1. babble :: chatter idly 2. bacchanalian :: drunken 3. badger :: pester; annoy 4. baffle :: frustrate; perplex 5. baleful :: deadly; destructive 6.

balk :: foil 7. balmy :: mild; fragrant 8. banal :: hackneyed; commonplace; trite 9. bandanna :: large, bright-colored handkerchief 10. baneful :: ruinous; poisonous 11. bantering :: good-natured ridiculing 12. barb :: sharp projection from fishhook, etc. 13. baroque :: highly ornate 14. barrage :: barrier laid down by artillery fire 15. barrister :: counselor-at-law 16. barterer :: trader 17. bate :: let down; restrain 18. batten :: grow fat; thrive upon others 19. bauble :: trinket; trifle 20. beatific :: giving bliss; blissful 21. bedizen :: dress with vulgar finery 22. bedraggle :: wet thoroughly 23. beguile :: delude; cheat; amuse 24. behoove :: suited to; incumbent upon 25. belabor :: beat soundly; assail verbally 26. belated :: delayed 27. beleaguer :: besiege 28. bellicose :: warlike 29. benediction :: blessing 30. benefactor :: gift giver; patron 31. beneficiary :: person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will 32. benevolent :: generous; charitable

33. benighted :: overcome by darkness 34. benign :: kindly; favorable; not malignant 35. berate :: scold strongly 36. bereft :: deprived of; lacking 37. berserk :: frenzied 38. besmirch :: soil; defile 39. bestow :: confer 40. bete noire :: aversion; person or thing strongly disliked or avoided 41. betroth :: become engaged to marry 42. bicameral :: two-chambered, as a legislative body 43. biennial :: every two years 44. bigotry :: stubborn intolerance 45. bilious :: suffering from indigestion; irritable 46. bivouac :: temporary encampment 47. bizarre :: fantastic; violently contrasting 48. bland :: soothing; mild 49. blandishment :: flattery 50. blasphemous :: profane; impious 51. blatant :: loudly offensive 52. blazon :: decorate with an heraldic coat of arms 53. bleak :: cold; cheerless 54. blighted :: suffering from a disease; destroyed 55. blithe :: gay; joyous 56. bloated :: swollen or puffed as with water or air 57. bludgeon :: club; heavy-headed weapon 58. bode :: foreshadow; portend 59. bogus :: counterfeit; not authentic 60. boisterous :: violent; rough; noisy 61. bolster :: support; prop up 62. bombastic :: pompous; using inflated language 63. bootless :: useless 64. bouillon :: clear beef soup 65. bountiful :: generous; showing bounty

66. bourgeois :: middle class 67. braggadocio :: boasting 68. bravado :: swagger; assumed air of defiance 69. brazen :: insolent 70. brazier :: open pan in which live coals are burned 71. breach :: breaking of contract or duty; fissure; gap 72. brevity :: conciseness 73. bristling :: rising like bristles; showing irritation 74. broach :: open up 75. brocade :: rich, figured fabric 76. brochure :: pamphlet 77. brooch :: ornamental clasp 78. brusque :: blunt; abrupt 79. bucolic :: rustic; pastoral 80. buffoonery :: clowning 81. bullion :: gold and silver in the form of bars 82. bulwark :: earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends 83. bumptious :: self-assertive 84. bungle :: spoil by clumsy behavior 85. burgeon :: grow forth; send out buds 86. burlesque :: give an imitation that ridicules 87. burnish :: make shiny by rubbing; polish 88. buttress :: support or prop 89. buxom :: plump; vigorous; jolly