| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| vacua | plural | of Vacuum |
| vagal | adjective | Of or pertaining to the vagus, or pneumogastric nerves; pneumogastric. |
| vague | verb i. | Wandering; vagrant; vagabond., Unsettled; unfixed; undetermined; indefinite; ambiguous; as, a vague idea; a vague proposition., Proceeding from no known authority; unauthenticated; uncertain; flying; as, a vague report., An indefinite expanse., To wander; to roam; to stray., A wandering; a vagary. |
| vagus | adjective | Wandering; — applied especially to the pneumogastric nerve., The vagus, ore pneumogastric, nerve. |
| vairy | noun | Charged with vair; variegated with shield-shaped figures. See Vair. |
| valet | noun | A male waiting servant; a servant who attends on gentleman’s person; a body servant., A kind of goad or stick with a point of iron. |
| valid | adjective | Strong; powerful; efficient., Having sufficient strength or force; founded in truth; capable of being justified, defended, or supported; not weak or defective; sound; good; efficacious; as, a valid argument; a valid objection., Having legal strength or force; executed with the proper formalities; incapable of being rightfully overthrown or set aside; as, a valid deed; a valid covenant; a valid instrument of any kind; a valid claim or title; a valid marriage. |
| valla | plural | of Vallum |
| valor | noun | Value; worth., Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery; courage; prowess; intrepidity., A brave man; a man of valor. |
| value | noun | The property or aggregate properties of a thing by which it is rendered useful or desirable, or the degree of such property or sum of properties; worth; excellence; utility; importance., Worth estimated by any standard of purchasing power, especially by the market price, or the amount of money agreed upon as an equivalent to the utility and cost of anything., Precise signification; import; as, the value of a word; the value of a legal instrument, Esteem; regard., The relative length or duration of a tone or note, answering to quantity in prosody; thus, a quarter note [/] has the value of two eighth notes [/]., In an artistical composition, the character of any one part in its relation to other parts and to the whole; — often used in the plural; as, the values are well given, or well maintained., Valor., To estimate the value, or worth, of; to rate at a certain price; to appraise; to reckon with respect to number, power, importance, etc., To rate highly; to have in high esteem; to hold in respect and estimation; to appreciate; to prize; as, to value one for his works or his virtues., To raise to estimation; to cause to have value, either real or apparent; to enhance in value., To be worth; to be equal to in value. |
| valve | noun | A door; especially, one of a pair of folding doors, or one of the leaves of such a door., A lid, plug, or cover, applied to an aperture so that by its movement, as by swinging, lifting and falling, sliding, turning, or the like, it will open or close the aperture to permit or prevent passage, as of a fluid., One or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or retard the flow in the opposite direction; as, the ileocolic, mitral, and semilunar valves., One of the pieces into which a capsule naturally separates when it bursts., One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom., A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, as in the barberry., One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells. |
| vapid | adjective | Having lost its life and spirit; dead; spiritless; insipid; flat; dull; unanimated; as, vapid beer; a vapid speech; a vapid state of the blood. |
| vapor | noun | Any substance in the gaseous, or aeriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid., In a loose and popular sense, any visible diffused substance floating in the atmosphere and impairing its transparency, as smoke, fog, etc., Wind; flatulence., Something unsubstantial, fleeting, or transitory; unreal fancy; vain imagination; idle talk; boasting., An old name for hypochondria, or melancholy; the blues., A medicinal agent designed for administration in the form of inhaled vapor., To pass off in fumes, or as a moist, floating substance, whether visible or invisible, to steam; to be exhaled; to evaporate., To emit vapor or fumes., To talk idly; to boast or vaunt; to brag., To send off in vapor, or as if in vapor; as, to vapor away a heated fluid. |
| varan | noun | The monitor. See Monitor, 3. |
| varec | noun | The calcined ashes of any coarse seaweed used for the manufacture of soda and iodine; also, the seaweed itself; fucus; wrack. |
| varix | noun | A uneven, permanent dilatation of a vein., One of the prominent ridges or ribs extending across each of the whorls of certain univalve shells. |
| vasty | adjective | Vast; immense. |
| vasum | noun | A genus including several species of large marine gastropods having massive pyriform shells, with conspicuous folds on the columella. |
| vault | noun | An arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy., An arched apartment; especially, a subterranean room, use for storing articles, for a prison, for interment, or the like; a cell; a cellar., The canopy of heaven; the sky., A leap or bound., The bound or leap of a horse; a curvet., A leap by aid of the hands, or of a pole, springboard, or the like., To form with a vault, or to cover with a vault; to give the shape of an arch to; to arch; as, vault a roof; to vault a passage to a court., To leap over; esp., to leap over by aid of the hands or a pole; as, to vault a fence., To leap; to bound; to jump; to spring., To exhibit feats of tumbling or leaping; to tumble. |
