WORD LIST 125
lowed the same routine every morning, Natasha made coffee, cooked breakfast, and
made her children’s lunch like an automaton.autonomy (aw·'ton·o ̆·mee) n. personal or political independence; self-
government, self-determination. The teenager desired fewer rules from her parents
and a sense of autonomy.
avant-garde (a·vahnt·'ahrd) adj. using or favoring an ultramodern or experi-
mental style; innovative, cutting-edge, especially in the arts or literature. Yvette
prefers the avant-garde style of writers like Donald Barthelme to the traditional nar-
rative technique.
aversion (a ̆·'vur·zho ̆n) n. 1. a strong, intense dislike; repugnance. 2. the object of
this feeling. Todd has an aversion to arugula and picks it out of his salads.
Bbaleful ('bayl·fu ̆l) adj. harmful, menacing, destructive, sinister. Whether it’s a
man, woman, car, or animal, you can be certain to find at least one baleful character
in a Stephen King horror novel.
balk (bawk) v. 1. to stop abruptly and refuse to go on. 2. to obstinately refuse or
oppose. Old man Jones was finally ready to capitulate and sell his land to the timber
company, but he balked when he saw that he would be compensated for only half of the
value of his property.
banal (ba ̆·'nal) adj. commonplace, trite; obvious and uninteresting. I was expecting
something original and exciting, but the film turned out to have a banal storyline and
mediocre acting.
bane (bayn) n. 1. cause of trouble, misery, distress, or harm. 2. poison. The bane
of the oak tree is the Asian beetle.
beguile (bi·' ̄l) v. to deceive or cheat through cunning; to distract the attention
of, divert; to pass time in a pleasant manner, to amuse or charm. Violet was able
to beguile the spy, causing him to miss his secret meeting.
belie (bi·'l ̄) v. 1. to give a false impression, misrepresent. 2. to show to be false,
to contradict. By wearing an expensive suit and watch, Alan hoped to belie his lack of
success to everyone at the reunion.
bellicose ('bel· ̆·kohs) adj. belligerent, quarrelsome, eager to make war. There
was little hope for peace following the election of a candidate known for his bellicose
nature.