V vocabulary

Vacuous (adjective)
devoid of serious occupation : idle; marked by lack of ideas or intelligence: stupid
Even if, in the end, all they collectively learn is that a household of African twenty something’s can be as self-obsessed, vacuous and obnoxious as reality-television contestants in other parts of the world.

Vaguely (adv)
in a way that is not detailed or exact
We find relationships that are vaguely reminiscent of the way biologists can group species into families, and these in turn into the larger classes, phyla, and so on.

Vain (adjective)


excessively proud, especially of your appearance
In a pungent diary, vivid letters, learned tracts, and patriotic speeches he revealed himself as a quintessential Puritan, patriarch of an illustrious family, tough minded philosopher of the republic, sage, and sometimes a vain, stubborn, and vitriolic partisan.

Valve (noun)
a device controlling the flow of liquid through a pipe
“Lefty loosey” and “righty tighty” is a saying which helps one to remember how to turn a valve on or off.

Vaporized (adjective)
characterized as converting (as by the application of heat or by spraying) into a substance in the gaseous state as distinguished from the liquid or solid state.
Treating these states of matter differently in the simulation could explain another peculiar aspect of the moon's composition: its dearth of easily vaporized "volatile" compounds such as water.

Varied (adjective)
showing or characterized by many different forms or kinds
She said that it can be found over varied country, embracing the mountains up to altitudes of 8000 ft, the seacoasts levels, inland plains, desert areas.

Vast (adjective)
of extraordinary size and power
The ocean is believed to be a vast storehouse of natural resources, the exploitation of which depends on three factors: knowledge of geology, advances in technology, and the legal protection for investments of national governments or private industry.

Veiled (adjective)
obscured as if by a veil: disguised
At the time, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women opposed a guardian for the fetus, calling such a proposed move a veiled attempt by the governor to eliminate the possibility of an abortion.

Velocity (noun)
the speed at which something moves, happens, or is done
As the body is crushed into a smaller and smaller volume, the gravitational attraction increases hence the escape velocity gets bigger.

Venerable (adjective)
calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments; broadly: conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence; impressive by reason of age
Like the steam engine, the internal-combustion engine has a long and venerable history.

Venom (noun)
a poisonous fluid produced by an animal and injected by a bite or sting in order to immobilize prey or defend itself.
The venom of the rattlesnake is injected through fangs which fold back when the mouth is closed.

Venture (verb)
to take a risk in the hope of gaining advantage
Some businesspersons venture in real estate and the stock market as possible ways of getting a lucrative return on their investments.

Verdant (adjective)
green with growing plants
Locusts prefer warm, damp, verdant places in which they settle, feed, and reproduce.

Verity (noun)
the quality of being true or real
More than simply a renowned Mississippi writer, the Nobel Prize winning novelist and short story writer is acclaimed throughout the world as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, one who transformed his "postage stamp" of native soil into an apocryphal setting in which he explored, articulated, and challenged "the old verities and truths of the heart."

Vertebrate (noun)
any of the class of animals having a backbone as a distinguishing anatomical feature.
Rhipidistian fishes eventually gave rise to all land vertebrates.

Vertically (adverb)
at a right angle to the horizon or to level ground
Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water.

Vibrant (adjective)
full of or characterized by a lively, emphatic, eager quality
Having a vibrant personality, Gus Sanderson is liked by everyone he knows at work.

Viewpoint (noun)
a personal perspective from which somebody considers something
While healthcare strategies abound from diverse viewpoints and divergent professional groups, no one strategy has all the answers to reform the medical healthcare enterprise.

Vigorous (adjective)
extremely strong and active, physically and mentally
A pamphlet entitled A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law and town instructions denouncing the Stamp Act (1765) marked him as a vigorous, patriotic penman, and, holding various local offices, he soon became a leader among Massachusetts radicals.

Virtually (adjective)
near to in quantity or amount
Except for dietary fibers (nuts, husks, bran, celery strings and such), our gut disassembles virtually everything we eat into smaller components that our body can use.

Virtuoso (noun)
a musician who shows exceptional ability, technique, or artistry
Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso as well.

Virus (noun)
anything that is injurious, destructive, or fatal
Smallpox, influenza, polio, rabies, and measles are diseases caused by viruses.

Vivid (adjective)
producing strong and distinct mental images
In a pungent diary, vivid letters, learned tracts, and patriotic speeches he revealed himself as a quintessential Puritan.

Volatile (adjective)
characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change
The Consumer Price Index, the most widely used gauge of U.S. inflation, was unchanged last month, the Labor Department said. But the so called core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.3 percent after two consecutive flat readings.

Volume (noun)
a single book that belongs to a set of books
Among her volumes of poetry are A Brave and Startling Truth (Random House, 1995),The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994), Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), I Shall Not Be Moved (1990), and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Die (1971), which was nominated for the ulitzer prize.

Vomit (verb)
to expel the contents of the stomach through the mouth as a result of a series of involuntary spasms of the stomach muscles
Bulimia nervosa, on the other hand, is when a person consumes large amounts of food, but then induces vomiting or diarrhea in an attempt to avoid weight gain.

Vortex (noun)
any whirling motion or mass; a whirlpool or whirlwind
Scientists Christopher Davis, Stanley Trier, and colleagues have also gained new insight on a type of low pressure center that connects one mesoscale convective vortex to the next.

Vow (noun)
a solemn promise or assertion; specifically : one by which a person is bound to an act, service, or condition
A spouse may feel that he or she is fulfilling wedding vows.

Voyage (noun)

a course or period of traveling by other than land routes.
Henry sent out more than 50 expeditions but went on none of these voyages himself.