English Dictionary
There are currently 2718 EnglishDictionary in this directory beginning with the letter V.
V
V moth () A common gray European moth (Halia vauaria) having a V-shaped spot of dark brown on each of the fore wings.
Vacancy (n.) A place or post unfilled; an unoccupied office; as, a vacancy in the senate, in a school, etc.
Vacancy (n.) An open or unoccupied space between bodies or things; an interruption of continuity; chasm; gap; as, a vacancy between buildings; a vacancy between sentences or thoughts.
Vacancy (n.) The quality or state of being vacant; emptiness; hence, freedom from employment; intermission; leisure; idleness; listlessness.
Vacant (a.) Empty of thought; thoughtless; not occupied with study or reflection; as, a vacant mind.
Vacant (a.) Not filled or occupied by an incumbent, possessor, or officer; as, a vacant throne; a vacant parish.
Vacant (a.) Unengaged with business or care; unemployed; unoccupied; disengaged; free; as, vacant hours.
Vacate (v. t.) To annul; to make void; to deprive of force; to make of no authority or validity; as, to vacate a commission or a charter; to vacate proceedings in a cause.
Vacate (v. t.) To make vacant; to leave empty; to cease from filling or occupying; as, it was resolved by Parliament that James had vacated the throne of England; the tenant vacated the house.
Vacation (n.) Intermission of a stated employment, procedure, or office; a period of intermission; rest; leisure.
Vacation (n.) Intermission of judicial proceedings; the space of time between the end of one term and the beginning of the next; nonterm; recess.
Vacation (n.) The act of vacating; a making void or of no force; as, the vacation of an office or a charter.
Vacation (n.) The intermission of the regular studies and exercises of an educational institution between terms; holidays; as, the spring vacation.
Vacation (n.) The time when an office is vacant; esp. (Eccl.), the time when a see, or other spiritual dignity, is vacant.
Vaccinate (v. t.) To inoculate with the cowpox by means of a virus, called vaccine, taken either directly or indirectly from cows.
Vaccination (n.) The act, art, or practice of vaccinating, or inoculating with the cowpox, in order to prevent or mitigate an attack of smallpox. Cf. Inoculation.
Vaccine (a.) Of or pertaining to cows; pertaining to, derived from, or caused by, vaccinia; as, vaccine virus; the vaccine disease.
Vaccinium (n.) A genus of ericaceous shrubs including the various kinds of blueberries and the true cranberries.
Vacuist (n.) One who holds the doctrine that the space between the bodies of the universe, or the molecules and atoms of matter., is a vacuum; -- opposed to plenist.
Vacuity (n.) Space unfilled or unoccupied, or occupied with an invisible fluid only; emptiness; void; vacuum.
Vacuity (n.) The quality or state of being vacuous, or not filled; emptiness; vacancy; as, vacuity of mind; vacuity of countenance.
Vacuna (n.) The goddess of rural leisure, to whom the husbandmen sacrificed at the close of the harvest. She was especially honored by the Sabines.
Vacuole (n.) A small air cell, or globular space, in the interior of organic cells, either containing air, or a pellucid watery liquid, or some special chemical secretions of the cell protoplasm.
Vadantes (n. pl.) An extensive artificial group of birds including the wading, swimming, and cursorial birds.
Vade mecum () A book or other thing that a person carries with him as a constant companion; a manual; a handbook.
Vagabond (n.) One who wanders from place to place, having no fixed dwelling, or not abiding in it, and usually without the means of honest livelihood; a vagrant; a tramp; hence, a worthless person; a rascal.
Vagabondage (n.) The condition of a vagabond; a state or habit of wandering about in idleness; vagrancy.
Vagantes (p. pl.) A tribe of spiders, comprising some of those which take their prey in a web, but which also frequently run with agility, and chase and seize their prey.
Vagary (n.) Hence, a wandering of the thoughts; a wild or fanciful freak; a whim; a whimsical purpose.
Vagina (n.) Specifically, the canal which leads from the uterus to the external orifice if the genital canal, or to the cloaca.
Vagina (n.) The terminal part of the oviduct in insects and various other invertebrates. See Illust., of Spermatheca.
Vaginal (a.) Of or pertaining to a vagina; resembling a vagina, or sheath; thecal; as, a vaginal synovial membrane; the vaginal process of the temporal bone.
Vaginated (a.) Invested with, or as if with, a sheath; as, a vaginate stem, or one invested by the tubular base of a leaf.
Vaginicola (n.) A genus of Infusoria which form minute vaselike or tubular cases in which they dwell.
Vaginismus (n.) A painful spasmodic contraction of the vagina, often rendering copulation impossible.
Vaginitis (n.) Inflammation of the vagina, or the genital canal, usually of its mucous living membrane.
Vagrancy (n.) The quality or state of being a vagrant; a wandering without a settled home; an unsettled condition; vagabondism.
Vagrant (n.) One who strolls from place to place; one who has no settled habitation; an idle wanderer; a sturdy beggar; an incorrigible rogue; a vagabond.
Vague (v. i.) Proceeding from no known authority; unauthenticated; uncertain; flying; as, a vague report.
