vacillate - to waver (mentally or physically): What’s wrong with changing your mind, again and again if necessary, as new information becomes available? If that’s vacillation, let’s hope that we all have the courage to vacillate. Also: vacillation, vacillator, vacillatory (vacillating, marked by vacillation).
vacuous - 1. (said of a person) having no ideas or intelligence; (said of a thing) showing a lack of ideas or intelligence: It’s time for a change when life seems like one vacuous freshman composition after another. 2. purposeless, having no direction; idle. Also: vacuity, vacuousness, vacuum. [vacuitas, vacuitatis, f. - freedom, immunity]
vagary - 1) an odd, erratic, or unpredictable action or event: Each of us strives to survive, even flourish, amidst the vagaries of human existence. 2) an odd or whimsical idea. Also: vagarious (erratic, capricious). [vagus, vaga, vagum - wandering]
ambivalence - uncertainty resulting from simultaneous
conflicting feelings or desires: Paralyzed by ambivalence, she could
neither support her husband nor intervene on behalf of the children. Also:
ambivalency, ambivalent. [ambo, ambae, ambo - both] valetudinarian - 1) an invalid; 2) a person who is too concerned about his poor health: Be optimistic about your health; valetudinarians just add stress to their list of ailments. (adj.) 1) in poor health; sickly; 2) excessively concerned about one’s poor health. Also: valetudinarianism, valetudinary (valetudinarian). [valesco, valescere - grow strong; valetudinarius, valetudinaria, valetudinarium - sickly; valetudinarium, valitudinari, n. - hospital; valetudo, valetudinis, f. - state of health, health]
vain - 1) excessively proud; 2) unsuccessful, futile: In 1513, in a vain attempt to find a fountain of youth, Ponce de Leon led an expedition to Bimini, but landed instead in Florida. 3) having no real value or significance, worthless. Also: vainness, vanity. [vanum, vani, n. - nothingness, emptiness]
vapid - lacking spirit, dull: Awakening with a premonition of pedantic lectures and vapid discussions, she turned off the alarm and rolled over. Also: vapidity, vapidness. [vapor, vaporis, m. - vapor, steam]
variance - 1) difference; 2) disagreement: The two sides
were at variance over the proposal to use force in Bosnia.
Also: variant (a different form; a different spelling of the same
word). [vario, variare, variavi, variatus - change; vary]
vehement - 1. having or showing strong feeling, passionate: He
lashed out against the majority in vehement defense of his friend, whom
he knew to be innocent. 2. characterized by anger; violent. Also: vehemence.
[vehementia, vehementiae, f. - violence, passion]
invective - (n.) a violent verbal attack; insult(s): In a
passionate speech filled with praise and invective, the senator left no
doubt about his position on crucial issues of domestic and foreign
politics. (adj.) characterized by strong criticism, insults, etc.
Also: invectiveness. [inveho, invehere, invexi, invectus -
to bring in; (refl. or pass.) to attack]
vendor - person or organization that sells; seller: Her job involved getting merchandize from vendor to buyer in the most efficient manner. [vendibilis, vendibile - salable; venditio, venditionis, f. - sale, a selling; vendito, venditare, venditavi - to keep trying to sell; venditor, venditoris, m. - seller]
venerate - to regard with great respect or reverence, to revere: Catholics are not polytheists; they venerate Mary and the saints, but they adore God alone. Also: venerable, venerability, venerableness, veneration, venerative, venerator. [venerator, veneratoris, m. - one who reveres or reverences; veneratio, venerationis, f. - reverence, profound respect]
venial - that may be forgiven or overlooked; pardonable, excusable: He hoped his forgetfulness would be reckoned as a venial offense. Also: veniality, venialness.