| vaunt | verb i. | To boast; to make a vain display of one’s own worth, attainments, decorations, or the like; to talk ostentatiously; to brag., To boast of; to make a vain display of; to display with ostentation., A vain display of what one is, or has, or has done; ostentation from vanity; a boast; a brag., The first part., To put forward; to display. |
| vauty | adjective | Vaulted. |
| vedro | noun | A Russian liquid measure, equal to 3.249 gallons of U. S. standard measure, or 2.706 imperial gallons. |
| veery | noun | An American thrush (Turdus fuscescens) common in the Northern United States and Canada. It is light tawny brown above. The breast is pale buff, thickly spotted with brown. Called also Wilson’s thrush. |
| veiny | adjective | Full of veins; veinous; veined; as, veiny marble. |
| velar | adjective | Of or pertaining to a velum; esp. (Anat.) of or pertaining to the soft palate., Having the place of articulation on the soft palate; guttural; as, the velar consonants, such as k and hard q. |
| velum | noun | Curtain or covering; — applied to various membranous partitions, especially to the soft palate. See under Palate., See Veil, n., 3 (b)., A thin membrane surrounding the sporocarps of quillworts Isoetes)., A veil-like organ or part., The circular membrane that partially incloses the space beneath the umbrella of hydroid medusae., A delicate funnel-like membrane around the flagellum of certain Infusoria. See Illust. a of Protozoa. |
| venae | plural | of Vena |
| venal | adjective | Of or pertaining to veins; venous; as, venal blood., Capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration; made matter of trade or barter; held for sale; salable; mercenary; purchasable; hireling; as, venal services. |
| vends | noun pl. | See Wends. |
| venew | noun | A bout, or turn, as at fencing; a thrust; a hit; a veney. |
| veney | noun | A bout; a thrust; a venew. |
| venge | verb t. | To avenge; to punish; to revenge. |
| venom | noun | Matter fatal or injurious to life; poison; particularly, the poisonous, the poisonous matter which certain animals, such as serpents, scorpions, bees, etc., secrete in a state of health, and communicate by thing or stinging., Spite; malice; malignity; evil quality. Chaucer., To infect with venom; to envenom; to poison. |
| venue | noun | A neighborhood or near place; the place or county in which anything is alleged to have happened; also, the place where an action is laid., A bout; a hit; a turn. See Venew. |
| venus | noun | The goddess of beauty and love, that is, beauty or love deified., One of the planets, the second in order from the sun, its orbit lying between that of Mercury and that of the Earth, at a mean distance from the sun of about 67,000,000 miles. Its diameter is 7,700 miles, and its sidereal period 224.7 days. As the morning star, it was called by the ancients Lucifer; as the evening star, Hesperus., The metal copper; — probably so designated from the ancient use of the metal in making mirrors, a mirror being still the astronomical symbol of the planet Venus., Any one of numerous species of marine bivalve shells of the genus Venus or family Veneridae. Many of these shells are large, and ornamented with beautiful frills; others are smooth, glossy, and handsomely colored. Some of the larger species, as the round clam, or quahog, are valued for food. |
| verge | noun | A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority; as, the verge, carried before a dean., The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge., The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king’s household had special jurisdiction; — so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore., A virgate; a yardland., A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent., A circumference; a circle; a ring., The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft., The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof., The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement., The edge or outside of a bed or border., A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre., The penis., The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix., To border upon; to tend; to incline; to come near; to approach., To tend downward; to bend; to slope; as, a hill verges to the north. |
| verse | noun | A line consisting of a certain number of metrical feet (see Foot, n., 9) disposed according to metrical rules., Metrical arrangement and language; that which is composed in metrical form; versification; poetry., A short division of any composition., A stanza; a stave; as, a hymn of four verses., One of the short divisions of the chapters in the Old and New Testaments., A portion of an anthem to be performed by a single voice to each part., A piece of poetry., To tell in verse, or poetry., To make verses; to versify. |
| verso | noun | The reverse, or left-hand, page of a book or a folded sheet of paper; — opposed to recto. |
| verst | noun | A Russian measure of length containing 3,500 English feet. |
| vertu | noun | Virtue; power. See Virtue., See Virtu. |
| verve | noun | Excitement of imagination such as animates a poet, artist, or musician, in composing or performing; rapture; enthusiasm; spirit; energy. |
| vespa | noun | A genus of Hymenoptera including the common wasps and hornets. |
