| ackee | (noun) red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds; flesh is poisonous when unripe or overripe | Synonyms: akee |
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| acknowledgement | (noun) a statement acknowledging something or someone | Synonyms: acknowledgment |
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| (noun) the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged | Synonyms: acknowledgment, recognition |
| acknowledgment | (noun) a statement acknowledging something or someone | Synonyms: acknowledgement |
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| (noun) a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage | Synonyms: citation, cite, credit, mention, quotation, reference |
| (noun) the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged | Synonyms: acknowledgement, recognition |
| amberjack | (noun) any of several amber to coppery fork-tailed warm-water carangid fishes | Synonyms: amberfish |
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| applejack | (noun) distilled from hard cider | - |
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| arrack | (noun) any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses | Synonyms: arak |
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| attack | (noun) (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons) | Synonyms: onrush, onset, onslaught |
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| (noun) a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase | Synonyms: tone-beginning |
| (noun) the act of attacking | Synonyms: attempt |
| (noun) ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation | Synonyms: approach, plan of attack |
| (noun) an offensive move in a sport or game | - |
| (noun) strong criticism | - |
| (noun) intense adverse criticism | Synonyms: blast, fire, flack, flak |
| (noun) the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent) | - |
| (noun) a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition | - |
| attacker | (noun) someone who attacks | Synonyms: aggressor, assailant, assaulter |
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| back | (noun) (American football) the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage | - |
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| (noun) the side that goes last or is not normally seen | Synonyms: rear |
| (noun) a support that you can lean against while sitting | Synonyms: backrest |
| (noun) the part of a garment that covers the back of your body | - |
| (noun) the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book | Synonyms: binding, book binding, cover |
| (noun) the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine | Synonyms: dorsum |
| (noun) the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord | Synonyms: backbone, rachis, spinal column, spine, vertebral column |
| (noun) the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer | Synonyms: rear |
| (noun) (football) a person who plays in the backfield | - |
| backache | (noun) an ache localized in the back | - |
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| backband | (noun) a broad band that passes over the back of a horse and supports the shafts of a vehicle | - |
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| backbeat | (noun) a loud steady beat | - |
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| backbench | (noun) any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons | - |
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| backbencher | (noun) a member of the House of Commons who is not a party leader | - |
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| backbend | (noun) an acrobatic feat in which the trunk is bent backward from a standing position until the hands touch the floor | - |
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| backbiter | (noun) one who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel | Synonyms: defamer, libeler, maligner, slanderer, traducer, vilifier |
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| backblast | (noun) backfire from a recoilless weapon | Synonyms: back-blast |
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| backboard | (noun) a board used to support the back of someone or something | - |
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| (noun) a raised vertical board with basket attached; used to play basketball | Synonyms: basketball backboard |
| backbone | (noun) the part of a network that connects other networks together | - |
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| (noun) the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved | Synonyms: spine |
| (noun) fortitude and determination | Synonyms: grit, gumption, guts, moxie, sand |
| (noun) the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord | Synonyms: back, rachis, spinal column, spine, vertebral column |
| (noun) a central cohesive source of support and stability | Synonyms: anchor, keystone, linchpin, lynchpin, mainstay |
| backchat | (noun) light teasing repartee | Synonyms: banter, give-and-take, raillery |
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| backcloth | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backdrop, background |
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| backdoor | (noun) a secret or underhand means of access (to a place or a position) | Synonyms: back door |
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| (noun) an entrance at the rear of a building | Synonyms: back door, back entrance |
| (noun) an undocumented way to get access to a computer system or the data it contains | Synonyms: back door |
| backdown | (noun) a retraction of a previously held position | Synonyms: climb-down, withdrawal |
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| backdrop | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backcloth, background |
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| backer | (noun) someone who provides financial support for some venture | Synonyms: angel |
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| backfield | (noun) the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen | - |
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| backfire | (noun) a miscalculation that recoils on its maker | Synonyms: boomerang |
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| (noun) a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine | - |
| (noun) the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired | Synonyms: blowback |
| (noun) a fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path | - |
| backflow | (noun) a flow that returns toward its source | Synonyms: backflowing |
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| backflowing | (noun) a flow that returns toward its source | Synonyms: backflow |
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| backgammon | (noun) a board game for two players; pieces move according to throws of the dice | - |
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| background | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backcloth, backdrop |
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| (noun) (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear | Synonyms: desktop, screen background |
| (noun) a person's social heritage: previous experience or training | - |
