
 
 
 
 
E.g: The cup of bouillon served by the stewards was welcomed by one and all.
 
 
 
 
 
Behoove 		to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations
to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage
E.g:
It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially
It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you