IELTS Exam Vocabulary List - B
- Baconian adj. Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon or his system of philosophy.
- bacterium n. A microbe.
- badger v. To pester.
- baffle v. To foil or frustrate.
- bailiff n. An officer of court having custody of prisoners under arraignment.
- baize n. A single-colored napped woolen fabric used for table-covers, curtains, etc.
- bale n. A large package prepared for transportation or storage.
- baleful adj. Malignant.
- ballad n. Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.
- balsam n. A medical preparation, aromatic and oily, used for healing.
- banal adj. Commonplace.
- barcarole n. A boat-song of Venetian gondoliers.
- barograph n. An instrument that registers graphically and continuously the atmospheric pressure.
- barometer n. An instrument for indicating the atmospheric pressure per unit of surface.
- barring prep. Apart from.
- baritone adj. Having a register higher than bass and lower than tenor.
- bask v. To make warm by genial heat.
- bass adj. Low in tone or compass.
- baste v. To cover with melted fat, gravy, while cooking.
- baton n. An official staff borne either as a weapon or as an emblem of authority or privilege.
- battalion n. A body of infantry composed of two or more companies, forming a part of a regiment.
- batten n. A narrow strip of wood.
- batter n. A thick liquid mixture of two or more materials beaten together, to be used in cookery.
- bauble n. A trinket.
- bawl v. To proclaim by outcry.
- beatify v. To make supremely happy.
- beatitude n. Any state of great happiness.
- beau n. An escort or lover.
- becalm v. To make quiet.
- beck v. To give a signal to, by nod or gesture.
- bedaub v. To smear over, as with something oily or sticky.
- bedeck v. To cover with ornament.
- bedlam n. Madhouse.
- befog v. To confuse.
- befriend v. To be a friend to, especially when in need.
- beget v. To produce by sexual generation.
- begrudge v. To envy one of the possession of.
- belate v. To delay past the proper hour.
- belay v. To make fast, as a rope, by winding round a cleat.
- belie v. To misrepresent.
- believe v. To accept as true on the testimony or authority of others.
- belittle v. To disparage.
- belle n. A woman who is a center of attraction because of her beauty, accomplishments, etc.
- bellicose adj. Warlike.
- belligerent adj. Manifesting a warlike spirit.
- bemoan v. To lament
- benediction n. a solemn invocation of the divine blessing.
- benefactor n. A doer of kindly and charitable acts.
- benefice n. A church office endowed with funds or property for the maintenance of divine service.
- beneficent adj. Characterized by charity and kindness.
- beneficial adj. Helpful.
- beneficiary n. One who is lawfully entitled to the profits and proceeds of an estate or property.
- benefit n. Helpful result.
- benevolence n. Any act of kindness or well-doing.
- benevolent adj. Loving others and actively desirous of their well-being.
- benign adj. Good and kind of heart.
- benignant adj. Benevolent in feeling, character, or aspect.
- benignity n. Kindness of feeling, disposition, or manner.
- benison n. Blessing.
- bequeath v. To give by will.
- bereave v. To make desolate with loneliness and grief.
- berth n. A bunk or bed in a vessel, sleeping-car, etc.
- beseech v. To implore.
- beset v. To attack on all sides.
- besmear v. To smear over, as with any oily or sticky substance.
- bestial adj. Animal.
- bestrew v. To sprinkle or cover with things strewn.
- bestride v. To get or sit upon astride, as a horse.
- bethink v. To remind oneself.
- betide v. To happen to or befall.
- betimes adv. In good season or time.
- betroth v. To engage to marry.
- betrothal n. Engagement to marry.
- bevel n. Any inclination of two surfaces other than 90 degrees.
- bewilder v. To confuse the perceptions or judgment of.
- bibliomania n. The passion for collecting books.
- bibliography n. A list of the words of an author, or the literature bearing on a particular subject.
- bibliophile n. One who loves books.
- bibulous adj. Fond of drinking.
- bide v. To await.
- biennial n. A plant that produces leaves and roots the first year and flowers and fruit the second.
- bier n. A horizontal framework with two handles at each end for carrying a corpse to the grave.
- bigamist n. One who has two spouses at the same time.
- bigamy n. The crime of marrying any other person while having a legal spouse living.
- bight n. A slightly receding bay between headlands, formed by a long curve of a coast-line.
- bilateral adj. Two-sided.
- bilingual adj. Speaking two languages.
- biograph n. A bibliographical sketch or notice.
- biography n. A written account of one's life, actions, and character.
- biology n. The science of life or living organisms.
- biped n. An animal having two feet.
- birthright n. A privilege or possession into which one is born.
- bitterness n. Acridity, as to the taste.
- blasé adj. Sated with pleasure.
- blaspheme v. To indulge in profane oaths.
- blatant adj. Noisily or offensively loud or clamorous.
- blaze n. A vivid glowing flame.
- blazon v. To make widely or generally known.
- bleak adj. Desolate.
