V Flashcards
vacilate
v. to waver, show indecision
Ben vacillated between pursuing a law degree and a medical degree.
vacuole
n. a small cavity in cell cytoplasm, bound by a single membrane and containing water, food, or metabolic waste
Most mature plant cells have one large central vacuole that typically occupies more than 30 percent of the cell’s volume.
vacuous
adj. empty, void; lacking intelligence, purposeless
The speech contains his usual vacuous remarks.
vagary
n. an unpredictable or erratic action or occurrence
Baseball is subject to the vagaries of the weather.
vagrant
n. poor person with no home
There are hundreds of vagrants in the city.
valedictory
adj. pertaining to a farewell
The retiring principal gave a valedictory speech.
valor
n. courage and boldness; bravery
Valor is traditionally regarded as a masculine virtue.
vanguard
n. forerunners; advance forces
John and Bill are in the vanguard of the animal rights movement.
vanquish
adj. conquered, defeated
The vanquished soldiers were imprisoned by their captors.
vantage
adj. relating to a position likely to provide superiority or give an overall view
The invader captured a vantage point overlooking the city.
vapid
adj. tasteless, dull
The politician gave her usual vapid speech.
variable
n. something that varies or is prone to variation
The scientist is trying to identify the important variable.
variation
n. varying; change in form, extent, etc.
There has been a lot of variation in weather recently.
variegated
adj. varied; marked with different colors
The picture shows a variegated autumn landscape.
vaunted
adj. boasted about, bragged about
For all of medicine’s vaunted achievements, disease is still widespread.
Veda
n. any of the oldest and most authoritative sacred texts of Hinduism
The various Indian philosophies and sects have taken differing positions on the Vedas.
Vedic
adj. relating to the Veda
The Vedas are composed in Vedic Sanskrit.
vehemently
adv. strongly, urgently
The accused man vehemently denied the charge.
venal
adj. bribable; mercenary; corruptible
That country’s customs officers are notoriously venal.
vendetta
n. prolonged feud marked by bitter hostility
The vendetta between the two families goes back more than a century.
venerable
adj. respected because of age
The venerable professor is the subject of a recent documentary.
veneration
n. adoration, honor, respect
A service was held in veneration of the saint.
veracious
adj. truthful, accurate
The testimony was accepted as veracious.
veracity
n. accuracy, truthfulness
The veracity of the testimony was supported by a witness.
verbatim
n. word for word
The student copied the lecture verbatim.
verbiage
n. an excess of words for the purpose; wordiness
The editor checked the manuscript for verbiage.
verbose
adj. wordy
The verbose speech ran an hour over the scheduled time.
verdant
adj. green with vegetation; inexperienced
Our plane flew over the verdant landscape.
verdure
n. fresh, rich vegetation
In spring the desert is covered with a luxuriant verdure.
verisimilitude
n. quality of appearing true or real
The producer of the movie spared no expense in his quest for verisimilitude.
verity
n. truthfulness; belief viewed as true and enduring
Philosophy has been described as the search for eternal verities.
vermin
n. small creatures offensive to humans
Vermin got into the food supplies.
vernacular
n. everyday language used by ordinary people; specialized language of a profession
Almost all modern novelists write in the vernacular.
vernal
adj. related to spring
April usually brings vernal showers.
vertigo
n. dizziness
Heights give some people vertigo.
vestige
n. trace, remnant
Scientists discovered vestiges of an ancient civilization on the island.
vestigial
adj. remaining
The species has a vestigial tail.
vexation
n. irritation, annoyance; confusion, puzzlement
The students’ chatter was source of vexation for the teacher.
viable
adj. practicable; capable of developing
The boss wants a viable plan for increasing sales on his desk by Friday.
viaduct
n. series of elevated arches used to cross a valley
In Italy we saw the ruins of Roman viaducts.
vibrant
adj. throbbing with life or activity; vigorous and lively
San Francisco is a modern, vibrant city.
vicarious
adj. substitute, surrogate; enjoyed through imagined participation in another’s experience
Movies give viewers vicarious enjoyment.
vicissitude
n. change or variation; ups and downs
Try to remain calm through life’s vicissitudes.
vie
n. to compete, contend
The two teams vied for the championship.
vigilance
n. attentiveness, watchfulness
After the attack the commander ordered increased vigilance.
vignette
n. decorative design; short literary composition
The English teacher asked his class to write a vignette.
vilify
v. to slander, defame
The woman sued after the newspaper article vilified her.
vim
n. energy, enthusiasm
The director wants the actors to put more vim into their performance.
vindicate
v. to clear of blame; support a claim
The defendant was vindicated by the evidence.
vindictive
adj. spiteful, vengeful, unforgiving
The vindictive old woman had held the grudge for fifty years.
virile
adj. manly, having qualities of an adult male
Bill joined the army to prove that he’s virile.
virtuoso
n. someone with masterly skill; expert musician
Loud applause followed the virtuoso’s performance.
virulent
adj. extremely poisonous or pathogenic; malignant; hateful
Immediate action must be taken to control the virulent disease.
visage
n. countenance; appearance; aspect
The actor’s handsome visage made him popular with moviegoers.
visceral
adj. deep; profound; instinctive
Tom has a visceral hatred of violence.
viscous
adj. thick, syrupy and sticky
The maple syrup is viscous.
vision
n. intelligent foresight; mental image produced by imagination
The president’s vision is of a nation united and at peace.
vitiate
v. to impair the quality of; corrupt morally; make inoperative
The effects of the policy have been vitiated by poor compliance on the part of some members.
vitriolic
adj. burning, caustic; sharp, bitter
The critic’s vitriolic review angered the author.
vituperative
adj. using or containing harsh, abusive censure
What began as a simple criticism turned into a vituperative attack.
vivacious
adj. lively, spirited
The vivacious actress entertained the audience.
vivisection
n. dissection, surgery, or painful experiments performed on a living animal for the purpose of scientific research
The laboratory has stringent regulations on experiments involving vivisection.
vociferous
adj. loud, vocal and noisy
Protests against the war grew more vociferous as the death toll mounted.
vogue
n. prevailing fashion or practice
There seems to be a vogue for pointy shoes.
void (n.)
n. emptiness, vacuum
The astronomer peered into the void of space.
void (v.)
v. to cancel, invalidate
The contract allows either side to void it with one-month’s notice.
volatile
adj. tending to vary frequently; fickle
I don’t want to invest in the volatile stock market.
volcanology
n. the scientific study of volcanoes
A major aspect of volcanology is studying in great detail the remains of past eruptions at dormant or dead volcanoes.
volition
n. free choice, free, will; act of choosing
The woman joined the army of her own volition.
volley
n. flight of missiles, round of gunshots
The first volley of musket fire killed most of the enemy soldiers.
voluble
adj. speaking much and easily, talkative; glib
The voluble talk show guest entertained the audience for an hour.
voluminous
adj. bulky; large
The professor’s voluminous writings cover much of human history.
Voodooism
n. a religion that is derived from African polytheism and ancestor worship and is practiced chiefly in Haiti
Voodooism is a syncretistic religion.
voracious
adj. having a great appetite
Beth has a voracious appetite for knowledge.
vortex
n. whirlpool; whirlwind; center of turbulence
Many people were sucked into the vortex of violence in World War II.
