vacillate v.# waver; fluctuate. Uncertain which suitor she ought to marry, the princess vacillated, saying now one, now the other. The big boss likes his people to be decisive: when he asks you for your opinion, whatever you do, don't vacillate. vacillation, n.#vacuous adj.#empty; inane. The vacuous remarks of the politician annoyed the audience, who had hoped to hear more than empty platitudes.#vagabond n.#wanderer; tramp. In summer, college students wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds. also adj. #vagrant n.#a homeless wanderer. Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant. vagrancy, n.#valedictory adj.#pertaining to farewell. I found the valedictory address too long; leave-taking should be brief.#valid adj.#logically convincing; sound; legally acceptable. You're going to have to come up with a better argument if you want to convince me that your reasoning is valid.#validate v.#confirm; ratify. I will not publish my findings until I validate my results.#valor n.#bravery. He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle.#vampire n.#ghostly being that sucks the blood of the living. Children were afraid to go to sleep because of the many legends of vampires roaming at night.#vanguard n.#advance guard of a military force; forefront of a movement. When no enemy was in sight, the Duke of Plaza Toro marched in the vanguard of his troops, but once the bullets flew above, he headed for the rear.#vantage n.#position giving an advantage. They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.#vapid adj.#dull and unimaginative; insipid and flavorless. "Bor-ing!" said Jessica, as she suffered through yet another vapid lecture about Dead White Male Poets.#vaporize v.# turn into vapor (steam, gas, fog, etc.). "Zap!" went Super Mario's atomic ray gun as he vaporized another deadly foe.#variegated adj.#many-colored. Without her glasses, Gretchen saw the fields of tulips as a variegated blur.#veer v.#change in direction. After what seemed an eternity, the wind veered to the east and the storm abated.#vehement adj.#forceful; intensely emotional; with marked vigor. Alfred became so vehement in describing what was wrong with the Internal Revenue Service that he began jumping up and down and frothing at the mouth. vehemence, n.#velocity n.#speed. The train went by at considerable velocity.#venal adj.#capable of being bribed. The venal policeman cheerfully accepted the bribe offered him by the speeding motorist whom he had stopped.#vendetta n.#blood feud. Hoping to stop the street warfare disrupting his city, the Duke ordered the Capulet and Montague families to end their bitter vendetta.#vendor n.#seller. The fruit vendor sold her wares from a stall on the sidewalk.#veneer n.#thin layer; cover. Casual acquaintances were deceived by his veneer of sophistication and failed to recognize his fundamental shallowness.#venerable adj.#deserving high respect. We do not mean to be disrespectful when we refuse to follow the advice of our venerable leader.#venerate v.# revere. In Tibet today, the common people still venerate their traditional spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.#venial adj.#forgivable; trivial. When Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister, he committed a venial offense.#venom n.#poison; hatred. Bitten by a rattlesnake on his ankle, the cowboy contortionist curled up like a pretzel and sucked the venom out of the wound.#vent n.#a small opening; outlet. The wine did not flow because the air vent in the barrel was clogged. #vent v.#express; utter. The angry teacher vented his wrath on his class.#ventriloquist n.#someone who can make his or her voice seem to come from another person or thing. In the classic movie Dead of Night, the ventriloquist is possessed by his wooden dummy, which torments its master, driving him to madness and murder.#venturesome adj.#bold. A group of venturesome women were the first to scale Mt. Annapurna.#veracity n.#truthfulness. Asserting his veracity, young George Washington proclaimed, "Father, I cannot tell a lie!"#verbalize v.#put into words. I know you don't like to talk about these things, but please try to verbalize your feelings.#verbatim adv.#word for word. Blessed with a retentive memory, he could repeat lengthy messages verbatim. also adj. #verbiage n.#pompous array of words. After we had waded through all the verbiage, we discovered that the writer had said very little.#verbose adj.# wordy. Someone mute can't talk; someone verbose can hardly stop talking.#verdant adj.#green; lush in vegetation. Monet's paintings of the verdant meadows were symphonies in green.#verge n.#border; edge. Madame Curie knew she was on the verge of discovering the secrets of radioactive elements. also v.#verisimilitude n.#appearance of truth; likelihood. Critics praised her for the verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth. She was completely believable.#verity n.#quality of being true; lasting truth or principle. Did you question the verity of Kato Kaelin's testimony about what he heard the night Nicole Brown Simpson was slain? To the skeptic, everything was relative: there were no eternal verities in which one could believe.#vernacular n.#living language; natural style. Cut out those old-fashioned thee's and thou's and write in the vernacular. also adj. #versatile adj.#having many talents; capable of working in many fields. She was a versatile athlete, earning varsity letters in basketball, hockey, and track.#vertex n.#summit. Let us drop a perpendicular line from the vertex of the triangle to the base.#vertigo n.#severe dizziness. When you test potential airplane pilots for susceptibility to spells of vertigo, be sure to hand out air-sickness bags.#verve n.