Emily Dickinson Lexicon

blare, n. [imitative] (webplay: roar).

Noise; bellow; din; cacophony; disturbance; violent sound; [synesthesia] loud color; bright, gaudy sunset light.

blaspheme, v. [ME < Fr. < L. < Gk. 'speak profanely'.]

Disrespect; defile; disrupt; reproach; shock; scandalize; injure; arrogate the divine prerogatives of; offend because of opposing nature; (see Matthew 9:3).

blast, n. [OE < Germanic blæsan, to blow.] (webplay: blow).

Violent burst; strong wind; gust of air; sudden rush; [fig.] tragedy; loss; attack; violence; destruction; (see Job 4:9; Isaiah 25:4).

blaze, n. [OE 'torch'.] (webplay: burn, day, flame, heat, light; white).

1. Fire; illumination; burst of bright heat; intense luminosity; [fig.] flower; spray of plants.
2. Flamboyance; stream of bright color; Northern Lights; wavy, luminous pattern in the Aurora Borealis.

blaze (-d, -ing), v. [see blaze, n] (webplay: day).

1. Burn; illuminate; shine fervently; give off heat.
2. Burst; break; flare; flash.

blazing, adj. [see blaze, n.]

Radiant; bright; brilliant; shining; intense; glaring; flaming.

bleak (-er), adj. [uncertain, poss. ON.]

1. Barren; cold; empty; desolate; dreary; [fig.] weak; sickly; base; sinful; prone to wrongdoing.
2. Sad; mournful; cheerless; disconsolate.

bleak, adv. [see bleak, adj.] (webplay: cold, free).

Miserably; despairingly; wretchedly; despondently; without hope.

bleakness, n. [see bleak, adj.]

Coldness; chilly barrenness; exposure to wind; [fig.] emptiness; aridity; infertility; desolation; starkness.

bleat (-s), v. [OE blætan, imitative of a sheep's sound.]

Cry; beg; plead pitifully; meekly supplicate; ask in a helpless way.