bacchanalian:
a. drunken; relating to reveling and drunkenness | badinage:
n. teasing conversation; good-humored, playful conversation |
bailiff:
n. legal officer to whom some degree of authority | bang:
n. sudden loud noise, as of an explosion; sudden loud blow or bump; sudden burst of action |
bantering:
a. good-natured ridiculing; cleverly amusing in tone | barterer:
n. trader; one who trades goods for other goods without involving money |
bate:
v. let down; restrain; lessen force or intensity of; moderate | batter:
v. hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows |
bead:
n. small, often round piece of material, such as glass, plastic, or wood, that is pierced for stringing or threading | beamline:
n. line traveled by a particle beam in an accelerator |
beatific:
a. completely happy and contented; showing or producing exalted joy | beatitude:
n. blessedness; state of extreme happiness |
becalm:
v. keep from motion, or stop progress of; make calm or still | beckon:
v. signal or summon, as by nodding or waving; attract because of inviting or enticing appearance |
becloud:
v. make less visible; obscure or blur; darken with or as if with clouds | bedeck:
v. adorn or ornament in a showy fashion |
bedizen:
v. ornament something in showy, tasteless, or gaudy finery | bedraggle:
v. wet thoroughly; stain with mud; soil or wet by dragging in dirt, mud, moist places |
beforehand:
ad. in advance; early; at an earlier or preceding time | befuddle:
v. confuse thoroughly; becloud and confuse, as with liquor; make stupid with alcohol |
behemoth:
n. something enormous in size or power | beleaguer:
v. besiege or attack; harass; surround with troops |
bellicose:
a. warlike or hostile in manner or temperament; showing or having impulse to be combative | bemoan:
v. regret strongly; express disapproval of |
bemused:
a. confused; lost in thought; preoccupied | besiege:
v. surround with hostile forces; crowd around; cause to feel distressed or worried |
bestial:
a. beastlike; brutal; lacking in intelligence or reason | betoken:
v. signify; indicate; be a visible sign of; give evidence of |
betroth:
v. become engaged to marry; promise to marry | bevy:
n. large group; a group of animals or birds, especially larks or quail |
bewilder:
v. lead into perplexity or confusion; perplex with mazes | bicameral:
a. composed of or based on two legislative chambers or branches |
biennial:
a. every two years; lasting or living for two years | billowing:
a. swelling out in waves; surging; stormy; affected by storms |
bitumen:
n. any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of hydrocarbons | bivouac:
n. temporary encampment; a site where people on holiday can pitch tent |
blandishment:
n. flattery; speech or action expressive of affection or kindness, and tending to win the heart | blare:
n. loud, harsh roar or screech; dazzling blaze of light |
bleak:
a. depressing, sombre, cold | blench:
v. draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; turn pale, as if in fear |
blighted:
a. suffering from a disease; destroyed, ruined, or spoiled | blindside:
v. to take by surprise |
bludgeon:
n. short heavy club, usually of wood; heavy-headed weapon | bolster:
v. support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion |
bombardment:
n. attack with missiles; continuous attack with shot and shell upon a town, fort, or other position | bombastic:
a. pompous; using inflated language; high-sounding but with little meaning |
boost:
v. raise or lift by pushing up from behind or below; increase; raise | booth:
n. small enclosed compartment with a window, used to separate the occupant from others; small stall for the display and sale of goods |
boson:
n. any particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistics but not the Pauli exclusion principle | botnet:
n. a collection of compromised computers that is slowly built up then unleashed as a DDOS attack or used to send very large quantities of spam |
bounty:
n. liberality in giving; something that is given liberally; goodness, kindness | bovine:
a. dull, slow-moving, and stolid, like an ox; placid and dull |
bowdlerize:
v. edit by omitting or modifying parts considered offensive, vulgar, or otherwise unseemly | brandish:
v. move or wave, as a weapon; raise and move in various directions |
brindled:
a. of brownish, tawny colour, with streaks, spots, or patterns | bristling:
a. rising like bristles; showing irritation |
bristly:
a. having or covered with protective barbs or others; very irritable | broil:
v. cook by direct exposure to heat over fire; subject to great heat; be subjected to the action of heat; be greatly heated |
brood:
n. children in one family; young of certain animals | brush:
n. short and sometimes occasional encounter or experience |
buccaneer:
n. pirate; robber upon the sea | bucolic:
a. rustic; pastoral; agricultural; relating to country affairs, or to shepherd's life and occupation |
buffoonery:
n. clowning; arts and practices of buffoon, as low jests, ridiculous pranks, vulgar tricks and postures | bumptious:
a. offensively self-assertive; liable to give or take offense; forward; pushing |
bungle:
v. mismanage; blunder; work or act in clumsy, awkward, or blundering manner | burgeon:
v. to develop or grow rapidly |
burnish:
v. make shiny by rubbing; polish | bursar:
n. treasurer or keeper of funds; purser or treasurer of college or other community |
bursary:
n. treasury, especially of a public institution or religious order; scholarship granted to a university student in need | buttress:
v. support physically; prop up; support something or someone by supplying evidence |
cabal:
n. small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests | cacophonous:
a. discordant; inharmonious; sounding harshly; ill-sounding |
cactus:
n. any of various succulent, spiny, usually leafless plants native mostly to arid regions | cadaverous:
a. like corpse; pale; Having appearance or color of dead human body |
cadence:
n. rhythmic rise and fall of words or sounds; beat | cajole:
v. influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering |
