Synonyms

Baffle means to perplex or confuse someone. When you're baffled, you're completely confused or unable to understand something. Perplex is the closest synonym meaning to confuse or bewilder.

Banter means playful or teasing conversation or remarks. It's light, good-humored joking between friends. Tease is the correct synonym as banter involves playful teasing rather than serious criticism.

Base can mean mean or low (adjective) when describing someone's character or behavior. Menial, referring to work that's low-skilled or undignified, captures this negative connotation of 'base' in the context of character or quality.

Befog means to confuse or obscure someone's understanding, like fog clouds vision. Confuse is the closest match among the options. Mist is related but befog is a verb (to confuse), while mist is a noun.

Behest typically means an authoritative request or command. Request captures this meaning well. You'll often see it in phrases like 'at his behest' meaning at his request.

Benign means gentle, kind, or harmless - the opposite of harmful or malignant. Gentle perfectly captures this mild, non-threatening quality. In medical contexts, it describes non-cancerous conditions.

Blandish means to coax or flatter someone to gain favor or get what you want. Coax captures this persuasive, sometimes manipulative intent. The other options are completely unrelated.

Blatant means completely open and unashamed, often describing something done openly without any attempt to hide it. Unashamed captures this quality of being flagrant and unconcealed. Foolish, unpleasant, or rude are related concepts but don't capture the core meaning.

Bother means to trouble, worry, or inconvenience someone. Trouble captures this meaning well. Buddy is unrelated, and while bother can involve attacking or preventing someone, those aren't the core meaning.

Bestial means beast-like, savage, or cruel in behavior. Cruel captures this inhumane quality. Excellent is unrelated, defame means to slander, and redundant means repetitive.

Baulk (or Balk) means to hesitate or stop short, especially when faced with something unpleasant or unexpected. Hesitate captures this momentary stopping or unwillingness to proceed. The other options are unrelated to this meaning.

Bizarre means strange, odd, or unusual in a striking way. Strange is the most direct synonym. Beautiful, hot, and cruel are completely unrelated to the core meaning.

Brief means short or concise, using few words. Concise captures this quality perfectly. Long is the opposite, and surplus/redundant are unrelated to brevity.

Brisk means quick, active, or energetic in movement or manner. Quick captures this sense of speed and energy. Slow is the opposite, uninterested is unrelated, and stride is a noun referring to a way of walking.

Banish means to send someone away, especially as punishment or exile. Dismiss is the closest match among the options, as it can mean to send someone away or remove them. Ban refers to prohibiting something, not sending a person away.