Words starting with B | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

baleful: harmful, malign, detrimental

After she was fired, she realized it was a baleful move to point the blame at her superior.

The strange liquid could be baleful if ingested.

banal: trite; without freshness or originality

Attending parties became trite after a few weeks.

It was a banal suggestion to have the annual picnic in the park, since that was where it had been for the past five years.

baneful: deadly or causing distress, death

Not wearing a seat belt could be baneful.

baroque: extravagant; ornate; embellished

The baroque artwork was made up of intricate details which kept the museum-goers enthralled.

The baroque furnishings did not fit in the plain, modest home.

bastion: a fortified place or strong defense

The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it.

batten: to gain

The team could only batten by drafting the top player.

bauble: a showy yet useless thing

The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf

beget: to bring into being

The king wished to beget a new heir.

beholden: indebted to

The children were beholden to their parents for the car loan.

behoove: to be advantageous; to be necessary

It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.

belittle: to make small; to think lightly of

The unsympathetic friend belittled her friend's problems and spoke of her own as the most important.

bellicose: quarrelsome; warlike

The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.

bemuse: to preoccupy in thought

The girl was bemused by her troubles.

benefactor: one who helps others; a donor

An anonymous benefactor donated $10,000 to the children's hospital.

beneficent: conferring benefits; kindly; doing good

He is a beneficent person, always taking in stray animals and talking to people who need someone to listen.

A beneficent donation helped the organization meet its goal.

benevolent: kind; generous

The professor proved a tough questioner, but a benevolent grader.

The benevolent gentleman volunteered his services.

benign: mild; harmless

A lamb is a benign animal, especially when compared with a lion.

berate: scold; reprove; reproach; criticize

The child was berated by her parents for breaking the china.

bereft: to be deprived of; to be in a sad manner; hurt by someone's death

The loss of his job will leave the man bereft of many luxuries.

The widower was bereft for many years after his wife's death.

beseech: to ask earnestly

The soldiers beseeched the civilians for help.

besmirch: to dirty or discolor

The soot from the chimney will besmirch clean curtains.

bestial: having the qualities of a beast; brutal

The bestial employer made his employees work in an unheated room.

betroth: to promise or pledge in marriage

The man betrothed his daughter to the prince.

biased: prejudiced; influenced; not neutral

The vegetarian had a biased opinion regarding what should be ordered for dinner.

biennial: happening every two years; a plant which blooms every two years

The biennial journal's influence seemed only magnified by its infrequent publication.

She has lived here for four years and has seen the biennials bloom twice.

bilateral: pertaining to or affecting both sides or two sides; having two sides

A bilateral decision was made so that both partners reaped equal benefits from the same amount of work.

The brain is a bilateral organ, consisting of a left and right hemisphere.

blasphemous: irreligious; away from acceptable standards; speaking ill of using profane language

The upper-class parents thought that it was blasphemous for their son to marry a waitress.

His blasphemous outburst was heard throughout the room.

blatant: obvious; unmistakable; crude; vulgar

The blatant foul was reason for ejection.

The defendant was blatant in his testimony.

blighted: causing frustration or destruction

The blighted tornado left only one building standing in its wake.

blithe: happy; cheery; merry; a cheerful disposition

The wedding was a blithe celebration.

The blithe child was a pleasant surprise.

bode: to foretell something

The storm bode that we would not reach our destination.

bombast: pompous speech; pretentious words

After he delivered his bombast at the podium, he arrogantly left the meeting.

The presenter ended his bombast with a prediction of his future success.

bombastic: pompous; wordy; turgid

The bombastic woman talks a lot about herself.

boor: a rude person

The boor was not invited to the party, but he came anyway.

breadth: the distance from one side to another

The table cloth was too small to cover the breadth of the table.

brevity: briefness; shortness

On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was the coin of the realm.

brindled: mixed with a darker color

In order to get matching paint we made a brindled mixture.

broach: to introduce into conversation

Broaching the touchy subject was difficult.

brusque: abrupt in manner or speech

His brusque answer was neither acceptable nor polite.

bucolic: having to do with shepherds or the country

The bucolic setting inspired the artist.

bumptious: arrogant

He was bumptious in manner as he approached the podium to accept his anticipated award.

bungler: a clumsy person

The one who broke the crystal vase was a true bungler.

burgeon: to grow or develop quickly

The tumor appeared to burgeon more quickly than normal.

After the first punch was thrown, the dispute burgeoned into a brawl.

burlesque: to imitate in a non-serious manner; a comical imitation

His stump speeches were so hackneyed, he seemed to be burlesquing of his role as a congressman.

George Burns was considered one of the great practitioners of burlesque.

burly: strong; bulky; stocky

The lumberjack was a burly man.

burnish: to polish by rubbing

The vase needed to be burnished to restore its beauty.