n. great mass of falling snow and ice
E.g. The park ranger warned the skiers to stay on the main trails, where they would be in no danger of being buried beneath a sudden avalanche.
v. take vengeance for something, or on behalf of someone
E.g. Hamlet vowed he would avenge his father's murder and punish Claudius for his horrible crime.
n. firm dislike; turning away; avoidance of a thing, situation, or behavior because of dislike
E.g. Risk aversion is one of the most serious problems and largest cost of our human space flight.
v. prevent; turn or cause to turn off or away
E.g. She had to avert her eyes from the dead cat on the highway.
n. the center around which something rotates; pivot
E.g. Then Tehran was bracketed, along with its old enemy Iraq, and North Korea, in President Bush's axis of evil.
v. talk foolishly or idly; utter meaningless confusion of words or sounds
E.g. The little girl likes to babble about her doll.
v. pester; annoy persistently; persuade through constant efforts
E.g. She is forced to change her telephone number because obscene phone calls badger her.
n. popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing
E.g. The musician made the legend into a beautiful ballad.
n. principal woman dancer in a ballet company; woman ballet dancer
E.g. Tiptoeing like a ballerina is the power of art to transform us.
n. something that relieves pain
E.g. Friendship is the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.
a. mild and pleasant; fragrant
E.g. A balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast.
v. drive out; drive away; compel to depart; dispel
E.g. The king decided to banish him from the realm immediately.
n. handrail, especially on a staircase
E.g. The house was all built to the highest level of quality by the best craftsmen, only nobody in town could build the sweeping banister for that grand staircase.
n. state of being unable to pay your debts
E.g. That holding company has been in bankruptcy proceedings since last June.
n. good-humored, playful conversation
E.g. You bring good diversity to the BombCast because your opinions are varied and present a good contrast to what can sometimes be predictable banter from the guys.
n. title or degree of nobility
E.g. A feudal knight ranking between a knight bachelor and a baron, who was entitled to lead men into battle under his own standard.
a. desolate; fruitless and unproductive; lacking
E.g. Looking out at the trackless, barren desert, Indiana Jones feared that his search for the missing expedition would prove fruitless.
v. trade goods or services without the exchange of money
E.g. Trashbank is an online site where you can barter, buy, sell, trade, or swap your items or services.
n. staff or truncheon for various purposes, as one of a conductor in musical performances, one transferred by runners in a relay race
E.g. What's the textbook way to handoff the baton in the relays?
v. resent; give or expend with reluctance; be envious of
E.g. I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings; they're a complete waste of time.
v. disparage or depreciate; put down
E.g. Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts.
n. gift giver; person who gives people or institutions with financial help
E.g. Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him gifts.
a. helpful; tending to promote physical well-being
E.g. Tiny Tim's cheerful good nature had a beneficial influence on Scrooge's charitable disposition.
n. person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will
E.g. In Scrooge's will, he made Tiny Tim his beneficiary, everything he left would go to young Tim.
a. generous in providing aid to others; charitable
E.g. Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer, who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.
a. mentally or emotionally upset; deranged; excessively agitated
E.g. Angered, he became berserk and began to wreck the room.
v. beg; plead with; ask for or request earnestly
E.g. The workaholic executive's wife had to beseech him to spend more time with their son.
n. yellow, or greenish, viscid fluid, usually alkaline in reaction, secreted by the liver; bitterness of temper; ill humor
E.g. Your gallbladder is merely a storage tank for bile.
n. short period of excessive consumption; rapid and excessive consumption of food, especially of excessive alcohol
E.g. It is more likely to result in binge drinking than alcohol use among adults.
n. tree of several species, constituting the genus Betula
E.g. The birch has smooth bark and slender branches.
v. reveal secret matters; chatter thoughtlessly or indiscreetly; gossip without reserve or discretion
E.g. I'm glad they are getting assistance but you must use common sense and not blab about this.
a. lacking stimulating or mild; agreeable
E.g. She kept her gaze level and her expression bland, but her teeth were gritted.
n. act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God; utterance or writing concerning God or a sacred entity
E.g. By our very nature, every single one of us believes in blasphemy.
a. flagrant; conspicuously obvious; loudly offensive
E.g. To the unemployed youth from Dublin, the "No Irish Need Apply" placard in the shop window was a blatant mark of prejudice.
n. tiered seating for spectators in outdoor venues, especially exposed to the sun
E.g. I know a guy who made his studio out of pallets and the old bleachers from a high school.
v. blast; prevent the growth and fertility of; destroy the happiness of; ruin; frustrate
E.g. I wish to foster, not to blight -- to earn gratitude, not to wring tears of blood -- no, nor of brine: my harvest must be in smiles, in endearments, in sweet -- That will do.
n. window coverings, especially vertical blinds, wood blinds, roller blinds, pleated blinds
E.g. The two large windows, with their blinds always drawn down, were half shrouded in festoons and falls of similar drapery.
a. swollen or puffed as with water or air
E.g. Her bloated stomach came from drinking so much water.
n. something, such as a film or book that sustains widespread popularity; high-explosive bomb
E.g. Despite his young age and relative inexperience, he was soon beating out the Hollywood elite for major roles in blockbuster films.
v. foreshadow; indicate by signs; be an omen of; predict
E.g. The gloomy skies and the odors from the mineral springs seemed to bode evil to those who settled in the area.