UNIT#7-8

blasé

ADJ. bored with pleasure or dissipation.

blasphemy

N. irreverence; sacrilege; cursing.

blatant

ADJ. flagrant; conspicuously obvious; loudly offensive.

bleak

ADJ. cold or cheerless; unlikely to be favorable.

blighted

ADJ. suffering from a disease; destroyed.

blithe

ADJ. joyous; carefree; gay (original meaning).

bluff

ADJ. rough but good-natured.

bluff

N. pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff.

blunder

N. error.

blurt

V. utter impulsively.

bluster

V. blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully.

bode

V. foreshadow; portend.

bogus

ADJ. counterfeit; not authentic.

bohemian

ADJ. unconventional (in an artistic way).

boisterous

ADJ. violent; rough; noisy.

bolster

V. support; reinforce.

bolt

N. door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric.

bolt

V. dash or dart off; fasten (a door); gobble down.

booming

ADJ. (1) deep and resonant; (2) flourishing, thriving.

boon

N. blessing; benefit.

boorish

ADJ. rude; insensitive.

boundless

ADJ. unlimited; vast.

bountiful

ADJ. abundant; graciously generous.

bourgeois

ADJ. middle class; selfishly materialistic; dully conventional.

boycott

V. refrain from buying or using.

braggart

N. boaster.

brandish

V. wave around; flourish.

bravado

N. swagger; assumed air of defiance.

brawn

N. muscular strength; sturdiness.

brazen

ADJ. insolent.

breach

N. breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap.

breadth

N. width; extent.

brevity

N. conciseness.

brittle

ADJ. easily broken; difficult.

browse

V. graze; skim or glance at casually.

brunt

N. main impact or shock.

brusque

ADJ. blunt; abrupt.

buffet

N. table with food set out for people to serve themselves; meal at which people help themselves to food that's been set out.

buffet

V. slap; batter; knock about.

bulwark

N. earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends.

bungle

V. mismanage; blunder.

buoyant

ADJ. (1) able to float; (2) cheerful and optimistic.

bureaucracy

N. over-regulated administrative system marked by red tape.

burgeon

V. begin to increase quickly; flourish.

burlesque

V. give an imitation that ridicules.

burnish

V. make shiny by rubbing; polish.

bustle

V. move about energetically; teem.

buttress

V. support; prop up.

cache

N. hiding place.

cacophonous

ADJ. discordant; inharmonious.

cajole

V. coax; wheedle.

calamity

N. disaster; misery.

calculated

ADJ. deliberately planned; likely.

caliber

N. ability; quality.

callous

ADJ. hardened; unfeeling.

callow

ADJ. youthful; immature; inexperienced.

cameo

N. shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film.

camouflage

V. disguise; conceal.

candor

N. frankness; open honesty.

cantankerous

ADJ. ill-humored; irritable.

capacious

ADJ. spacious.

capacity

N. (1) greatest amount or number that something can hold; (2) amount that something can produce; (3) power to understand or to perform; (4) specified position.

capricious

ADJ. unpredictable; fickle; fanciful.

caption

N. title; chapter heading; text under illustration.

captivate

V. charm or enthrall.

cardinal

ADJ. chief.

caricature

N. exaggerated picture or description; distortion.

carnivorous

ADJ. meat-eating.

carping

ADJ. finding fault.

castigate

V. criticize severely; punish.

casualty

N. serious or fatal accident.

cataclysm

N. violent upheaval; deluge.

catalyst

N. agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged.

catastrophe

N. calamity; disaster.

categorical

ADJ. without exceptions; unqualified; absolute.

cater to

V. supply something desired (whether good or bad).

catharsis

N. release of repressed emotional tensions.

catholic

ADJ. wide-ranging in interests.

caucus

N. private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy.

causal

ADJ. implying a cause-and-effect relationship.

caustic

ADJ. burning; sarcastically biting.

cavil

V. make frivolous objections.

cede

V. yield (title, territory) to; surrender formally.

celebrated

ADJ. famous; well-known.

censor

N. overseer of morals; person who reads to eliminate inappropriate remarks.

censorious

ADJ. critical.

censure

V. blame; criticize.

centrifugal

ADJ. radiating; departing from the center.

centripetal

ADJ. tending toward the center.

cerebral

ADJ. pertaining to the brain or intellect.

ceremonious

ADJ. marked by formality.

certitude

N. certainty.

cessation

N. stoppage.

cession

N. yielding to another; ceding.

chagrin

N. vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride); disappointment.

chameleon

N. Iizard that changes color in different situations.

champion

V. support militantly.

chaotic

ADJ. in utter disorder.

charismatic

ADJ. compellingly charming; magnetic.

charlatan

N. quack; pretender to knowledge.