| vesta | noun | One of the great divinities of the ancient Romans, identical with the Greek Hestia. She was a virgin, and the goddess of the hearth; hence, also, of the fire on it, and the family round it., An asteroid, or minor planet, discovered by Olbers in 1807., A wax friction match. |
| vetch | noun | Any leguminous plant of the genus Vicia, some species of which are valuable for fodder. The common species is V. sativa. |
| vexed | imp. & past participle | of Vex, Annoyed; harassed; troubled., Much debated or contested; causing discussion; as, a vexed question. |
| vexer | noun | One who vexes or troubles. |
| vexil | noun | A vexillum. |
| viage | noun | A voyage; a journey. |
| viand | noun | An article of food; provisions; food; victuals; — used chiefly in the plural. |
| viary | adjective | Of or pertaining to roads; happening on roads. |
| vicar | noun | One deputed or authorized to perform the functions of another; a substitute in office; a deputy., The incumbent of an appropriated benefice. |
| viced | imp. & past participle | of Vice, Vicious; corrupt. |
| vying | present participle & vb. noun | of Vie, a. & n. from Vie. |
| viewy | adjective | Having peculiar views; fanciful; visionary; unpractical; as, a viewy person., Spectacular; pleasing to the eye or the imagination. |
| vifda | noun | In the Orkney and Shetland Islands, beef and mutton hung and dried, but not salted. |
| vigil | verb i. | Abstinence from sleep, whether at a time when sleep is customary or not; the act of keeping awake, or the state of being awake, or the state of being awake; sleeplessness; wakefulness; watch., Hence, devotional watching; waking for prayer, or other religious exercises., Originally, the watch kept on the night before a feast., Later, the day and the night preceding a feast., A religious service performed in the evening preceding a feast. |
| vigor | noun | Active strength or force of body or mind; capacity for exertion, physically, intellectually, or morally; force; energy., Strength or force in animal or force in animal or vegetable nature or action; as, a plant grows with vigor., Strength; efficacy; potency., To invigorate. |
| viled | adjective | Abusive; scurrilous; defamatory; vile. |
| villa | noun | A country seat; a country or suburban residence of some pretensions to elegance. |
| villi | noun | pl. of Villus., of Villus |
| vimen | noun | A long, slender, flexible shoot or branch. |
| vined | adjective | Having leaves like those of the vine; ornamented with vine leaves. |
| viner | noun | A vinedresser. |
| vinic | adjective | Of or pertaining to wine; as, vinic alcohol. |
| vinny | adjective | Vinnewed. |
| vinyl | noun | The hypothetical radical C2H3, regarded as the characteristic residue of ethylene and that related series of unsaturated hydrocarbons with which the allyl compounds are homologous. |
| viola | noun | A genus of polypetalous herbaceous plants, including all kinds of violets., An instrument in form and use resembling the violin, but larger, and a fifth lower in compass. |
| viole | noun | A vial. |
| viper | adjective | Any one of numerous species of Old World venomous makes belonging to Vipera, Clotho, Daboia, and other genera of the family Viperidae., A dangerous, treacherous, or malignant person. |
| vireo | noun | Any one of numerous species of American singing birds belonging to Vireo and allied genera of the family Vireonidae. In many of the species the back is greenish, or olive-colored. Called also greenlet. |
| virge | noun | A wand. See Verge. |
| virgo | noun | A sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of August, marked thus [/] in almanacs., A constellation of the zodiac, now occupying chiefly the sign Libra, and containing the bright star Spica. |
| virid | adjective | Green. |
| virtu | noun | A love of the fine arts; a taste for curiosities. |
| virus | verb i. | Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; — applied to organic poisons., The special contagion, inappreciable to the senses and acting in exceedingly minute quantities, by which a disease is introduced into the organism and maintained there., Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the soul; as, the virus of obscene books. |
| visit | verb t. | To go or come to see, as for the purpose of friendship, business, curiosity, etc.; to attend; to call upon; as, the physician visits his patient., To go or come to see for inspection, examination, correction of abuses, etc.; to examine, to inspect; as, a bishop visits his diocese; a superintendent visits persons or works under his charge., To come to for the purpose of chastising, rewarding, comforting; to come upon with reward or retribution; to appear before or judge; as, to visit in mercy; to visit one in wrath., To make a visit or visits; to maintain visiting relations; to practice calling on others., The act of visiting, or going to see a person or thing; a brief stay of business, friendship, ceremony, curiosity, or the like, usually longer than a call; as, a visit of civility or respect; a visit to Saratoga; the visit of a physician., The act of going to view or inspect; an official or formal inspection; examination; visitation; as, the visit of a trustee or inspector. |
| visne | noun | Neighborhood; vicinity; venue. See Venue. |
| vison | noun | The mink. |
| visor | noun | A part of a helmet, arranged so as to lift or open, and so show the face. The openings for seeing and breathing are generally in it., A mask used to disfigure or disguise., The fore piece of a cap, projecting over, and protecting the eyes. |