#energy in expressing ideas, especially artistically; liveliness. In his rhymes, Seuss writes with such verve and good humor that adults as well as children delight in the adventures of The Cat in the Hat.#vestige n.#trace; remains. We discovered vestiges of early Indian life in the cave. vestigial, adj. #vex n.#annoy; distress. Please try not to vex your mother; she is doing the best she can.#viable adj.# practical or workable; capable of maintaining life. That idea won't work. Let me see whether I can come up with a viable alternative.#vicarious adj.#acting as a substitute; done by a deputy. Though Violet was too meek to talk back to anybody, she got a vicarious kick out of Rita's sharp retorts.#vicissitude n.#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.#vie v.#contend; compete. Politicians vie with one another, competing for donations and votes.#vigilance n.#watchfulness. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.#vignette n.#picture; short literary sketch. The New Yorker published her latest vignette.#vigor n.# active strength. Although he was over seventy years old, Jack had the vigor of a man in his prime. vigorous, adj. #vilify v.# slander. Waging a highly negative campaign, the candidate attempted to vilify his opponent's reputation. vilification, n.#vindicate v.# clear from blame; exonerate; justify or support. The lawyer's goal was to vindicate her client and prove him innocent on all charges. The critics' extremely favorable reviews vindicate my opinion that The Madness of King George is a brilliant movie.#vindictive adj.#out for revenge; malicious. I think it's unworthy of Martha to be so vindictive; she shouldn't stoop to such petty acts of revenge.#viper n.#poisonous snake. The habitat of the horned viper, a particularly venomous snake, is in sandy regions like the Sahara or the Sinai peninsula.#virile adj.#manly. I do not accept the premise that a man proves he's virile by being belligerent.#virtual adj.#in essence; for practical purposes. She is a virtual financial wizard when it comes to money matters.#virtue n.#goodness, moral excellence; good quality. Virtue carried to extremes can turn into vice: humility, for example, can degenerate into servility and spinelessness. #virtuoso n.# highly skilled artist. The promising young cellist Yo-Yo Ma grew into a virtuoso whose performances thrilled audiences throughout the world. virtuosity, n.#virulent adj.# extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter. Laid up with a virulent case of measles, Vera blamed her doctors because her recovery took so long. In fact, she became quite virulent on the subject of the quality of modern medical care.#virus n.#disease communicator. The doctors are looking for a specific medicine to control this virus.#visceral adj.#felt in one's inner organs. She disliked the visceral sensations she had whenever she rode the roller coaster.#viscid adj.#adhesive; gluey. The trunk of the maple tree was viscid with sap.#viscous adj.#sticky; gluey. Melted tar is a viscous substance. viscosity, n.#vise n.#tool for holding work in place. Before filing its edges, the locksmith took the blank key and fixed it firmly between the jaws of a vise.#visionary adj.#produced by imagination; fanciful; mystical. She was given to visionary schemes that never materialized. also n.#vital adj.#vibrant and lively; critical; living, breathing. The vital, highly energetic first aid instructor stressed that it was vital in examining accident victims to note their vital signs.#vitriolic adj.#corrosive; sarcastic. Oil of vitriol, or sulfuric acid, leaves scars on the flesh; vitriolic criticism leaves scars on the soul.#vituperative adj.#abusive; scolding. He became more vituperative as he realized that we were not going to grant him his wish.#vivacious adj.#animated; lively. She had always been vivacious and sparkling.#vociferous adj.#clamorous; noisy. The crowd grew vociferous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands.#vogue n.#popular fashion. Jeans became the vogue on many college campuses.#volatile adj.# changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly. The political climate today is extremely volatile: no one can predict what the electorate will do next. Maria Callas's temper was extremely volatile: the only thing you could predict was that she was sure to blow up. Acetone is an extremely volatile liquid: it evaporates instantly.#volition n.#act of making a conscious choice. She selected this dress of her own volition.#voluble adj.# fluent; glib; talkative. The excessively voluble speaker suffers from logorrhea: he runs off at the mouth a lot!#voluminous adj.#bulky; large. A caftan is a voluminous garment; most people wearing one look as if they're draped in a small tent.#voluptuous adj.#suggesting sensual delights; sensuously pleasing. Renoir's paintings of nude women accent his subjects' rosy-tinted flesh and full, voluptuous figures.#voracious adj.#ravenous. The wolf is a voracious animal, its hunger never satisfied.#vortex n.#whirlwind; whirlpool; center of turbulence; predicament into which one is inexorably plunged. Sucked into the vortex of the tornado, Dorothy and Toto were carried from Kansas to Oz.#vouchsafe v.#grant; choose to give in reply; permit. Occasionally the rock star would drift out onto the balcony and vouchsafe the crowd below a glimpse of her celebrated features. The professor vouchsafed not a word to the students' questions about what would be covered on the test.#voyeur n.#Peeping Tom. Nancy called her brother a voyeur when she caught him aiming his binoculars at an upstairs window of the house of the newlyweds next door.#vulnerable adj.#susceptible to wounds. His opponents could not harm Achilles, who was vulnerable only in his heel.#