- blemish n. A mark that mars beauty.
- blithe adj. Joyous.
- blithesome adj. Cheerful.
- blockade n. The shutting up of a town, a frontier, or a line of coast by hostile forces.
- boatswain n. A subordinate officer of a vessel, who has general charge of the rigging, anchors, etc.
- bodice n. A women's ornamental corset-shaped laced waist.
- bodily adj. Corporeal.
- boisterous adj. Unchecked merriment or animal spirits.
- bole n. The trunk or body of a tree.
- bolero n. A Spanish dance, illustrative of the passion of love, accompanied by caste nets and singing.
- boll n. A round pod or seed-capsule, as a flax or cotton.
- bolster v. To support, as something wrong.
- bomb n. A hollow projectile containing an explosive material.
- bombard v. To assail with any missile or with abusive speech.
- bombardier n. A person who has charge of mortars, bombs, and shells.
- bombast n. Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects.
- boorish adj. Rude.
- bore v. To weary by tediousness or dullness.
- borough n. An incorporated village or town.
- bosom n. The breast or the upper front of the thorax of a human being, especially of a woman.
- botanical adj. Connected with the study or cultivation of plants.
- botanize v. To study plant-life.
- botany n. The science that treats of plants.
- bountiful adj. Showing abundance.
- Bowdlerize v. To expurgate in editing (a literary composition) by omitting words or passage.
- bowler n. In cricket, the player who delivers the ball.
- boycott v. To place the products or merchandise of under a ban.
- brae n. Hillside.
- braggart n. A vain boaster.
- brandish v. To wave, shake, or flourish triumphantly or defiantly, as a sword or spear.
- bravado n. An aggressive display of boldness.
- bravo interj. Well done.
- bray n. A loud harsh sound, as the cry of an ass or the blast of a horn.
- braze v. To make of or ornament with brass.
- brazier n. An open pan or basin for holding live coals.
- breach n. The violation of official duty, lawful right, or a legal obligation.
- breaker n. One who trains horses, dogs, etc.
- breech n. The buttocks.
- brethren n. pl. Members of a brotherhood, gild, profession, association, or the like.
- brevity n. Shortness of duration.
- bric-a-brac n. Objects of curiosity or for decoration.
- bridle n. The head-harness of a horse consisting of a head-stall, a bit, and the reins.
- brigade n. A body of troops consisting of two or more regiments.
- brigadier n. General officer who commands a brigade, ranking between a colonel and a major-general.
- brigand n. One who lives by robbery and plunder.
- brimstone n. Sulfur.
- brine n. Water saturated with salt.
- bristle n. One of the coarse, stiff hairs of swine: used in brush-making, etc.
- Britannia n. The United Kingdom of Great Britain.
- Briticism n. A word, idiom, or phrase characteristic of Great Britain or the British.
- brittle adj. Fragile.
- broach v. To mention, for the first time.
- broadcast adj. Disseminated far and wide.
- brogan n. A coarse, heavy shoe.
- brogue n. Any dialectic pronunciation of English, especially that of the Irish people.
- brokerage n. The business of making sales and purchases for a commission; a broker.
- bromine n. A dark reddish-brown, non-metallic liquid element with a suffocating odor.
- bronchitis n. Inflammation of the bronchial tubes.
- bronchus n. Either of the two subdivisions of the trachea conveying air into the lungs.
- brooch n. An article of jewelry fastened by a hinged pin and hook on the underside.
- brotherhood n. Spiritual or social fellowship or solidarity.
- browbeat v. To overwhelm, or attempt to do so, by stern, haughty, or rude address or manner.
- brusque adj. Somewhat rough or rude in manner or speech.
- buffoon n. A clown.
- buffoonery n. Low drollery, coarse jokes, etc.
- bulbous adj. Of, or pertaining to, or like a bulb.
- bullock n. An ox.
- bulrush n. Any one of various tall rush-like plants growing in damp ground or water.
- bulwark n. Anything that gives security or defense.
- bumper n. A cup or glass filled to the brim, especially one to be drunk as a toast or health.
- bumptious adj. Full of offensive and aggressive self-conceit.
- bungle v. To execute clumsily.
- buoyancy n. Power or tendency to float on or in a liquid or gas.
- buoyant adj. Having the power or tendency to float or keep afloat.
- bureau n. A chest of drawers for clothing, etc.
- bureaucracy n. Government by departments of men transacting particular branches of public business.
- burgess n. In colonial times, a member of the lower house of the legislature of Maryland or Virginia.
- burgher n. An inhabitant, citizen or freeman of a borough burgh, or corporate town.
- burnish v. To make brilliant or shining.
- bursar n. A treasurer.
- bustle v. To hurry.
- butt v. To strike with or as with the head, or horns.
- butte n. A conspicuous hill, low mountain, or natural turret, generally isolated.
- buttress n. Any support or prop.
- by-law n. A rule or law adopted by an association, a corporation, or the like.
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