advent - a coming, arrival: In the twentieth century, with
the advent of the automobile, the airplane, radio, and television, the
world became a much smaller place. Also: adventive (not
native; new to the environment) [adventus, adventus, m. -
arrival, approach]
ventral - 1) abdominal; 2) situated on the abdominal side of the body: The dorsal fin of most fish is more conspicuous than the ventral fin. Also: venter (abdomen). [ventriculus, ventriculi, m. - belly]
vernal - 1) of or pertaining to spring, spring-like: Because of abundant rainfall in May and early June, our trees and shrubs preserved their vernal appearance until mid-July. 2) appearing in the spring; 3) youthful. Also: vernalize, vernalization. [vernus, verna, vernum - spring-like, of spring; verno, vernare - to flourish, grow green] vernalize - to cause to bloom early: Commercial nurseries vernalize flowers to increase productivity and profit. Also: vernal (of or pertaining to; spring-like), vernalization, vernation (arrangement or formation of leaves in a bud). [verno, vernare - to grow young, feel new life; to flourish; vernus, verna, vernum - of spring; spring-like]
verbal - of, in, or by means of words: Children who enjoy
pictures more than verbal images prefer comic books to novels. Also:
verbality, verbalism (verbal expression; choice of words; too
much attention to words instead of meaning), verbalist (one who
uses words well; one who pays too much attention to words), verbalistic.
revere - to regard with love and respect; to venerate: Mohammed Ali is revered by many for his post-boxing humanitarian efforts, while others, remembering the Casius Clay of his younger days, condemn him as a draft dodger. Also: reverable, reverer, reverence, reverencer, reverend, reverendship, reverent, reverentness, reverential (reverent), reverentiality, reverentialness.
converge - to come together in a point: I-75 extends from
northern Michigan at the Canadian border to Fort Lauderdale in southern
Florida, while I-71 connects Cleveland, Ohio, with Louisville, Kentucky.
These two highways converge in Cincinnati, then run together for about
15 miles before diverging south of Cincinnati. Also: convergence,
convergent.
adversary - 1) enemy; 2) opponent: Complacency helps the
adversary--in business, in war, and in sports. Also: adversarial,
adversariness. [adversarius, adversaria, adversarium - turned
against; turned towards] controvert - to dispute, debate: Evolution controverts the
beliefs of Christian fundamentalists, who hold that everything in the
Bible is literally true. Also: controversial, controversialism,
controversialist (one who is skilled in or participates in
controversy), controversiality, controversy, controverter,
controvertist (controversialist), controvertible. [versus,
versus, m. - a turning; versus (adv.) - towards, facing; vertex,
verticis, m. - whirlwind; summit; vertigo, vertiginis, f. - a
whirling; dizziness] extrovert - someone who is primarily concerned with things
outside himself or herself: If you genuinely enjoy large gatherings
at which one is expected to mingle with and talk to as many people as
possible, you're an extrovert. Also: extroversion, extroversive,
extroverted, extrovertive. [extra - adv., on the outside;
prep. w/ acc., outside of] introvert - someone who is primarily concerned with his or her
own thoughts and feelings: Extroverts like parties; introverts don't.]
Also: introversion, introversive, introverted, introvertive. [intro
- adv., within] vertigo - a feeling that the person, or that surrounding objects, are spinning or tilting, accompanied by a sensation that one is losing equilibrium or consciousness: Patients often complain of vertigo; in some cases, internists cannot determine the cause. Also: vertiginous (spinning, whirling; dizzy), vertiginousness. {vertigo, vertiginis, f. - a turning around, whirling; dizziness]
aver - to declare to be true; affirm: Coleridge’s
Ancient Mariner says: "For all averred, I had killed the bird /
That made the breeze to blow." [ad (prep. w/ acc.) - to;
toward]
vespers - church service held in the early evening: Every evening at five, the monastery bells summon the monks to vespers. Also: vespertine (occurring in the evening; of or pertaining to the evening).
