| Word
| Meaning
|
| Bacchanalian
| The ancient Roman festival in honor of Bacchus
A riotous, boisterous, or drunken festivity
|
| Baffle
| To defeat or check (as a person) by confusing or puzzling
|
| Bailiff
| An official employed by a British sheriff to serve writs and make arrests and executions
|
| Baize
| A coarse woolen or cotton fabric napped to imitate felt
|
| Bait
| To persecute
Food or other lure placed on a hook or in a trap and used in the taking of fish, birds, or other animals
|
| Baleful
| Sorrowful
Misfortune
Painful
Hurtful
|
| Bale
| A large package prepared for transportation or storage
|
| Baleful
| Deadly or pernicious in influence
|
| Baneful
| Causing harm
Ruin, or death
Harmful, destruction
Poisonous
|
| Barrage
| A long, continuous burst of gunfire
A heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of friendly troops to screen and protect them, a barrier
|
| Barcarole
| A Venetian gondolier's song with a rhythm suggestive of rowing
|
| Barograph
| A recording barometer
|
| Baste
| To sew loosely with large running stitches so as to hold together temporarily
|
| Batten
| To grow fat
To feed gluttonously
|
| Bauble
| A fool’s scepter
|
| Beatify
| To make supremely happy
|
| Beatitude
| A state of utmost bliss
|
| Beau
| The boyfriend of a woman or girl
|
| Becalm
| To keep motionless by lack of wind
|
| Beck
| A beckoning gesture
|
| Bedaub
| To ornament with vulgar excess
|
| Bedeck
| To adorn or ornament in a showy fashion
|
| Bedlam
| A lunatic asylum
|
| Befog
| To cover or obscure with or as if with fog
|
| Beget
| To procreate as the father
|
| Begrudge
| To give or concede reluctantly or with displeasure money
|
| Belay
| To secure (as a rope) by turns around a cleat, pin, or bitt
|
| Belie
| To give a false impression of
|
| Belittle
| To represent or speak of as contemptibly small or unimportant; disparage
A person who belittled our efforts to do the job right
|
| Bellicose
| Warlike or hostile in manner or temperament
|
| Belligerent
| Inclined or eager to fight
Hostile or aggressive
|
| Bemoan
| To express grief over
Lament
|
| Benignant
| Benevolent in feeling
Character, or aspect
|
| Benison
| A blessing
A benediction
|
| Bequeath
| To give by will
|
| Bereave
| To make desolate with loneliness and grief
|
| Beseech
| To address an earnest or urgent request to
Implore beseech them for help
|
| Beset
| To attack from all sides
|
| Besmear
| To smear over
As with any oily or sticky substance
|
| Bestial
| Marked by brutality or depravity
|
| Bestrew
| To sprinkle or cover with things strew
|
| Bestride
| To get or sit upon astride
As a horse
|
| Betide
| To happen to or befall
|
| Betimes
| In good season or time
|
| Benevolence
| Any act of kindness or well-doing
|
| Belle
| A woman who is a center of attraction because of her beauty
|
| Bawl
| To cry out loudly and unrestrainedly
|
| Baton
| A staff borne as a symbol of office
|
| Barren
| Unproductive
Having no trees or other growing plants
A woman incapable of being child
|
| Bask
| To enjoy sunshine
To take great pleasure or satisfaction
|
| Beatify
| To make somebody extremely happy
To give bliss
|
| Bedizen
| Dress or decorate showily
To ornament or dress in a showy or gaudy manner
|
| Belabor
| To beat badly
To attack with blows
Hit
Whip
|
| Bellicose
| Ready to, inclined to quarrel, fight or go to war
Of fighting nature, warlike or hostile in manner or temperament
|
| Belligerent
| Ready to start a fight or ready to go to war
One involved in war, hostile or aggressive
|
| Benediction
| Blessing
An invocation of divine blessing, usually at the end of a church service
|
| Benefactor
| One who gives endowment
A person who supports or helps a person, institution by giving money