Vague (v. i.) Unsettled; unfixed; undetermined; indefinite; ambiguous; as, a vague idea; a vague proposition.
Vail (v. i.) To yield or recede; to give place; to show respect by yielding, uncovering, or the like.
Vain (superl.) Destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.
Vain (superl.) Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
Vain (superl.) Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason; conceited; puffed up; inflated.
Vainglory (n.) Excessive vanity excited by one's own performances; empty pride; undue elation of mind; vain show; boastfulness.
Vaisya (n.) The third of the four great original castes among the Hindus, now either extinct or partially represented by the mercantile class of Banyas. See the Note under Caste, 1.
Valance (n.) Hanging drapery for a bed, couch, window, or the like, especially that which hangs around a bedstead, from the bed to the floor.
Valance (n.) The drooping edging of the lid of a trunk. which covers the joint when the lid is closed.
Valedictorian (n.) One who pronounces a valedictory address; especially, in American colleges, the student who pronounces the valedictory of the graduating class at the annual commencement, usually the student who ranks first in scholarship.
Valedictory (a.) Bidding farewell; suitable or designed for an occasion of leave-taking; as, a valedictory oration.
Valedictory (n.) A valedictory oration or address spoken at commencement in American colleges or seminaries by one of the graduating class, usually by the leading scholar.
Valencia (n.) A kind of woven fabric for waistcoats, having the weft of wool and the warp of silk or cotton.
Valenciennes lace () A rich kind of lace made at Valenciennes, in France. Each piece is made throughout, ground and pattern, by the same person and with the same thread, the pattern being worked in the net.
Valentine (n.) A letter containing professions of love, or a missive of a sentimental, comic, or burlesque character, sent on St. Valentine's Day.
Valentinian (n.) One of a school of Judaizing Gnostics in the second century; -- so called from Valentinus, the founder.
Valeramide (n.) The acid amide derivative of valeric acid, obtained as a white crystalline substance.
Valerian (n.) Any plant of the genus Valeriana. The root of the officinal valerian (V. officinalis) has a strong smell, and is much used in medicine as an antispasmodic.
Valerianaceous (a.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of a natural order (Valerianaccae) of which the valerian is the type. The order includes also the corn salads and the oriental spikenard.
Valerianic (a.) Performance to, or obtained from, valerian root; specifically, designating an acid which is usually called valeric acid.
Valeridine (n.) A base, C10H19N, produced by heating valeric aldehyde with ammonia. It is probably related to the conine alkaloids.
Valerin (n.) A salt of valeric acid with glycerin, occurring in butter, dolphin oil., and forming an forming an oily liquid with a slightly unpleasant odor.
Valero- () A combining form (also used adjectively) indicating derivation from, or relation to, valerian or some of its products, as valeric acid; as in valerolactone, a colorless oily liquid produced as the anhydride of an hydroxy valeric acid.
Valeryl (n.) The hypothetical radical C5H9O, regarded as the essential nucleus of certain valeric acid derivatives.
Valetudinarian (n.) A person of a weak or sickly constitution; one who is seeking to recover health.
Valhalla (n.) Fig.: A hall or temple adorned with statues and memorials of a nation's heroes; specifically, the Pantheon near Ratisbon, in Bavaria, consecrated to the illustrious dead of all Germany.
Valid (a.) 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.
Valid (a.) 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.
Validity (n.) Legal strength, force, or authority; that quality of a thing which renders it supportable in law, or equity; as, the validity of a will; the validity of a contract, claim, or title.
Validity (n.) The quality or state of being valid; strength; force; especially, power to convince; justness; soundness; as, the validity of an argument or proof; the validity of an objection.
Valise (n.) A small sack or case, usually of leather, but sometimes of other material, for containing the clothes, toilet articles, etc., of a traveler; a traveling bag; a portmanteau.
Valkyria (n.) One of the maidens of Odin, represented as awful and beautiful, who presided over battle and marked out those who were to be slain, and who also ministered at the feasts of heroes in Valhalla.
Vallecula (n.) A groove; a fossa; as, the vallecula, or fossa, which separates the hemispheres of the cerebellum.
Vallecula (n.) One of the grooves, or hollows, between the ribs of the fruit of umbelliferous plants.
Vallet's pills () Pills containing sulphate of iron and carbonate of sodium, mixed with saccharine matter; -- called also Vallet's mass.
Valley (n.) The place of meeting of two slopes of a roof, which have their plates running in different directions, and form on the plan a reentrant angle.
Valonia (n.) A genus of marine green algae, in which the whole frond consists of a single oval or cylindrical cell, often an inch in length.
Valonia (n.) The acorn cup of two kinds of oak (Quercus macrolepis, and Q. vallonea) found in Eastern Europe. It contains abundance of tannin, and is much used by tanners and dyers.
Valor (n.) Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery; courage; prowess; intrepidity.
Valuable (a.) Having value or worth; possessing qualities which are useful and esteemed; precious; costly; as, a valuable horse; valuable land; a valuable cargo.