caldron:
n. large kettle or boiler of copper, brass, or iron | callow:
a. youthful; immature; inexperienced; without feathers |
calorific:
a. capable of producing heat; causing heat; heating | canister:
n. small box or case for tea, coffee, etc |
cannibalize:
v. remove parts of machine for use in other similar machines; consume another of one's own type or kind | canny:
a. having pleasing or useful qualities; gentle; knowing; cautious; cunning; shrewd |
cantankerous:
a. ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious | cantata:
n. story or poem set to music that can be sung by chorus |
canto:
n. part or division of poem of some length | caper:
n. crime, especially theft, or a narrative about such a crime |
capitalize:
v. to use something to one's benefit for advantage | capitulate:
v. surrender; end all resistance; give up; go along with or comply |
capsize:
v. to cause to overturn (usually a vessel) | captious:
a. intended to confuse in an argument |
captivate:
v. charm; enthrall; seize by force, as an enemy in war, or anything belonging to enemy | cardiovascular:
a. of, relating to, or involving the heart and the blood vessels |
careen:
v. lean to one side, as a ship under press of sail; sway from side to side | careworn:
a. worn or burdened with care; showing the signs of long-term stresses |
caribou:
n. large reindeer native to northern North America | carnage:
n. massive slaughter, as in war; massacre; corpses, especially of those killed in battle |
carping:
a. fault-finding; excessive complaining; of unreasonable criticism or censure | cartel:
n. a combination of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods by the members |
cartographer:
n. one who makes maps or charts | castigate:
v. criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication |
cataclysm:
n. an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; deluge or overflowing of water | catapult:
v. increase the status of something rapidly; shoot forth or launch |
cataract:
n. disease of the eye causing its opacity and, unless treated, leading to blindness | catcall:
n. shout of disapproval; shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from crowd or audience |
catechism:
n. book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer | categorical:
a. absolute; having no exception; of using category or categories |
cater:
v. supply what is needed or desired; provide food professionally for special occasion | caulk:
v. make watertight by filling in cracks |
causal:
a. implying cause-and-effect relationship | cavil:
v. criticise for petty or frivolous reasons; raise trivial objections |
cede:
v. yield or formally resign and surrender to another | censorious:
a. critical; addicted to censure; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners; implying or expressing censure |
centigrade:
a. measure of temperature, used widely in Europe | centrifugal:
a. radiating; departing from the center |
centripetal:
a. tending toward center; moving or directed toward center or axis | centurion:
n. officer of ancient Roman army, in command of a century of soldiers or minor division |
cerebral:
a. intellectual rather than emotional | cerebration:
n. act of cerebrating; thinking, mental activity |
ceremonious:
a. marked by formality; strictly observant of or devoted to ceremony or ritual | certitude:
n. state of being certain; complete assurance; confidence |
chaffing:
a. joking; use of light, frivolous language by way of fun or ridicule | chalice:
n. goblet; bowl-shaped drinking vessel; large drinking cup, often having stem and base |
chary:
a. cautious; sparing or restrained about giving | chasten:
v. rid of excess; refine or purify; correct by punishment or reproof |
cherubic:
a. angelic; innocent-looking; like a baby; infantile | chicanery:
n. mean or unfair artifice to obscure truth; deception by trickery or sophistry |
choleric:
a. hot-tempered; easily angered; bad-tempered; expressing anger | chortle:
v. chuckle with delight; joyful laugh or chuckle; laugh quietly or with restraint |
christening:
n. a Christian ceremony involving baptizing and naming an infant | chug:
v. dull explosive sound, usually short and repeated, made by or as if by a laboring engine |
churlish:
a. difficult to work with; rude; unyielding; unmanageable | circa:
ad. approximately, about; commonly abbreviated ca. -- used especially before dates and numerical measures. |
circumlocution:
n. indirect or roundabout expression; evasion in speech or writing | circumscribe:
v. limit narrowly; confine; draw a line around; encircle |
citadel:
n. fortress; fortified place which people could go for shelter during battle | clamber:
v. climb with difficulty, especially on all fours; climb by crawling |
clan:
n. a large group of relatives, friends, or associates; a traditional social unit, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor | clangor:
n. loud, resounding noise; sharp, metallic, ringing sound; resonant, clanging sound |
climactic:
a. relating to the highest point; ascending or leading to climax | clime:
n. region; climate; particular region as defined by its weather or climate |
cloying:
a. distasteful because excessive; excessively sweet or sentimental | coagulate:
v. cause transformation of liquid into or as if into soft, semisolid, or solid mass |
coalesce:
v. combine; fuse; grow together; come together so as to form one whole; unite | codify:
v. arrange laws, rules as a code; classify; arrange or systematize |
cogency:
n. power of proving or of producing belief; quality of being highly probable or convincing; force; credibility | cogent:
a. reasonable and convincing; based on evidence; forcefully persuasive |
cogitate:
v. think earnestly or studiously; meditate; ponder; think deeply | cognate:
a. related by blood; having common ancestor; related or analogous in nature, character, or function |
cognizance:
n. knowledge or recognition; awareness; range of what one can know or understand | cohere:
v. stick or hold together in a mass that resists separation |
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