| (noun) the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground | Synonyms: ground |
| (noun) information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem | Synonyms: background knowledge |
| (noun) extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured | Synonyms: background signal |
| (noun) relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation | - |
| (noun) the state of the environment in which a situation exists | Synonyms: scope, setting |
| backgrounder | (noun) a press conference or interview in which a government official explains to reporters the background of an action or policy | - |
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| backgrounding | (noun) the execution of low priority programs while higher priority programs are not using the processing system | Synonyms: background processing |
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| backhand | (noun) a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke | Synonyms: backhand shot, backhand stroke |
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| backhander | (noun) a backhanded blow | - |
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| backhoe | (noun) an excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth | - |
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| backing | (noun) the act of providing approval and support | Synonyms: backup, championship, patronage |
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| (noun) something forming a back that is added for strengthening | Synonyms: mount |
| (noun) financial resources provided to make some project possible | Synonyms: financial backing, financial support, funding, support |
| backlash | (noun) an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence | - |
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| (noun) a movement back from an impact | Synonyms: rebound, recoil, repercussion |
| backlighting | (noun) lighting from behind | - |
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| backlog | (noun) an accumulation of jobs not done or materials not processed that are yet to be dealt with (especially unfilled customer orders for products or services) | - |
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| (noun) something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose | Synonyms: reserve, stockpile |
| (noun) the large log at the back of a hearth fire | - |
| backpack | (noun) a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder | Synonyms: back pack, haversack, knapsack, packsack, rucksack |
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| backpacker | (noun) a hiker who wears a backpack | Synonyms: packer |
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| backpacking | (noun) carrying something in a pack on the back | Synonyms: packing |
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| backplate | (noun) plate armor protecting the back; worn as part of a cuirass | - |
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| backrest | (noun) a support that you can lean against while sitting | Synonyms: back |
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| backroom | (noun) the meeting place of a group of leaders who make their decisions via private negotiations | - |
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| backsaw | (noun) a handsaw that is stiffened by metal reinforcement along the upper edge | Synonyms: back saw |
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| backscratcher | (noun) a long-handled scratcher for scratching your back | - |
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| (noun) someone who is willing to trade favors or services for mutual advantage | - |
| backseat | (noun) a seat at the back of a vehicle (especially the seat at the back of an automobile) | - |
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| (noun) a secondary or inferior position or status | - |
| backsheesh | (noun) a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter) | Synonyms: baksheesh, bakshis, bakshish, gratuity, pourboire, tip |
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| backside | (noun) the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on | Synonyms: arse, ass, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush |
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| (noun) the side of an object that is opposite its front | Synonyms: back end, rear |
| backslapper | (noun) someone who demonstrates enthusiastic or excessive cordiality | - |
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| backslider | (noun) someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior | Synonyms: recidivist, reversionist |
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| backsliding | (noun) a failure to maintain a higher state | Synonyms: lapse, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting |
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| backspace | (noun) the typewriter key used for back spacing | Synonyms: backspace key, backspacer |
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| backspacer | (noun) the typewriter key used for back spacing | Synonyms: backspace, backspace key |
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| backspin | (noun) spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion | - |
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| backstage | (noun) a stage area out of sight of the audience | Synonyms: offstage, wing |
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| backstairs | (noun) a second staircase at the rear of a building | - |
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| backstay | (noun) a stay that supports the back of something | - |
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| backstitch | (noun) an overlapping stitch made by starting the next stitch at the middle of the preceding one | - |
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| backstop | (noun) a precaution in case of an emergency | - |
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| (noun) (baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) to prevent the ball from traveling out of the playing field | - |
| (noun) (baseball) the person who plays the position of catcher | Synonyms: catcher |
| backstroke | (noun) a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back | - |
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| backstroker | (noun) someone who swims the backstroke | - |
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| backswimmer | (noun) predaceous aquatic insect that swims on its back and may inflict painful bites | Synonyms: Notonecta undulata |
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| backsword | (noun) a sword with only one cutting edge | - |
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| (noun) a stick used instead of a sword for fencing | Synonyms: fencing stick, singlestick |
| backtalk | (noun) an impudent or insolent rejoinder | Synonyms: back talk, lip, mouth, sass, sassing |
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| backup | (noun) the act of providing approval and support | Synonyms: backing, championship, patronage |
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| (noun) (computer science) a copy of a file or directory on a separate storage device | Synonyms: computer backup |
