Tag: softskills

'Beholden' means obligated, grateful, or indebted to someone - usually for a favor or kindness received. It suggests feeling bound by gratitude or duty. The distractors are wrong: wide/deep enough for ships is 'navigable', affected is 'pretentious', and cure-all is 'panacea'.

Behoove means it is necessary, proper, or advantageous for someone to do something. 'Be suited to' captures this sense of appropriateness. The other options are unrelated definitions.

To belabor means to repeatedly discuss or emphasize something excessively, often to the point of annoyance. 'Harp on' is an idiom with the same meaning of persistently repeating or dwelling on a topic.

Belated describes something that occurs after the expected or appropriate time. A belated birthday wish, for example, comes after the actual birthday. The prefix be- can indicate lateness.

Beleaguer means to cause constant trouble to, or to surround and harass. 'Besiege or attack (with an army)' is the literal military meaning from which the figurative sense derives. It suggests being overwhelmed by problems.

To belie means to show something to be false or to contradict. A person's calm demeanor can belie their inner anxiety, showing the outward appearance contradicts the reality. It's about inconsistency between appearance and reality.

Belittle means to dismiss or make something seem unimportant or inferior. 'Disparage' is a direct synonym meaning to speak of something in a way that shows lack of respect or proper regard.

Bellicose describes an attitude or person that is hostile, aggressive, and eager to fight or quarrel. 'Warlike' directly captures this meaning, as it relates to war and combat. The word comes from the Latin 'bellum' meaning war.

Awe is a profound feeling of respect, reverence, and wonder, often mixed with fear or overwhelm when encountering something majestic or sublime. 'Solemn wonder' captures this combination of deep respect and amazement.

Awful literally means inspiring awe or wonder, something full of awe. While modern usage emphasizes 'terrible', 'terrible' also originally meant inspiring terror or awe. The answer is correct for contemporary usage.