bogus(BOH gis) adj. not real or genuine; spurious- BogusRolex watches are available on every street corner around Times
Square for $50 or less. - If someone offers you a diamond solitaire for about $100, there’s a good
chance that it’s bogus.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. false]
boisterous(BOY stris) adj. 1. noisy and unruly; rowdy; 2. rough and stormy - Football crowds can get somewhat boisterous,especially when beer is being
consumed. - Try to keep from being too boisterouswhen you play with your friends.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. vociferous]
bolster(BOHL stir) vt. to prop up or support; reinforce —n.1. a long, narrow
cushion; 2. any bolsterlike cushion or support - Diane’s family came to bolsterher during her testimony.
- Please put the bolstersback on the sofa.
- Bolstersare used to cap the bearing part of a beam and extend its support
outward.
[-ed, -ing]
bombast(BAHM bast) n. talk or writing that sounds very important but has no
meaning; pompous language - “You make your bed right now or I’m not going to feed you for the next
week” is either an example of bombastor an indication of child abuse. - Nikita Khrushchev’s “We shall bury you!” speech is a better-known exam-
ple of bombast.
[-ic adj., -ically adv.]
boor(BOR) n. a rude, ill-mannered, or awkward person - Stop acting like a boor.
- When Cindy turned her back on Rita and refused to acknowledge her
greeting, she behaved boorishly.
[-ish adj., -ishly adv.]
bourgeois(BUR zhwah orbur ZHWAH) adj. conventional; middle class;
ordinary —n. 1. a shopkeeper or a businessman; 2. a member of the middle class - It is often considered an insult to call one’s beliefs bourgeois.
- The bourgeoisclass, before the French Revolution of 1789, was the group of
shopkeepers and self-employed persons between the aristocracy and the
workers (or proletariat).
[-e fem., -ie n.]
brazen(BRAY zin) adj. 1. showing no shame; bold; impudent; 2. of brass; the
color of brass - Custer’s attack at the Little Bighorn was brazenif not very smart.
- Trumpets have a very piercing, brazensound.
[-ly adv.]
254 Essential Vocabulary