Vocabulary (B)

v. to talk a lot in a way that does not make sense.

Ex= I could not understand what he was babbling about.

n. someone who supports a plan, especially by providing money.

Ex= we are still trying to find backers for the new enterprise.

v. having the opposite effect to the one you wanted.

Ex= your comments may backfire causing a lot of trouble.

n. support or help, especially with money.

Ex= the agency has provided financial backing for the project.

n. a strong reaction from people against an idea or person.

Ex= a political backlash against immigrants.

v. if something baffles you, you cannot understand it.

Ex= Scientists are completely baffle by the results.

n. something that is offered to someone to persuade him/her to do something.

Ex= plenty of people took the bait and lost their life savings.

n. a large amount of something such as paper or hay that is tied tightly together.

Ex= bales of wool are been loaded into the truck.

adj. expressing a desire to harm someone.

Ex= a baleful look

v. to not want to do something.

• Ex= customers balked at paying $25 for a hamburger.
• If you balk at doing your own homework, you will not get the benefit of the learning and practice it is intended to give you

Go ballistic. adj. spoken. to suddently become very angry.

Ex= he went ballistic on me

adj. balmy weather or air is warm and pleasant.

Ex= a balmy summer night

n. informal. something that is silly or not true.

Ex= His explanation sounded like a buch of baloney to me.

v.informal. to trick or confuse someone.

Ex= the girl bamboozled me into buying the cookies.

adj. ordinary and not interesting. = boring.

Ex= a banal love song.

n. jump/get/climb on the bandwagon. to start doing something because a lot other people are doing it.

Ex= many companies have jumped on the environmental bandwagon

v. to be mentioned by a lot of people.

Ex= her name was bandied about in connection with the recent scandal.

be the bane of smth. to be the thing that causes trouble or makes people unhappy.

Ex= Locusts are the bane of farmers.

v. to hit a part of your body against something by accident. = bump

Ex= I banged my knee on the corner of the bed.

v. to make someone leave a place as a punishment.

Ex= The king banished Richard from the court.

n. friendly conversation with a lot of jokes in it.

• Ex= you too can enjoy the office banter with everyone else.
• *Instead of doing their homework, the boys engaged in silly 'banter'.

adj. barbed humor or a barbed remark is unkind.

Ex= the guests got upset to the host's barbed remarks.

n. wire with short sharp points on it, usually used for making fences.

n. metal bar with weights at each end, which you lift to make you stronger.

v. informal. to walk somewhere so quickly or carelessly that you push people or hit things.

• Ex= Dana barged past the guards at the door.
• *She barged her way through the crowds.

n. group of buildings in which soldiers live.

n. a lot of complaints, questions, etc.

Ex= a barrage of insults.

v. to move very fast, especially in a uncontrolled way.

Ex= we were barreling down the road at 90 miles an hour.

adj. land that is barren cannot grow plants.

Ex= a barren dessert

prep. unless something happens.

Ex= Barring any last minute problems, we should finish Friday.

v. to exchange goods or services instead of money.

Ex= I had to barter with the locals for food.

v. to hit someone or something hard, causing pain or damage.

Ex= he bashed his toes on the coffee table.

adj. = shy

Ex= a bash child

gay-bashing/ immigrant-bashing/ media-bashing. n. the act of physically atacking or strongly criticizing a particular group or businesses.

v. to enjoy sitting or lying somewhere warm.

Ex= a snake basking in the sun.

v. to pour liquid fat over food that is cooking.

Ex= She proceeded to baste the turkey.

n. a place, organization, etc. that protects old beliefs or ways of doing things.

• Ex= a bastion of free speech.
• America is perceived as a bastion of freedom.

n. a group of things or people that are made, arrive, or are dealt with at the same time.

Ex= he just baked another batch of cookies.

with bated breath. adj. in a very excited and anxious way.

Ex= I waited for her answer with bated breath.

adj. bawdy songs, jokes, etc. are about sex.

Ex= the kids were sent to bed because of our bawdy jokes.

v.informal. to shout or cry loudly.

