<B>blephar-</B> or <B>blepharo-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) <DD><B> 1. </B>eyelid, as in <I>blepharitis.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>flagellum or cilium, as in <I>blepharoplast.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blepharism">
<B>blepharism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> continual and involuntary winking or twitching of the eyelids. </DL>
<B>blepharitis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> inflammation of the eyelids. </DL>
<A NAME="blepharoplast">
<B>blepharoplast, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a specialized granule of protoplasm in a cell from which a flagellum or cilium arises. </DL>
<A NAME="blepharospasm">
<B>blepharospasm, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> excessive and involuntary winking. </DL>
<A NAME="blesbok">
<B>blesbok, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large South African antelope having a white spot on the face. </DL>
<A NAME="blesbuck">
<B>blesbuck, </B>noun. =blesbok.</DL>
<A NAME="bless">
<B>bless, </B>transitive verb, <B>blessed</B> or <B>blest,</B> <B>blessing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>to consecrate (a thing) by a religious rite, formula, or prayer. <BR> <I>Ex. The bishop blessed the new church.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to make holy or sacred. <BR> <I>Ex. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it (Genesis 2:3).</I> (SYN) sanctify, hallow. <DD><B> 2. </B>to ask God's favor for; commend to God's favor or protection. <BR> <I>Ex. Bless these little children.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to wish good to; feel grateful to. <BR> <I>Ex. I bless him for his kindness.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to make happy or fortunate. <BR> <I>Ex. May this country always be blessed with freedom.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to call holy; praise; glorify; adore. <BR> <I>Ex. Bless the Lord, O my soul.</I> (SYN) extol. <DD><B> 6. </B>to guard or protect from evil. <BR> <I>Ex. Heaven bless this house.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>to make the sign of the cross over. <BR> <I>Ex. Mrs. Lonigan drew some rosary beads out of her apron pocket, ... blessed herself with it and commenced whispering her rosary (James T. Farrell).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bless me,</B> </I>an exclamation of surprise. <BR> <I>Ex. Bless me! Sir, there's no room for a question (Sir Richard Steele).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bless you</B> (<B>him,</B> <B>us,</B> etc.), </I>God bless you (him, us, etc.). <BR> <I>Ex. The Colonel might have said "Bless you, my children," in the tenderest tones (John Ruskin).</I> noun <B>blesser.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blessed">
<B>blessed, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>holy; sacred. <BR> <I>Ex. the blessed Trinity.</I> (SYN) consecrated. <DD><B> 2. </B>bringing joy; joyful. <BR> <I>Ex. the blessed rain following a drought.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>happy; fortunate. <BR> <I>Ex. Blessed are the pure in heart (Matthew 5:8).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>enjoying the favor of heaven; beatified. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Informal.) a euphemism for "cursed"; confounded. <BR> <I>Ex. I can't get this blessed car to start.</I> (SYN) annoying. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>the Blessed,</B> (in the Roman Catholic Church) a person or persons beatified by a decree of the Pope (a title characterizing one adjudged worthy of veneration but not canonized, although often preceding canonization). <BR> <I>Ex. The men, in their togas, reminded one of saints; ... they "recalled irresistibly the conventional pictures of evangelical piety that represented the Blessed walking in the vales of Paradise" (New Yorker).</I> adv. <B>blessedly.</B> noun <B>blessedness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blessedevent">
<B>blessed event,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the birth of a child. <DD><B> 2. </B>the child itself. </DL>
<A NAME="blessedsacrament">
<B>Blessed Sacrament,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the Eucharist; Holy Communion. </DL>
<A NAME="blessedvirgin">
<B>Blessed Virgin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the Virgin Mary. </DL>
<A NAME="blessing">
