| Word | Part of Speech | Definition |
|
| bacchanal | n | A noisy party with a large amount of alcohol; a large and noisy celebration. |
| badger | v | To pester; to annoy continually with demands; to ask repeatedly. |
| badinage | n | Teasing conversation; light-spirited banter. |
| bailiwick | n | A person's area of knowledge or ability; the jurisdiction of a bailiff. |
| bait | v | To harass and tease; to torment; to entice. |
| balderdash | n | Nonsense; illogical talk or reasoning. |
| baleful | adj | Evil; malignant; inflicting harm. |
| balloon | v | To expand like a balloon; to bulge; to increase greatly. |
| balm | n | Something that relieves pain; a substance with a pleasant smell, most often derived from tropical plants. |
| balneal | adj | Pertaining to bathing; of, or relating to baths. |
| banal | adj | Commonplace; trite; ordinary. |
| bandy | v | To discuss lightly or glibly; to pass back and forth; to circulate. |
| bane | n | Cause of ruin; poison. |
| baneful | adj | Causing harm; pernicious. |
| bantering | n | Joking talk; good-humored ridiculing; friendly joking. |
| bariatric | adj | Of or relating to that branch of medicine that deals with obesity; pertaining or referring to something that is obese. |
| barrage | n | Repeated onslaught; an overwhelming, repetitive force. |
| barrister | n | A counselor; a student of law who is asked to appear before the court. |
| barterer | n | A trader; a person skilled in exchanging goods. |
| base | adj | Morally bad; characterized by a lack of human decency. |
| bask | v | To take pleasure in. |
| bastion | n | A stronghold; protection; a fortified position. |
| bazaar | n | A marketplace; a store where many different types of items are for sale. |
| beatify | v | To bless with happiness; to make blissful. |
| bedraggle | v | To make dirty; to wet thoroughly. |
| beeline | n | A direct quick route between any two points. |
| befriend | v | To acquire as a friend; to act as a friend towards. |
| beget | v | To father; to produce or to procure; to give rise to. |
| beguile | v | To deceive; to deliberately tell a lie with the intent to mislead or delude. |
| behemoth | n | A huge creature; something of monstrous size or power. |
| belated | adj | Delayed; tardy. |
| beleaguer | v | To besiege; to attack; harass; to best. |
| belfry | n | The bell tower of a church. |
| belie | v | To contradict; to give a false impression of; to lie. |
| belittle | v | To criticize; to berate; to speak of as if not important. |
| bellicose | adj | Belligerent; waging war; willing and eager to fight. |
| belligerent | adj | Quarrelsome; engaged or eager for battle. |
| bemused | adj | Confused; lost in thought. |
| benefactor | n | Somebody who gives; a patron; a supporter of a certain cause that contributes in terms of money. |
| beneficent | adj | Kindly; doing good; benevolent. |
| benevolence | n | Kindness; the thought of doing something well or for the sake of others; generosity that is directed towards others. |
| benevolent | adj | Generous; charitable; characterized by a willingness to give. |
| benign | adj | Not dangerous; kind; favorable. |
| benison | n | A blessing; benediction; a prayer. |
| bent | adj | Determined; set; resolved. |
| bequeath | v | To hand down; to leave someone a portion of one's wealth after death. |
| berate | v | To scold strongly; to criticize. |
| beseech | v | To beg; to plead; to appeal urgently. |
| besiege | v | To surround with an army or armed forces; to harass; annoy continually. |
| besmirch | v | Soil; to charge falsely; to make dirty. |
| besot | v | Infatuate, to obsess. |
| best | v | To defeat; to outwit; to outsmart; to claim victory. |
| bestial | adj | Savage; brutal; carnal. |
| bestow | v | To confer upon; to give; to pass down. |
| betray | v | to reveal; to be promiscuous; to be unfaithful to a cause or person. |
| bevy | n | A large group; a big collection. |
| bewilder | v | To puzzle; to confuse. |
| bewitch | v | TO cast a spell over; to completely captivate. |
| bicameral | adj | Two-chambered, most often referring to a legislative body. |
| bicker | v | To quarrel; to argue aimlessly. |
| biennial | adj | Occurring every two years. |
| bifurcated | adj | Forked; having two branches. |
| bigot | n | A narrow-minded person; somebody who is unwilling to listen to the religious or political opinions of others. |
| bigotry | n | Intolerance towards another person's ideas or beliefs. |
| bilge | n | The rounded areas that form the bottom and sides on the exterior of a ship's hull. |
| bilious | adj | Suffering from indigestion; irritable; easily irritated; liable to explode. |
| bilk | v | To cheat; to swindle; to haggle unscrupulously. |
| billet-doux | n | A love letter; a note from a lover. |
| biting | adj | Sharply painful to the body or to the mind. |
| bizarre | adj | Fantastic; extremely odd; unconventional; perplexing. |
| blackguard | n | A rude person; a scoundrel; a person who uses profane language. |