divest - to strip (someone of something); to take
away a right or rank: The Pope divested the recalcitrant archbishop
of rank and privileges and remanded him to his monastery. Also: divestiture,
divestment. [vestio, vestire, vestivi, vestitus - clothe,
dress]
inveterate - 1) confirmed in a habit or practice: She came to realize that her co-worker was an inveterate liar with a bad memory; she often forgot the lies she had told the week before. 2) long and firmly established. Also: inveteracy, inveterateness. [veteranus, veterana, veteranum - old, veteran; veterator, veteratoris, m. - one who has grown old in doing something; veteratorius, veteratoria, veteratorium - sly, cunning, crafty; veternosus, veternosa, veternosum - lethargic, drowsy; veternus, veterni, m. - lethargy, drowsiness; vetulus, vetula, vetulum - old, elderly; poor little old; vetustas, vetustatis, f. - age, old age; vetustus, vetusta, vetustum - old, aged, ancient]
vex - 1) to disturb, annoy; 2) to distress, trouble, torment: One piece of the puzzle of longevity is not allowing oneself to be vexed by life’s vicissitudes. Also: vexation, vexatious (annoying), vexatiousness, vexedness, vexer. [vexatio, vexationis, f. - a harassing; vexator, vexatoris, m. - one who harasses] vexatious - annoying: While the husband earned most of their money, the wife undertook the more vexatious tasks of ironing, paying bills, and keeping the catalogue file up to date. Also: vex (annoy), vexation, vexatiousness, vexedness, vexer. [vexatio, vexationis, f. - a shaking; troubling; vexator, vexatoris, m. - one who harasses, troubles, or disturbs]
deviate - to turn aside (from); diverge; digress:
Unwilling to deviate even slightly from their chosen itinerary, the
couple passed up scores of places that they heard about along the way. Also:
deviable, deviability, deviant (deviating), deviation,
deviative, deviator, deviatory. viator - a traveler: There are still areas of the world--rural China, for example--where viators are few, where many, if not most, people spend their entire lives within a few miles of the place of their birth. [viator, viatoris, m. - traveler]
vicissitudes - unpredictable changes that keep happening in life; the ups and downs of fortune: Major-league baseball players try to remain even-tempered amid the vicissitudes of a 162-game season. Also: vicissitudinary, vicissitudinous. [vicissim - in turn; vicissitudo, vicissitudinis, f. - change, alternation, vicissitude]
vicinage - vicinity; neighborhood: Fifty years ago, vicinage played an important part in everyone’s social life, as it still does today in predominantly black neighborhoods. Also: vicinal, vicinity. [viculus, viculi, m. - a small village; hamlet] vicinal - 1) of or pertaining to a neighborhood: The front porch and the corner grocery store were important components of vicinal interconnectedness in the first half of the twentieth century. 2) neighboring. Also: vicinage, vicinity.
invidious - giving offense because unjust or
unfair; unjustly discriminating: "I asked for well-researched,
well-argued comparisons," said the teacher, "not invidious
impressions." Also: invidiousness. [invideo,
invidere, invidi, invisus -
to look askance at; to be prejudiced against; invidiosus,
invidiosa, invidiosum - arousing envy; envious; hateful]
vigilant - watchful, alert: When terrorism threatens, citizens are asked to be particularly vigilant. Also: vigil (wakefulness or watchfulnes at night), vigilance, vigilante (one who takes the law into his own hands), vigilantness. [vigil, vigilis - awake, watchful; vigilantia, vigilantiae, f. - watchfulness; vigilax, vigilacis - watchful; vigilia, vigiliae, f. - wakefulness, watching]
revile - to attack with abusive language; to abuse verbally: Man debases himself by reviling others. Be constructive. Also: revilement, reviler. vilify - to defame, slander, speak evil of: If we vilify others, we bring dishonor to ourselves. Also: vile (repulsively bad, highly offensive, disgusting; poor; of little value), vileness, vilification, vilifier. [vilitas, vilitatis, f. - cheapness] vilipend - to regard or treat as having little value; vilify: Stand on your own merits; don’t vilipend your competitors. Also: vilification, vilifier, vilify, vilipender. [vilitas, vilitatis, f. - cheapness; worthlessness]
evict - to remove a tenant from leased property: The
landlord said he would have the tenants evicted if they did not pay
their bill within a week. Also: evictee (one who has been
evicted), eviction (an evicting or a being evicted), evictor.