<B>blessing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a prayer asking God to show His favor; benediction. <BR> <I>Ex. A church service is often concluded with a blessing.</I> (SYN) invocation, benison. <DD><B> 2. </B>a giving of God's favor. <DD><B> 3. </B>a brief prayer of thanks said before or sometimes after a meal. <DD><B> 4. </B>a wish for happiness or success. <BR> <I>Ex. When he left home, he received his father's blessing. Blessings on thee, little man (John Greenleaf Whittier).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>anything that makes one happy or contented; benefit. <BR> <I>Ex. the blessings of nature. A good temper is a great blessing.</I> (SYN) favor, gift, boon. <DD><B> 6. </B>consent or approval. <BR> <I>Ex. The marriage had the blessing of the parents of the bride and groom. The court would have to give its final blessing and the bankruptcy would be ended (Wall Street Journal).</I> (SYN) sanction. <BR><I>expr. <B>a blessing in disguise,</B> </I>a bad thing that turns out to be good in the end. <BR> <I>Ex. His sudden illness was a blessing in disguise, for it kept him from going to the theater which burned down that evening.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blest">
<B>blest, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>verb </I> blessed; a past tense and a past participle of <B>bless:</B> <BR> <I>Ex. He was blest with good health.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> blessed. </DL>
<B>bletting, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the slow, internal decay that takes place in apples, pears, and some other fruits after they are stored. </DL>
<A NAME="bleucheese">
bleu cheese, =blue cheese.</DL>
<A NAME="bleuderoi">
<B>bleu-de-roi, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Ceramics.) the ultramarine blue of Sevres porcelain. </DL>
<A NAME="blew">
<B>blew, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> the past tense of <B>blow</B> (2) and <B>blow</B> (3). <BR> <I>Ex. All night long the wind blew.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blewits">
<B>blewits, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an edible, bluish-purple mushroom. </DL>
<A NAME="blight">
<B>blight, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a disease that causes plants to wither and die. Blights are caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses and destroy the tissues of the plant. <BR> <I>Ex. The apple crop was wiped out by blight.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the bacterium, fungus, or virus that causes such a disease. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) anything that withers hopes or causes destruction or ruin. <BR> <I>Ex. His father's bankruptcy was a blight on the boy's hopes for an education.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) dilapidation; deterioration; decay. <BR> <I>Ex. urban blight.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cause to wither and die. <BR> <I>Ex. Mildew blighted the June roses.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to destroy; ruin. <BR> <I>Ex. Rain blighted our hopes for a picnic.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be blighted; suffer from blight. adv. <B>blightingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blighted">
<B>blighted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> afflicted with blight; blasted. <BR> <I>Ex. A blighted spring makes a barren year (Samuel Johnson). (Figurative.) A blighted area is a district of a city that is on the way toward becoming a slum (Emory S. Bogardus).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blighter">
<B>blighter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that blights. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>a contemptible man; scoundrel. <BR> <I>Ex. One day the District Attorney will bring the smug blighter to book for some of his questionable devices (Listener).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>any man; fellow. <BR> <I>Ex. the lucky little blighter!</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blighty">
<B>blighty</B> or <B>Blighty, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>England; home (used originally by soldiers on foreign service). <DD><B> 2. </B>a wound that sends a soldier home. </DL>
<A NAME="blimey">
<B>blimey, </B>interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Cockney Slang.) an exclamation of surprise; cor! </DL>
<A NAME="blimp">
<B>blimp</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a small, nonrigid, dirigible airship. <DD><B> 2. </B>any dirigible. <DD><B> 3. </B>a soundproof cover on a motion-picture camera. It prevents the camera's noise from reaching the sound track. </DL>
<A NAME="blimp">
<B>Blimp</B> or <B>blimp</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a pompous and complacent ultraconservative person. <BR> <I>Ex. [They] are silent because they're afraid of looking reactionary, like the blimps who turned out to be wrong about Van Gogh or Cezanne (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blimpish">
<B>Blimpish</B> or <B>blimpish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> characteristic of a Blimp; pompously ultraconservative. </DL>
