Confusing Words Clarified: Group B; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc. +(lists of "B" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)A classic story tells how Plato had defined man as a featherless two-tooted animal, and his students agreed. The next day, Diogenes pulled the feathers off a cock and took it to Plato. "Here's Plato's man," he said. It was an embarrassing moment for Plato. Thereafter he corrected the definition to "a featherless two-footed animal with flat nails". Ever since Plato's description, man has never ceased to define man, and has constantly sought a more meaningful self-definition. Voltaire altered the Platonic version, in Candide, to "man is a featherless biped with a soul".
Another unknown author created, "Man is the only animal that eats when he is not hungry, and drinks when he is not thirsty." Efforts have been made to help you grasp the meanings of various words that may be confusing so you can utilize them with greater accuracy in your communication. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome by writing to: E-mail Contact (just click it for an e-mail form) or by typing, words@wordinfo.info, as the address in your e-mail heading. If you have any problems understanding the pronunciation symbols, go to this Pronunciation Chart for clarifications.bathos, pathos
bathos (BAY thos")
Something that is ridiculously melodramatic, commonplace, or mawkish; particularly when someone is striving for a much more exalted effect: "The serious message of the film is ruined by the bathos of its ridiculous ending."
"The lady walked across the street, lifting her skirts to avoid the puddle, only to create a picture of bathos by stepping into the manure left by a passing horse." pathos (PAY thos)
Something that genuinely evokes pity or sorrow: "Our knowledge of his tragic end adds an element of pathos to the story of his early success."
"The stage play, based on the story of a farm boy, created a sense of pathos in the audience, as they remembered their own experiences." baton, batten
baton (buh TON, BAT'n)
1. A slender wooden stick or rod used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or band: "The orchestra conductor raised his baton to start the music."
2. A hollow metal rod with a heavy rubber tip or tips that is wielded and twirled by a drum major or drum majorette: "The majorette twirled the baton as she led the marching band." 3. A short staff carried certain public officials as a symbol of office: "The mayor passed the baton or gave the job and responsibility on to the new mayor." batten (BAT'n)
1. To prepare for possible trouble or difficulty: "The city is ready to batten down for the weekend's scheduled protests."
2. To thrive and to prosper, especially at another person's expense: "He could only batten like a leech on the financial savings of other people." batter, batter
batter (BAT uhr)
1. To hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows in a way that causes much damage or injury: "The sun, wind, and rain will continue to batter those mountain tops just as they have for thousands of years."
2. The player at bat in baseball and cricket: "He does equally well as both a left-handed and a right-handed batter." batter (BAT uhr)
A liquid, or semiliquid mixture, as of flour, milk, and eggs, used in cooking and which is used to cover food before it is fried: "Dip the fish in a batter of flour, milk, and eggs and then fry it."
bazaar, bizarre
bazaar (buh ZAR)
1. An Oriental market place; shopping quarter; marketplace, trade center: "We bought this rug at the bazaar in Marrakesh."
2. Awe-inspiring, awesome, wondrous: "The astronauts know the bazaar expanse of the solar system." bizarre (bi ZAR)
Strange, weird, outlandish, odd, unusual: "Children like to wear bizarre costumes on Halloween."
Remember the differences between these words: "A woman wore a rather bizarre dress as she bought a cake at the village bazaar." Bazaar is a word for a charity sale spelled in a bizarre way. BB, be, bee
BB (BEE BEE)
A tiny ball, or shot, measuring .18 of an inch (.46 centimeters) in diameter and which is fired from an air rifle (a BB gun) or shotgun: "His target practice consisted of shooting one BB at a time."
be (BEE)
1. The verb "to be"; to exist in actuality: "He will be here later."
2. To have reality in one's life: "Shakespeare’s character, Hamlet, pondered reality: 'To be or not to be...'." bee (BEE)
1. An insect, solitary or social in habit, some species of which produce honey: "He had bee hives so he could harvest the honey."
"The bee flew from flower to flower collecting pollen which would be made into honey." 2. A get together or gathering of people for a specific purpose; such as, a competition between schools or the completion of a joint project: "The sixth grade students won the spelling bee.""The women met once each month for a quilting bee." A bee is an insect that teaches us two lessons: One is not to be idle and the other is not to get stung. beach, beech
beach (BEECH)
The sloping shore of a body of water: "The family planned a picnic on the beach at the local lake."
beech (BEECH)
A kind of tree or any of a genus (Fagus) trees that grow in temperate regions with smooth, ash-gray bark and bearing an edible nut: "The squirrels in the garden loved to collect the beech nuts that fell to the ground."
