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.bibliography, biography
bibliography (bib" lee AHG ruh fee)
A listing, often descriptive, of materials, with information relating to a specific subject: "The student compiled an extensive bibliography of materials available in the library to give to the professor."
biography (bigh AHG ruh fee)
Usually the written account of a person's life: "Elizabeth Gaskell wrote the biography of Charlotte Bronte at the request of the Bronte family."
bid, bide
bid (BID)
1. To make an offer for the price for something; often in the context of an auction: "During the auction of furniture, the housewife made the highest bid for the set of chairs for the kitchen."
2. An invitation or an expression offered as a greeting or benediction: "When they met on the street, the older woman bid her friends to join her for tea in the shop." "After their tea, the women bid each other farewell as they went on their various ways." 3. An offer to do a job for a particular price: "The company is accepting the man's bid for the renovation project."4. An attempt to win, to get, or to do something: "The company is facing a takeover bid by someone who is trying to gain control of the company by buying most of its stock." bide (BIGHD)
1. To wait for an opportunity: "The philosopher often said that if you work hard and bide your time, you may become famous for the books you write."
2. To wait for the right time before doing something: "He will bide his time waiting for the right opportunity before asking his parents for a loan." bidding, biding
bidding (BID ing)
To offer to pay a particular amount of money for something that is being sold: "He plans to stop bidding on the painting if the bids go over $1,000."
biding (BIGH ding)
Waiting for the right time before doing something: "He is biding his time before asking the bank for a loan."
bigamy, monogamy, polygamy
bigamy (BIG uh mee)
The act of being married to two spouses at the same time: "The women were horrified to realize they were the victims of bigamy when they discovered they were both married to the same man."
monogamy (muh NAHG uh mee)
Marriage to only one person at a time: "In many cultures, monogamy is the typical practice of marriage with just one spouse at a time."
polygamy (puh LIG uh mee)
Plural marriage; having more than one wife or husband at the same time: "Occasionally there are articles in the newspapers about obscure religious groups that practice polygamy; for example, one man with thirteen wives."
Bigamy is proof that two rites make a wrong. billed, build
billed (BILD)
1. A charge or written statement of an amount owing for an item or service: "The hotel billed the traveler for the cost of his room and his meals."
2. A written announcement of a public notice: "The actor was billed to play Romeo in the upcoming play." build (BILD)
1. To form or construct an edifice or a thought by assembling the necessary pieces: "The carpenters will build a garage for the car once the lumber has been delivered."
2. The shape and size of a person's body: "He has a strong and muscular build." birr, burr
birr (pronun)
1. Force or momentum; vigor: "The birr of the winds swept down from the canyons."
2. A whirring sound: "The bag pipes make a birr when the players are attempting to tune them." burr (pronun)
1. A roughness or rough edge; especially, one left on metal after casting or cutting: "The apprentice used the tools to remove the burr on the finished bust."
2. A rough or prickly part of a plant that easily sticks to a passerby: "After walking through the rough grass, the traveler noticed that there was a burr sticking here, there, and every where on his trouser legs." bisect, dissect
bisect (BIGH sekt", bigh SEKT)
To cut or to divide into two approximately parts, especially two equal parts: "The lines on the map served to bisect the property into two sections."
dissect (di SEKT, digh SEKT, DIGH sekt")
To separate into sections for close scientific analysis or interpretation: "The students in the biology class each had a frog to dissect as their class project."
bisected, dissected
bisected (BIGH sekt'd)
1. To cut or to divide something into two parts: "The city was bisected by the highway."
2. To split; to fork: "The driver noticed that the highway was bisected by the median which was planted with trees." dissected (DIGH sekt'd)
1. To cut apart or to separate (tissue), especially for anatomical studies: "As part of the anatomy class, the students dissected a large worm which smelled awful."
2. To examine, analyze, or criticize in minute details: "They dissected the company plan afterward to learn why it failed." bite, byte
bite (BIGHT)
1. To cut, tear, or grip with or as if with the teeth: "The nature film showed how the lion will bite and snarl while he is eating."
2. A stinging or smarting sensation: "The negative comment made by the supervisor had a distinctive bite to it and made the employee unhappy." byte (BIGHT)
In computer science, a sequence of adjacent binary digits, or bits, usually eight, operated on as a unit: "He has a computer with a six gigabyte hard drive."
blatant, flagrant
blatant (BLAYT'nt)
1. Disagreeably loud or boisterous; offensively noisy; clamorous: "At the party next door, they were so blatant as they played their music."
2. Glaringly conspicuous, very obvious and offensive: "He showed a blatant disregard for the safety of other drivers." flagrant (FLAY gruhnt)
Conspicuously bad, offensive, outrageous, or reprehensible: "The corrupt mayor demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law."
"Flagrant applies to anything that is so obviously bad or wrong as to be notorious; such as, a flagrant violation of the law." bleak, blink
bleak (BLEEK)
1. Gloomy and somber: "The future looks bleak for many people."
2. Providing no encouragement; depressing: "We are obviously in a bleak global-economic situation." 3. Exposed to the elements; unsheltered and barren: "The bleak weather is cold, rainy, and dark." "We could see the bleak, treeless regions of the high mountains behind us." blink (BLINGK)
1. To close and to open one or both of the eyes rapidly: "He had to blink his eyes when the bright light shined on his face."
2. To waver or back down, as in a contest of wills: "During the international meeting, the U.S. was accused of being the country that would blink when challenged by other countries." bleu, blew, blue
bleu (BLOO)
1. A reference to people who are able to cook food to the highest standard: "He was described as a cordon (ribbon) bleu chef."
2. A French word for blue: "We had cordon bleu cuisine for our evening meal." 3. A cheese containing a blue mold; such as, a semi-soft cheese made of cow's milk and having a greenish-blue mold and a strong flavor: "At the end of our French meal, we had some bleu cheese." blew (BLOO)
The past tense of blow: "The wind blew hard during the night."
blue (BLOO)
A color: "He wore a blue shirt with a matching blue tie."
The wind blew my blue napkin onto the bleu cheese on the picnic table. blob, blobs; blog; blogs
blob, blobs (BLAHB, BLAHBZ)
1. A soft, amorphous mass; an indistinct or shapeless form or object: "Cave bugs and blobs rewrite the story of the beginning of life."
2. A usually small amount of something thick and wet: "He still must clean up the blobs of paint that he dropped on the floor." blog, blogs (BLAHG, BLAHGZ)
To write entries in, add material to, or maintain a web log or web logs: "There are thousands of logs being created by hundreds of thousands of people on the internet; both private and business."
"She was writing a daily blog about her personal opinions, activities, and experiences." There are some people who believe that there are way too many blobs (indistinct shapeless forms) of blogs on the internet. bloc, block
bloc (BLAHK)
A group, as of politicians, nations, etc., combined to foster special interests: "The coastal nations formed a bloc to advocate for fishing rights."
block (BLAHK)
1. A solid piece of wood, metal, etc., usually with one or more flat sides: "The person from the auto repair shop used a block to raise the car in order to change the flat tire."
2. To obstruct or prevent passage: "The fallen tree served to block the road for several hours." 3. To get in the way or interfere with an activity, e.g. sports: "The football player tried to block the touchdown by the other team." blond, blonde
blond (BLOND)
A boy or man with light hair, blue eyes, and fair skin: "The use of 'blond' in the past was limited to a male; however, now it is used interchangeably for both genders."
blonde (BLOND)
A girl or woman with light hair, blue eyes, and fair skin: "Some people have been using blonde instead of blond for female genders."
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