|
| Benevolence
| Charity
Generosity
A gift given out of generosity
To help poor
|
| Benign
| Kind
Favorable
Showing gentleness and mildness
|
| Bequest
| Left by legacy
Giving or leaving personal property by a will
|
| Berate
| Scold sharply
To rebuke or scold angrily
|
| Bereft
| Deprived of something loved or valued
Feeling sense of loss
|
| Bewilder
| Puzzle
To confuse utterly
|
| Bilge
| The lowest inner part of a ship's hull where dust collects there
Dirty water in boat bottom
|
| Bilk
| To cheat
To elude
To defraud
Swindle
|
| Blandishment
| Flatting
Enticing expressions of actions
|
| Blandness
| Bland
Dull and insipid
Having little or no distinctive flavor
|
| Blithe
| Cheerful and carefree
Happy
|
| Bluster
| A storm rage
To speak or say loudly or boastfully
|
| Bogus
| Fake
Counterfeit
Deceitful
False
|
| Boisterous
| Noisy, violent
Energetic
Stormy
Loud
|
| Bolster
| Encourage something through support
Long pillow or cushion
|
| Boorish
| Crude
Offensive, rude
Uncultured
Uneducated
|
| Brash
| Ill-mannered
Clumsy
Intensive
Rude
|
| Brass
| A hard yellow shiny metal that is an alloy of zinc and copper
A collection of ornaments or items made of brass
|
| Brazen
| Made of brass
Shameless and bold
Harsh sounding
|
| Breach
| Quarrel
Opening
Non-fulfillment of promise or contract
Violation of law
|
| Brittle
| Easily cracked
Snapped, or broken
Fragile
Not tough
|
| Broach
| To bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate
To announce
|
| Brook
| A small stream, tolerate
|
| Buoyant
| Cheerful
Hopeful
Light-hearted
Gay
|
| Braggart
| Boasting is the act of making an ostentatious speech
|
| Brandish
| To wave, shake, or flourish triumphantly or defiantly
As a sword or spear
|
| Burgeon
| Tending to float or rise to the surface of a liquid or upward in a gas
To grow or blossom
To put forth buds
|
| Burnish
| To polish metal until it shines
To make bright by rubbing
Luster
|
| Bravo
| Well done
|
| Braze
| To make of or ornament with brass
|
| Breech
| The buttocks
|
| Brethren
| Used chiefly in formal or solemn address or in referring to the members of a profession, society, or sect
|
| Bridle
| The harness of a horse consisting of a stall, a bit, and the reins
|
| Brigand
| One who lives by robbery and plunder
|
| Brimstone
| Fire and brimstone
|
| Brine
| Water saturated with salt
|
| Bristle
| One of the coarse, stiff hairs of swine
A stiff hair like structure
|
| Brittle
| Easily broken, cracked, or snapped
|
| Brogan
| A coarse work shoe reaching to the ankle
|
| Brogue
| A stout coarse shoe worn formerly in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands
|
| Browbeat
| To intimidate or disconcert by a stern manner or arrogant speech
|
| Brusque
| Markedly short and abrupt
|
| Buffoon
| A gross and usually ill-educated or stupid person
|
| Buffoonery
| Foolish or playful behavior or practice
|
| Bulbous
| Having a bulb growing from or bearing bulbs
|
| Bulwark
| A solid wall-like structure raised for defense
|
| Bungle
| To act or work clumsily and awkwardly
|
| Burgher
| An inhabitant of a borough or a town
|
| Burnish
| To rub (a material) with a tool for compacting or smoothing or for turning an edge
|
| Bursar
| An officer (as of a monastery or college) in charge of funds
|
| Bustle
| To move briskly and often ostentatiously
|
| Butt
| Strike with the head or horns
|
| Butte
| An isolated hill or mountain with steep or precipitous sides having a smaller summit area than a mesa
|
| Buttress
| A projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building
|
| By-law
| A rule adopted by an organization chiefly for the government of its members and the regulation of its affairs
|