[evinco, evincere, evici, evictus - to overcome; to prevail over;
to prove]
vinculum - a bond signifying union or unity: A year after his death she removed her wedding band, which for her had been a vinculum; while she wore it, she could not be unfaithful to her husband. [vincio, vincire, vinxi, vinctus - bind]
vindicate - 1. to clear from suspicion: Many
an innocent person has borne the onus of lifelong suspicion, for the
“not guilty” verdict of a jury seldom vindicates a defendant in the
eyes of everyone. 2. to uphold; 3. to justify. Also: vindicable,
vindication, vindicative (tending to vindicate), vindicator,
vindicatory (serving to vindicate), vindictive (inclined to
revenge), vindictiveness. [vindicatio, vindicationis, f. -
an avenging, defending; vindiciae, vindiciarum, f. - a legal
claim]
viniculture - the cultivation of grapes for wine
production: Along parts of the Rhine and Moselle rivers as well as in
an area traversed by the "Weinstraße," Germans rely heavily
on viniculture for their economic well-being. Also: vinicultural,
viniculturist, viniferous (producing wine), vinification (the
process of makng wine), vinify (to make wine; to convert fruit
into wine). [cultura, culturae, f. - tilling, cultivation; fero,
ferre, tuli, latus - to bear; to bring forth; facio, facere,
feci, factus - to do; to make]
virile - manly: In this feminist era, virile
qualities are not as clearly defined as they once were; for example, are
patience and gentleness, once considered feminine virtues, manly?
Also: virility (manliness). [virilis, virile - of or like
a man, manly; virilitas, virilitatis, f. - manhood; manliness]
verdancy - greenness: In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family, from the dustbowl of Oklahoma, are amazed at the verdancy of the San Joaquin Valley of California. Also: verdant (green). virid - green, verdant: Because they impede the movement of rain clouds, mountain ranges are often virid on one side and arid on the other. Also: viridescent (greenish), viridescence, viridity (greenness; youth). [viridans, viridantis - green; viridarium, viridari, n. - pleasure garden; viriditas, viriditatis, f. - greenness]
virtuoso - a person highly skilled in one of the fine arts, especially music: The gala event featured solo performances by eight of the world's greatest virtuosos. Also: virtuose (characterized by virtuosity), virtuosity (the skill of a virtuoso).
virulent - very poisonous: Radical orthodoxy peremptorily denounces dissenters as purveyors of virulent ideas. Also: virulence, virulency.
vim - force; energy: I'll take vim, vigor, and vitality over listlessness, lassitude, and lethargy any day.
visceral - 1) pertaining to or resembling the organs in the abdominal cavity; 2) instinctive, emotional: For some people, religion is visceral to the point of being anti-intellectual; if reason contradicts their religion, reason must be wrong. Also: viscera (organs of the abdominal cavity).
revitalize - restore vitality or vigor after a
decline: The students' improved scores revitalized not only the
principal but most of the teachers as well. Also: revitalization.
[vitalis, vitale - of life; life-sustaining; vital]
inevitable - unavoidable: Unless the chain of violence is broken, biological, chemical, and nuclear disasters seem inevitable. Also: inevitability, inevitableness. [evitabilis, evitabile - avoidable; evito, evitare, evitavi, evitatus - to shun, avoid; inevitabilis, inevitabile - unavoidable; vitatio, vitationis, f. - avoidance, shunning]
vitriolic - 1) of or resembling a metallic sulfate characterized by a glassy appearance; 2) bitterly critical; scathing; very caustic: The candidates’ vitriolic criticism of each other convinced many voters that neither candidate deserved to be elected. Also: vitriol (a metallic sulfate characterized by a glassy appearance; severe criticism), vitriolization, vitriolize.