| (noun) a musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for other musical parts | Synonyms: accompaniment, musical accompaniment, support |
| (noun) someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult) | Synonyms: backup man, fill-in, relief, reliever, stand-in, substitute |
| (noun) an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage | - |
| backwardation | (noun) the market condition wherein the price of a forward or futures contract is trading below the expected spot price at contract maturity. | - |
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| backwardness | (noun) lack of normal development of intellectual capacities | Synonyms: mental retardation, retardation, slowness, subnormality |
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| backwash | (noun) the wave that spreads behind a boat as it moves forward | Synonyms: wake |
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| (noun) the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller | Synonyms: airstream, race, slipstream, wash |
| (noun) the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event) | Synonyms: aftermath, wake |
| backwater | (noun) a place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring | - |
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| (noun) a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam | - |
| backwoods | (noun) a remote and undeveloped area | Synonyms: back country, boondocks, hinterland |
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| backwoodsman | (noun) a man who lives on the frontier | Synonyms: frontiersman, mountain man |
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| backyard | (noun) the grounds in back of a house | - |
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| barmbrack | (noun) a rich currant cake or bun | - |
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| barrack | (noun) a building or group of buildings used to house military personnel | - |
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| barracking | (noun) shouting to interrupt a speech with which you disagree | Synonyms: heckling |
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| bioattack | (noun) the use of bacteria or viruses or toxins to destroy men and animals or food | Synonyms: biologic attack, biological attack, biological warfare, BW |
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| biofeedback | (noun) a training program in which a person is given information about physiological processes (heart rate or blood pressure) that is not normally available with the goal of gaining conscious control of them | - |
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| bivouacking | (noun) the act of encamping and living in tents in a camp | Synonyms: camping, encampment, tenting |
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| black | (noun) black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning) | - |
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| (noun) (board games) the darker pieces | - |
| (noun) the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white) | Synonyms: blackness, inkiness |
| (noun) total absence of light | Synonyms: blackness, lightlessness, pitch blackness, total darkness |
| blackamoor | (noun) a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa) | Synonyms: Black person |
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| blackball | (noun) the act of excluding someone by a negative vote or veto | Synonyms: barring |
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| blackbeetle | (noun) dark brown cockroach originally from orient now nearly cosmopolitan in distribution | Synonyms: Asiatic cockroach, Blatta orientalis, oriental cockroach, oriental roach |
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| blackberry | (noun) large sweet black or very dark purple edible aggregate fruit of any of various bushes of the genus Rubus | - |
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| (noun) bramble with sweet edible black or dark purple berries that usually do not separate from the receptacle | Synonyms: blackberry bush |
| blackbird | (noun) any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black | Synonyms: New World blackbird |
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| (noun) common black European thrush | Synonyms: European blackbird, merl, merle, ousel, ouzel, Turdus merula |
| blackboard | (noun) sheet of slate; for writing with chalk | Synonyms: chalkboard |
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| blackbody | (noun) a hypothetical object capable of absorbing all the electromagnetic radiation falling on it | Synonyms: black body, full radiator |
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| blackbuck | (noun) common Indian antelope with a dark back and spiral horns | Synonyms: Antilope cervicapra, black buck |
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| blackcap | (noun) small brownish-grey warbler with a black crown | Synonyms: Silvia atricapilla |
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| (noun) chickadee having a dark crown | Synonyms: black-capped chickadee, Parus atricapillus |
| (noun) small black-headed European gull | Synonyms: Larus ridibundus, laughing gull, pewit, pewit gull |
| (noun) raspberry native to eastern North America having black thimble-shaped fruit | Synonyms: black raspberry, blackcap raspberry, Rubus occidentalis, thimbleberry |
| blackcock | (noun) male black grouse | Synonyms: black cock |
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| blackdamp | (noun) the atmosphere in a mine following an explosion; high in carbon dioxide and incapable of supporting life | Synonyms: chokedamp |
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| blackening | (noun) changing to a darker color | Synonyms: darkening |
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| blackface | (noun) the makeup (usually burnt cork) used by a performer in order to imitate a Negro | - |
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| blackfish | (noun) female salmon that has recently spawned | - |
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| (noun) small dark-colored whale of the Atlantic coast of the United States; the largest male acts as pilot or leader for the school | Synonyms: black whale, common blackfish, Globicephala melaena, pilot whale |
| (noun) large dark-colored food fish of the Atlantic coast of North America | Synonyms: tautog, Tautoga onitis |
| blackfly | (noun) small blackish stout-bodied biting fly having aquatic larvae; sucks the blood of birds as well as humans and other mammals | Synonyms: black fly, buffalo gnat |
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| (noun) blackish aphid that infests e.g. beans and sugar beets | Synonyms: Aphis fabae, bean aphid |
| blackguard | (noun) someone who is morally reprehensible | Synonyms: bounder, cad, dog, heel, hound |
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| blackhead | (noun) a black-tipped plug clogging a pore of the skin | Synonyms: comedo |
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| blackheart | (noun) heart cherry with dark flesh and skin | Synonyms: blackheart cherry |
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| (noun) any of various diseases in which the central tissues blacken | - |