Ex= By the end of the movie, I was bawling.

adj. beady eyes are small and shiny.

Ex= i have beady eyes

adj. a situitation that is bearable is difficult but can be accepted o dealt with.

Ex= his friendship was the one thing that made life bearale.

n. someone who brings or carries something.

Ex= the bearer of bad news.

have a bearing on smth. n. to have some influence on or effect on something.

Ex= the new information has some/no bearing on the case.

v. to move your hand to show that you want someone to move toward you.

Ex= He beckoned to her.

n. a situation where there is a lot of noise and confusion.

Ex=The Black Friday sale at Wal-Mart was absolute bedlam.

adj. looking dirty, wet, and messy.

Ex= bedraggled hair

adj. not able to get out of bed because you are old or very sick.

Ex= bedridden, invalid old lady.

adj. a beefy man is big and strong.

v. formal. if something bad or dangerous befalls you, it happes to you.

Ex= we prayed that no harm should befall them.

v. formal. to be appropiate or seem right for someone.

Ex= a funeral befitting a national hero.

adj. completely confused.

Ex= I was befuddled by the strange expression on his face.

n. someone who lives by asking people for food or money.

Ex= there are a lot of beggars in 42nd street.

v. to feel upset or jealous about something.

Ex= She did not begrudge the money spent on her children's education.

v. to interest and attract someone.

Ex= she was beguiled by his smooth talk.

1) v. to let air from your stomach come out loudly through your mouth. =burp

• 2) to send out a large amount of smoke, flames, etc.
• Ex= Factories belching blue smoke.

adj. formal. having a lot of problems.

Ex= The beleaguered tobacco industry.

v. formal. to give you a wrong idea about something.

Ex= His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his inner sensitivity.

v. formal. to make someone or something seem small or unimportant.

Ex= I don't like the way he belittles his children.

adj. wanting to fight or argue.

Ex= I was very belligerent when fighting for my country.

adj. slighly confused.

Ex= a bemused expression

n. a natural skill or ability

Ex= Rebecca has an artistic bent.

formal. to arrange for someone to get something that belongs to you after your death.

• Ex= The dying man decided to bequeath all his worldly possessions to his dog.
• *The soldiers of World War II bequeathed to all of us a potentially more peaceful world.

n. formal. money or property that you bequeath to someone.

Ex= Collins received a set of sterling silverware as a bequest from her deceased aunt.

v. formal. to speak angrily because s/he has done something wrong.

Ex= Massiel berated Kelly in front of his staff.

n. formal. if someone is bereaved, someone s/he loves has died.

Ex= extend my condolences to the bereaved.

adj. formal. completely without something.

Ex= bereft of hope.

v. to ask for something in an eager or anxious way.

Ex= my son beseeched me to buy him some ice cream.

v. formal. to make someone have a lot of troube or problems.

Ex= the family was beset by financial difficulties.

be besieged by people/worries/thoughts, etc. v. to be sorrounded by a lot of people or to be very worried.

Ex= a rock star besieged by fans.

formal. to give someone something valuable or important.

Ex= The queen bestowed a gift to the knight.

n. a large group of people.

Ex= a bevy of teenagers.

adj. very confused and not sure what to do o think.

Ex= a bewildered expression

adj. making you feel very confused.

Ex= a bewildering number of choices.

v. to argue about something that is not very important.

Ex= the kids were bickering about/over who would sleep in the top bunk.

bide your time. v. to wait until the right time to do something.

Ex= I was biding my time to make the right move.

adj. having strong opinions that most people think are unreasonable, especially about race, religion, or politics.

n. bigoted behavior or beliefs.

Ex= religious bigotry.

v. if something made of clothes billows, it moves in the wind and fills wih air.

Ex= her long skirt billowed in the breeze.

• v. to make a very loud unpleasant noise.
• Ex= a radio blaring out music.

adj. not worried or excited about things that most people think are important, impressive.

Ex= he's very blas`e about money now that he's got a job.

adj. very noticeable and offensive.

Ex= blatant discrimination

v. to burn or shine very brightly and strongly.

Ex= a fire blazing in the fireplace.