| blackmail | v | To extort; to threaten in an attempt to gain money. |
| blandishment | n | Flattery, with an intention to persuade; to urge to action. |
| blast | n | A strong current of wind; a forcible stream of air or gas; an explosion of air, steam, or gas. |
| bleak | adj | Cold; seemingly hopeless; depressing. |
| blithe | adj | Cheerful; joyous; carefree. |
| bloated | adj | Swollen; filled with water or air; overfilled. |
| bludgeon | n | A club; a heavy, blunt weapon. |
| blueprint | n | A detailed plan of action; a schematic or detailed diagram. |
| blues | n | State of depression or melancholy; sorrows. |
| bluff | n | A lie; a deception. |
| blunder | n | An error; a mistake; a gaffe. |
| blunt | adj | Having a dull edge; abrupt and frank in speech. |
| blurt | v | To exclaim abruptly; to utter impulsively; to yell out from fear or embarassment. |
| blush | v | To become red, usually referring to somebody who is bashful or who becomes embarrassed and whose face turns red or rosy. |
| bluster | v | To bully; to threaten; to domineer. |
| bog | n | Soft wet land; a swamp; a wet area without any moving water. |
| bohemian | adj | Unconventional; revolutionary in terms of art. |
| bolide | n | A large meteor; a fireball that eventually explodes. |
| bolster | v | To support; to reinforce; to give momentum to. |
| bolt | v | To dash off; to dart off; to fasten. |
| bombast | adj | Grandiloquent, pompous; overly showy and expressive. |
| bondage | n | The state in which somebody is bound as a slave or a serf; servitude. |
| bookish | adj | Fond of books and reading. |
| boon | n | A favor; a blessing; a wish granted by a god. |
| boor | n | A rude, unrefined person, often with bad manners. |
| boorish | adj | Rude and crass; insensitive and inconsiderate. |
| bountiful | adj | Generous; Gracious; plentiful. |
| bout | n | A match; a fight; a period of heightened activity. |
| bow | n | The front part of a ship. |
| bowdlerize | v | To modify; to clean up; to amend by removing certain parts. |
| boycott | v | To abstain from use; to refuse to partake in. |
| brace | v | To hold up; to prepare. |
| brackish | adj | Having a salty taste; distasteful. |
| brag | v | To boast; to speak highly of. |
| braggadocio | n | Boasting, usually vain and meaningless. |
| braggart | n | A person who boasts; a bragger. |
| braid | v | To interweave strands; to make by weaving strands together. |
| brash | adj | Hasty; done without contemplation; harsh. |
| bravado | n | Swagger; a pretentious display of courage; an attitude of defiance; a false show of bravery. |
| brawn | n | Muscular strength; sturdiness; muscular power. |
| brawny | adj | Muscular; having well-developed muscles. |
| brazen | adj | Insolent; bold. |
| breach | n | The breaking of a contract or duty; a fissure; a gap; an opening. |
| bricolage | n | An object that is constructed using whatever materials are available at the time. |
| bridle | v | To control or restrain; to show anger. |
| brilliant | adj | Very smart; very vivid; bright and showy. |
| brim | n | The uppermost edge of a cup, bowl, or other saucer-like object; a protruding edge. |
| brink | n | The edge; the rim. |
| bristle | n | Short stiff hair. |
| brittle | adj | Easily broken; malleable. |
| broach | v | To introduce; to moot; to begin a discussion upon. |
| brobdingnagian | adj | Enormous; very large. |
| brocade | n | A fabric that is richly ornamented or which has ornate, raised patterns. |
| brood | v | To sit on with an intent to hatch; to think deeply about; to ponder. |
| brook | v | To tolerate; to endure. |
| browbeat | v | To bully; intimidate; to discourage by means of threats. |
| browse | v | To graze; to feed on growing vegetation; to glance at casually. |
| brusque | adj | Extremely blunt; abrupt; overly rude; unconstrained. |
| buccaneer | n | A pirate; a person who defies the law. |
| bucolic | adj | Rustic; pastoral; crude; boorish; pertaining to rural life. |
| buffoon | n | A stupid person; a clown; somebody who always manages to mess things up. |
| bulge | n | A protruding part; a swelling of a surface. |
| bulletin | n | A short news report; a piece of information meant to be disseminated right away. |
| bullion | n | Either gold and silver shaped in the form of bars. |
| bulwark | n | A defensive wall. |
| bungle | v | To mismanage; to misappropriate; to blunder completely. |
| burgeon | v | To grow quickly; to expand; to send out buds. |
| burlesque | adj | Referring to mockery of a serious matter. |
| burnish | v | To make shiny; to rub repeatedly in an attempt to polish. |
| bust | n | A sculpture of a person's head, shoulders and chest. |
| buttress | n | A support; something that props up another object. |
| buxom | adj | Plump; full; jolly. |
| byline | n | Piece of information that is part of an article and which identifies the author; added information that implies authorship. |