| vista | noun | A view; especially, a view through or between intervening objects, as trees; a view or prospect through an avenue, or the like; hence, the trees or other objects that form the avenue. |
| visto | noun | A vista; a prospect. |
| vital | adjective | Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions., Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood., Containing life; living., Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal., Very necessary; highly important; essential., Capable of living; in a state to live; viable., A vital part; one of the vitals. |
| vitis | noun | A genus of plants including all true grapevines. |
| vitoe | adjective | See Durukuli. |
| vitta | noun | One of the oil tubes in the fruit of umbelliferous plants., A band, or stripe, of color. |
| vivda | noun | See Vifda. |
| vives | noun | A disease of brute animals, especially of horses, seated in the glands under the ear, where a tumor is formed which sometimes ends in suppuration. |
| vivid | adjective | True to the life; exhibiting the appearance of life or freshness; animated; spirited; bright; strong; intense; as, vivid colors., Forming brilliant images, or painting in lively colors; lively; sprightly; as, a vivid imagination. |
| vixen | noun | A female fox., A cross, ill-tempered person; — formerly used of either sex, now only of a woman. |
| vizir | noun | See Vizier. |
| vizor | noun | See Visor. |
| vocal | adjective | Of or pertaining to the voice or speech; having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices., Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody; vocal prayer., Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, /poken with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; — said of certain articulate sounds., Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, // 199-202., Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the character of a vowel; vowel., A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; — distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal., A man who has a right to vote in certain elections. |
| vodka | noun | A Russian drink distilled from rye. |
| vogle | noun | Same as Vugg. |
| vogue | noun | The way or fashion of people at any particular time; temporary mode, custom, or practice; popular reception for the time; — used now generally in the phrase in vogue., Influence; power; sway. |
| voice | noun | Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice., Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper., The tone or sound emitted by anything., The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice., Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion., Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote., Command; precept; — now chiefly used in scriptural language., One who speaks; a speaker., A particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses., To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation., To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper., To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ., To vote; to elect; to appoint., To clamor; to cry out. |
| volar | adjective | Of or pertaining to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot. |
| volge | noun | The common sort of people; the crowd; the mob. |
| volow | verb t. | To baptize; — used in contempt by the Reformers. |
| volte | plural | of Volta |
| volta | noun | A turning; a time; — chiefly used in phrases signifying that the part is to be repeated one, two, or more times; as, una volta, once. Seconda volta, second time, points to certain modifications in the close of a repeated strain. |
| volti | imperative. | Turn, that is, turn over the leaf. |
| volva | noun | A saclike envelope of certain fungi, which bursts open as the plant develops. |
| vomer | noun | A bone, or one of a pair of bones, beneath the ethmoid region of the skull, forming a part a part of the partition between the nostrils in man and other mammals., The pygostyle. |
| vomit | noun | To eject the contents of the stomach by the mouth; to puke; to spew., To throw up; to eject from the stomach through the mouth; to disgorge; to puke; to spew out; — often followed by up or out., Hence, to eject from any hollow place; to belch forth; to emit; to throw forth; as, volcanoes vomit flame, stones, etc., Matter that is vomited; esp., matter ejected from the stomach through the mouth., That which excites vomiting; an emetic. |
| voted | imp. & past participle | of Vote |
| voter | noun | One who votes; one who has a legal right to vote, or give his suffrage; an elector; a suffragist; as, an independent voter. |
| vouch | verb t. | To call; to summon., To call upon to witness; to obtest., To warrant; to maintain by affirmations; to attest; to affirm; to avouch., To back; to support; to confirm; to establish., To call into court to warrant and defend, or to make good a warranty of title., To bear witness; to give testimony or full attestation., To assert; to aver; to declare., Warrant; attestation. |
| vowed | imp. & past participle | of Vow |
| vowel | noun | A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; — distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 5, 146-149., Of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal. |
| vower | noun | One who makes a vow. |
| voyol | noun | See Viol, 2., The block through which a messenger passes. |
| vulva | noun | The external parts of the female genital organs; sometimes, the opening between the projecting parts of the external organs., The orifice of the oviduct of an insect or other invertebrate. |