vituperation - strong verbal abuse; bitter denunciation: Constructive criticism is more effective than vituperation, unless your intention is to alienate. Also: vituperate (to abuse verbally), vituperative. [vituperabilis, vituperabile - blamable; vituperator, vituperatoris, m. - a censuser, blamer; vitupero, vituperare, vituperavi - to blame, find fault, censure]
conviviality - 1) eating, drinking and good company; 2) a fondness for eating, drinking, and good company: If you were asked to enumerate the qualities of the good life, would you include conviviality? Also: convive (an eating or drinking companion), convivial, convivialist (a convivial person). [convivium, convivi, n. - feast] victuals - (n.) food supply: The hikers took great care in
selecting victuals for their weeklong trek through a wilderness area of
the Rockies. (v.) to supply with food. Also: victualage
(food, provisions), victualer, victualless. [victus, victus,
m. - sustenance, nourishment; way of life; vivax, vivacis -
long-lived; vividus, vivida, vividum - full of life]
vivarium - a place where animals and plants are kept alive under conditions simulating their natural environment: Many contemporary zoos attempt to provide vivariums for the animal residents. [vivarium, vivari, n. - an enclosure where living animals are kept; vivax, vivacis - long-lived; vividus, vivida, vividum - full of life; vivo, vivere, vixi, victus - be alive, live]
advocate - (v.) to recommend publicly: Does
the right of free speech extend to those who advocate unlawful violence?
(n.) 1) a person who writes or speaks in support of something; 2) a
person who pleads the cause of another; lawyer. Also: advocacy
(speaking or writing in favor; the act of advocating), advocative,
advocator, advocatory (pertaining to an advocate). [advoco,
advocare, advocavi, advocatus - to call (to one’s assistance); advocatio,
advocationis, f. - providing legal assistance] evocative - tending to draw forth, bring out, or call up: The
evocative statement elicited the desired emotional response. Also: evocable,
evocate (to evoke), evocation, evocativeness, evocator,
evocatory, evoke (to draw forth, bring out, call up), evoker. [evoco,
evocare, evocavi, evocatus - to call forth, summon]
volition - 1) the act of willing: Having violated the conditions of his parole, he drove to the police department of his own volition, prepared to accept the consequences of his actions. 2) a deliberate choice; 3) will power. Also: volitional, volitionary, volitive.
volatile - 1) vaporizing quickly; 2) likely to
change quickly and unpredictably: Naval forces in the Mediterranean
were being kept on 24-hour alert because of the volatile situation
there. Also: volatility, volatileness. [volatilis,
volatile - having wings, flying]
voluble - 1. talkative: When asked why he talked so much, John replied, “Voluble people have valuable things to say.” 2. characterized by words that flow smoothly and rapidly. Also: volubility, volubleness. [volubilitas, volubilitatis, f. - a revolving motion; (of speech) rapidity; (of fortune) mutability]
voluptuary - (n.) one whose life is devoted to luxurious living and sensual pleasure: Despite their name, the ancient Epicureans were not voluptuaries, for they sought peace of mind and moderate pleasure. (adj.) of or pertaining to the pursuit of luxury and sensual pleasure. Also: voluptuous, voluptuousness. [volup - delightfully, agreeably; voluptabilis, voluptabile - giving pleasure; voluptarius, voluptaria, voluptarium - of or pertaining to pleasure; pleasurable; voluptuosus, voluptuosa, voluptuosum - delightful, full of pleasure]
univocal - having only one meaning; unambiguous: When
he heard that Ohio does not recognize the word "or" for
automobile registrations because of its ambiguity, he laughed and
insisted that "or" is univocal; but he was wrong. [unus,
una, unum - one]
vulgate - any commonly accepted text; 2) common speech, the vernacular: The old mortician passed easily form the king’s English to the vulgate as he moved among the mass of mourners from every stratum of society. Also: vulgar, vulgarian, vulgarism (vulgar behavior; a vulgar expression), vulgarity, vulgarize (to lower, make vulgar), vulgarization, vulgarizer, vulgarness. [vulgaris, vulgare - usual, ordinary; vulgo, vulgare, vulgavi, vulgatus - to make public, make general]
vulnerable - 1) able to be wounded or hurt; 2)
open to attack: Our coaches think that the Tigers have an excellent
pass defense but are vulnerable to a well-constructed running attack.
Also: vulnerability, vulnerableness, invulnerability, invulnerable,
invulnerableness. [vulnero, vulnerare, vulneravi, vulneratus
- to wound]
vulpes, vulpis, f.
- fox vulpine - With vulpine craftiness the King and the Duke
ingratiated themselves with the townspeople, all the while intending to
abscond with as much of Peter Wilks’ money as they could carry. 1)
of or pertaining to foxes; 2) foxy, foxlike, cunning. |
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