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V Flashcards

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1
Q

vacillate

A

waver; fluctuate

Uncertain which suitor she ought to marry, the princess vacillated, saying now one, now the other.

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2
Q

vacuous

A

empty; lacking in ideas; stupid

The candidate’s vacuous remarks annoyed the audience, who had hoped to hear more than empty platitudes

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3
Q

vagary

A

caprice; whim

She followed every vagary of fashion.

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4
Q

vagrant

A

*

stray; random

He tried to study, but could not collect his vagrant thoughts.

**

homeless wanderer

Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant.

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5
Q

vainglorious

A

boastful; excessively conceited

She was a vainglorious and arrogant individual.

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6
Q

valedictory

A

pertaining to farewell

I found the valedictory address too long; leave-taking should be brief.

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7
Q

vantage

A

position giving an advantage

They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.

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8
Q

vapid

A

insipid; inane

She delivered an uninspired and vapid address.

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9
Q

vassal

A

in feudalism, one who held land of a superior lord

The lord demanded that his vassals contribute more to his military campaign.

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10
Q

vaunted

A

boasted; bragged; highly publicized

This much vaunted project proved a disappointment when it collapsed.

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11
Q

veer

A

change in direction

After what seemed an eternity, the wind veered to the east and the storm abated.

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12
Q

vehement

A

impetuous; with marked vigor

He spoke with vehement eloquence in defense of his client.

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13
Q

venal

A

capable of being bribed

The venal policeman accepted the bribe offered him by the speeding motorist whom he had stopped.

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14
Q

vendetta

A

blood feud

The rival mobs engaged in a bitter vendetta.

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15
Q

veneer

A

thin layer; cover

Casual acquaintances were deceived by his veneer of sophistication and failed to recognize his fundamental shallowness.

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16
Q

venerable

A

deserving high respect

We do not mean to be disrespectful when we refuse to follow the advice of our venerable leader.

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17
Q

venial

A

forgivable; trivial

We may regard a hugry man’s stealing as a venial crime.

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18
Q

venison

A

the meat of a deer

The hunters dined on venison.

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19
Q

vent

A

small opening; outlet

The wine did not flow because the air vent in the barrel was clogged.

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20
Q

vent

A

express; utter

He vented his wrath on his class.

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21
Q

venturesome

A

bold

A group of venturesome women were the first to scale Mt.Annapurna.

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22
Q

veracious

A

truthful

I can recommend him for this position because I have always found him veracious and reliable.

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23
Q

verbalize

A

put into words

I know you don’t like to talk about these things, but please try to verbalize your feelings.

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24
Q

verbatim

A

word for word

He repeated the message verbatim.

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25
Q

verbiage

A

pompous array of words

After we had waded through all the verbiage, we discovered that the writer had said very little.

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26
Q

verbose

A

wordy

This article is too verbose; we must edit it.

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27
Q

verdigris

A

green coating on copper which has been exposed to the weather

Despite all attempts to protect the statue from the elements, it became coated with verdigris.

28
Q

verge

A

border; edge

Madame Curie knew she was on the verge of discovering the secrets of radioactive elements.

29
Q

verisimilitude

A

appearance of truth; likelihood

Critics praised her for the verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth. She was completely believable.

30
Q

verity

A

truth; reality

The four verities were revealed to Buddha during his long meditation.

31
Q

vernacular

A

living language; natural style

Cut out those old-fashioned “thee’s” and “thou’s” and write in the vernacular.

32
Q

vernal

A

pertaining to spring

We may expect vernal showers all during the month of April.

33
Q

versatile

A

having many talents; capable of working in many fields

He was a versatile athlete; at college he had earned varsity letters in baseball, football, and track.

34
Q

vertex

A

summit

Let us drop a perpendicular line from the vertex of the triangle to the base.

35
Q

verve

A

enthusiasm; liveliness

She approached her studies with such verve that it was impossible for her to do poorly.

36
Q

viand

A

food

There was a variety of viands at the feast.

37
Q

vicarious

A

acting as a substitute; done by a deputy

Many people get a vicarious thrill at the movies by imagining they are the characters on the screen.

38
Q

vicissitude

A

change of fortune

Humbled by life’s vicissitudes, the last emperor of China worked as a lowly gardener in the palace over which he had once ruled.

39
Q

victuals

A

food

I am very happy to be able to provide you with these victuals; I know you are hungry.

40
Q

vie

A

contend; compete

Politicians vie with one another, competing for donations and votes.

41
Q

vignette

A

picture; short literary sketch

The New Yorker published her latest vignette.

42
Q

vilify

A

slander

She is a liar and is always trying to vilify my reputation.

43
Q

vindicate

A

clear of charges

I hope to vindicate my client and return him to society as a free man.

44
Q

vindictive

A

revengeful

She was very vindictive and never forgave an injury.

45
Q

vintner

A

winemaker; seller of wine

The poet wondered what the vintners could buy that would be half as precious as the wine they sold.

46
Q

virile

A

manly

I do not accept the premise that a man is virile only when he is belligerent.

47
Q

viscid

A

adhesive; gluey

The trunk of the maple tree was viscid with sap.

48
Q

viscous

A

sticky, gluey

Melted tar is a viscous substance.

49
Q

vise

A

tool for holding work in place

Before filling its edges, the keysmith took the blank key and fixed it firmly between the jaws of a vise.

50
Q

vitiate

A

spoil the effect of; make inoperative

Fraud will vitiate the contract.

51
Q

vitreous

A

pertaining to or resembling glass

Although this plastic has many vitreous qualties such as transparency, it is unbreakable.

52
Q

vitriolic

A

corrosive; sarcastic

Such vitriolic criticism is uncalled for.

53
Q

vituperative

A

abusive; scolding

He became more vituperative as he realized that we were not going to grant him his wish.

54
Q

vivisection

A

act of dissecting living animals

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opposed vivisection and deplored the practice of using animals in scientific experiments.

55
Q

vixen

A

female fox; ill-tempered woman

Aware that she was right once again, he lost his temper and called her a shrew and a vixen.

56
Q

vociferous

A

clamorous; noisy

The crowd grew vociferous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands.

57
Q

vogue

A

popular fashion

Jeans became the vogue on many college campuses.

58
Q

volatile

A

changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly

The political climate today is extremely volatile: no one can predict what the electorate will do next.

59
Q

volition

A

act of making a conscious choice

She selected this dress of her own volition.

60
Q

voluble

A

fluent; glib

She was a voluble speaker, always ready to talk.

61
Q

voluptuous

A

gratifying the senses

The nobility during the Renaissance led voluptuous lives.

62
Q

voracious

A

ravenous

The wolf is a voracious animal, its hunger never satisfied.

63
Q

vouchsafe

A

grant condescendingly; guarantee

I can safely vouchsafe you fair return on your investment.

64
Q

voyeur

A

Peeping

Jill called Jack a voyeur when she caught him aiming his binoculars at a bedroom window of the house next door.

65
Q

vulpine

A

like a fox; crafty

She disliked his sly ways, but granted him a certain vulpine intelligence.

66
Q
A

GRE (24 decks)

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