A beach is the seaside where people rarely bother to hide their hides. beat, beet
beat (BEET)
1. To hit or to strike repeatedly; to flog: "The cruel captain on the ship would beat the sailors who disobeyed him."
2. Indicating a tempo for music: "The violinist used a metronome to set the beat for her practice sessions." 3. To speak about or to discuss something in a round about way: "He tried to beat around the bush instead of providing a direct answer." "The politician beat around the bush when trying to explain the proposed policy." beet (BEET)
A vegetable; the fleshly, succulent root of a biennial herb of the crowfoot family used as a vegetable (beta vulgaris): "The chef created a beet salad for the menu."
"The bulbous root of the beet is characteristically dark red." When I saw the chopped up purple vegetable on my plate, it looked like a beat beet. beatify, beautify
beatify (be AT uh figh)
1. In the Roman Catholic Church, to proclaim (a deceased person) to be one of the blessed and thus worthy of public religious veneration in a particular region or religious congregation: "The Pope will beatify her after more than a hundred years since her death."
2. To make happy; to bless with the completion of celestial enjoyment: "She was blessed with spirits that beatify one's life." beautify (BYOO tuh figh)
Enhance, adorn, dress up; to make or to become beautiful: "Planting flowers along the streets will help to beautify our town."
beau, bow
beau (BOH)
The boyfriend, sweetheart, or lover of a girl or a woman: "She was waiting for her beau to pick her up."
bow (BOH)
1. A decorative knot: "He adjusted his bow tie before leaving for the dance."
2. A weapon made from a strip of elastic wood, bent by a string and used to project arrows: "The boy was practicing his skills by shooting arrows at the target with his bow."
3. As a verb, to curve or to bend: "He was trying to bow the flexible piece of steel." beaut, butte
beaut (BYOOT)
A slang term for something beautiful or outstanding: "The boy exclaimed, 'Now, that was some beaut' when the red car drove by."
butte (BYOOT)
A conspicuous hill; one with steep sides and a flat top: "The explorers stood on the butte and admired the river below."
been, bin
been (BIN)
Past participle of the verb "be": "He has been here all morning."
bin (BIN)
A box or an enclosed place or large receptacle for holding meal, coal, etc.: "He replaced the coal in the bin because it was almost gone."
beer, bier
beer (BIR)
An alcoholic drink consisting of a fermented beverage made from malt and hops: "After work, the women from the factory got together for a beer before going home."
bier (BIR)
1. A coffin together with its stand prior to burial: "The undertaker arranged the coffin and the bier for the funeral reception or wake."
2. A framework for carrying a dead body to the grave: "The mourners followed the bier to the cemetery." beetle, betel
beetle (BEET'l)
1. An insect of the order Coleoptera which has four wings, the outer of which are modified to protect the inner wings when at rest or any insect that closely resembles a beetle: "The student was excited to find a rare beetle for her insect collection."
2. A heavy mallet with a large wooden head used to mash potatoes or to hammer cobblestones into place: "The workers completing the road repair used a beetle to set the stones into place." 3. Jutting; overhanging: "His beetle eye brows were quite a site to behold." betel (BEET'l)
A climbing pepper plant producing leaves which Asians chew: "To relax after a hard day, the men gathered at the town square and chewed betel leaves and nuts."
believe, feel
believe (bi LEEV)
1. To accept as true or real: "Many people seem to believe that theory, but I find it difficult to believe."
2. To understand and accept on faith; to have and opinion or conviction as to the truth of something: "Looking out the window, the man saw enough to believe that it would rain today." 3. To have trust in the ability, worth, etc., of someone or something: "The football team hasn't won a championship in many years, but their fans still believe that they will win one day." 4. To regard the existence of God as a fact or to have religious beliefs: "She went to church because her family expected it, but she didn't really believe." feel (FEEL)
1. To perceive as a physical sensation: "She wanted to feel the material to determine if it was wool or cotton."
2. To learn about and to experience something through touch or physical exploration: "To read Braille, the student will feel the raised dots on the page." 3. To be aware of, to be conscious of a state of mind or impression, to experience sympathy or compassion with respect to a situation or individual: "I feel great sympathy with individuals who have recently lost their jobs." 4. To believe or to think something: "I feel that I really ought to say something about the behavior of the neighbor's dog when no one is home." bell, belle
bell (BEL)
1. A hollow metallic instrument, usually cup-shaped, which gives forth a musical tone when struck: "The large sonorous bell was hanging in the church tower."
2. Something that rings: "The fire bell woke us in the middle of the night." belle (BEL)
A pretty woman or a beautiful girl: "That gown will make you the belle of the ball."
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