Vocabulary for GMAT - B

baleful
(adj.) 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
(adj.) 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
(adj.) deadly or causing distress, death
Not wearing a seat belt could be baneful.

baroque
(adj.) 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
(n.) a fortified place or strong defense
The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it.

batten
(v.) to gain
The team could only batten by drafting the top player.

bauble
(n.) a showy yet useless thing
The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf.

beget
(v.) to bring into being
The king wished to beget a new heir.

beholden
(adj.) indebted to
The children were beholden to their parents for the car loan.

behoove
(v.) to be advantageous; to be necessary
It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.

belittle
(v.) 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
(adj.) quarrelsome; warlike
The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.

bemuse
(v.) to preoccupy in thought
The girl was bemused by her troubles.

benefactor
(n.) one who helps others; a donor
An anonymous benefactor donated $10,000 to the children's hospital.

beneficent
(adj.) 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
(adj.) kind; generous
The professor proved a tough questioner, but a benevolent grader.
The benevolent gentleman volunteered his services.

benign
(adj.) mild; harmless
A lamb is a benign animal, especially when compared with a lion.

berate
(v.) scold; reprove; reproach; criticize
The child was berated by her parents for breaking the china.

bereft
(v.; adj.) 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
(v.) to ask earnestly
The soldiers beseeched the civilians for help.

besmirch
(v.) to dirty or discolor
The soot from the chimney will besmirch clean curtains.

bestial
(adj.) having the qualities of a beast; brutal
The bestial employer made his employees work in an unheated room.

betroth
(v.) to promise or pledge in marriage
The man betrothed his daughter to the prince.

biased
(adj.) prejudiced; influenced; not neutral
The vegetarian had a biased opinion regarding what should be ordered
for dinner.

biennial
(adj.; n.) 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
(adj.) 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
(adj.) 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
(adj.) obvious; unmistakable; crude; vulgar
The blatant foul was reason for ejection.
The defendant was blatant in his testimony.

blighted
(adj.) causing frustration or destruction
The blighted tornado left only one building standing in its wake.

blithe
(adj.) happy; cheery; merry; a cheerful disposition
The wedding was a blithe celebration.
The blithe child was a pleasant surprise.

bode
(v.) to foretell something
The storm bode that we would not reach our destination.

bombast
(n.) 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
(adj.) pompous; wordy; turgid
The bombastic woman talks a lot about herself.

boor
(n.) a rude person
The boor was not invited to the party, but he came anyway.

breadth
(n.) the distance from one side to another
The table cloth was too small to cover the breadth of the table.

brevity
(n.) briefness; shortness
On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was the coin of the realm.

brindled
(adj.) mixed with a darker color
In order to get matching paint we made a brindled mixture.

broach
(v.) to introduce into conversation
Broaching the touchy subject was difficult.

brusque
(adj.) abrupt in manner or speech
His brusque answer was neither acceptable nor polite.

bucolic
(adj.) having to do with shepherds or the country
The bucolic setting inspired the artist.

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

bungler
(n.) a clumsy person
The one who broke the crystal vase was a true bungler.

burgeon
(v.) 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
(v.; n.) 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
(adj.) strong; bulky; stocky
The lumberjack was a burly man.

burnish
(v.) to polish by rubbing
The vase needed to be burnished to restore its beauty.