Valuable (n.) A precious possession; a thing of value, especially a small thing, as an article of jewelry; -- used mostly in the plural.
Valuation (n.) The act of valuing, or of estimating value or worth; the act of setting a price; estimation; appraisement; as, a valuation of lands for the purpose of taxation.
Valuation (n.) Value set upon a thing; estimated value or worth; as, the goods sold for more than their valuation.
Value (n.) 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.
Value (n.) 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.
Value (n.) 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 [/].
Value (n.) 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.
Value (v. t.) To estimate the value, or worth, of; to rate at a certain price; to appraise; to reckon with respect to number, power, importance, etc.
Value (v. t.) To raise to estimation; to cause to have value, either real or apparent; to enhance in value.
Value (v. t.) 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.
Valvate (a.) Meeting at the edges without overlapping; -- said of the sepals or the petals of flowers in aestivation, and of leaves in vernation.
Valvate (a.) Resembling, or serving as, a valve; consisting of, or opening by, a valve or valves; valvular.
Valve (n.) 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.
Valve (n.) A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, as in the barberry.
Valve (n.) 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.
Valvelet (n.) A little valve; a valvule; especially, one of the pieces which compose the outer covering of a pericarp.
Valvular (a.) Containing valves; serving as a valve; opening by valves; valvate; as, a valvular capsule.
Valvular (a.) Of or pertaining to a valve or valves; specifically (Med.), of or pertaining to the valves of the heart; as, valvular disease.
Valylene (n.) A volatile liquid hydrocarbon, C5H6, related to ethylene and acetylene, but possessing the property of unsaturation in the third degree. It is the only known member of a distinct series of compounds. It has a garlic odor.
Vamp (n.) The part of a boot or shoe above the sole and welt, and in front of the ankle seam; an upper.
Vamp (v. t.) To provide, as a shoe, with new upper leather; hence, to piece, as any old thing, with a new part; to repair; to patch; -- often followed by up.
Van (n.) A large covered wagon for moving furniture, etc., also for conveying wild beasts, etc., for exhibition.
Van (n.) A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others fore the transportation of goods.
Van (n.) The front of an army; the first line or leading column; also, the front line or foremost division of a fleet, either in sailing or in battle.
Vanadic (a.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, vanadium; containing vanadium; specifically distinguished those compounds in which vanadium has a relatively higher valence as contrasted with the vanadious compounds; as, vanadic oxide.
Vanadinite (n.) A mineral occurring in yellowish, and ruby-red hexagonal crystals. It consist of lead vanadate with a small proportion of lead chloride.
Vanadious (a.) Pertaining to, or containing, vanadium; specifically, designating those compounds in which vanadium has a lower valence as contrasted with the vanadic compounds; as, vanadious acid.
Vanadous (a.) Of or pertaining to vanadium; obtained from vanadium; -- said of an acid containing one equivalent of vanadium and two of oxygen.
Vanadyl (n.) The hypothetical radical VO, regarded as a characterized residue of certain vanadium compounds.
Vandal (n.) One of a Teutonic race, formerly dwelling on the south shore of the Baltic, the most barbarous and fierce of the northern nations that plundered Rome in the 5th century, notorious for destroying the monuments of art and literature.
Vandalic (a.) Of or pertaining to the Vandals; resembling the Vandals in barbarism and destructiveness.
Vandalism (n.) The spirit or conduct of the Vandals; ferocious cruelty; hostility to the arts and literature, or willful destruction or defacement of their monuments.
Vanessa (n.) Any one of numerous species of handsomely colored butterflies belonging to Vanessa and allied genera. Many of these species have the edges of the wings irregularly scalloped.
Vanillic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, vanilla or vanillin; resembling vanillin; specifically, designating an alcohol and an acid respectively, vanillin being the intermediate aldehyde.
Vanillin (n.) A white crystalline aldehyde having a burning taste and characteristic odor of vanilla. It is extracted from vanilla pods, and is also obtained by the decomposition of coniferin, and by the oxidation of eugenol.
Vanish (n.) The brief terminal part of vowel or vocal element, differing more or less in quality from the main part; as, a as in ale ordinarily ends with a vanish of i as in ill, o as in old with a vanish of oo as in foot.
Vanish (v. i.) To pass from a visible to an invisible state; to go out of sight; to disappear; to fade; as, vapor vanishes from the sight by being dissipated; a ship vanishes from the sight of spectators on land.
Vanity (n.) An inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride inspired by an overweening conceit of one's personal attainments or decorations; an excessive desire for notice or approval; pride; ostentation; conceit.
Vanity (n.) One of the established characters in the old moralities and puppet shows. See Morality, n., 5.
Vanity (n.) That which is vain; anything empty, visionary, unreal, or unsubstantial; fruitless desire or effort; trifling labor productive of no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle show; unsubstantial enjoyment.
Vanity (n.) The quality or state of being vain; want of substance to satisfy desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness; falsity.
Vanjas (n.) The Australian pied crow shrike (Strepera graculina). It is glossy bluish black, with the under tail coverts and the tips and bases of the tail feathers white.
Vansire (n.) An ichneumon (Herpestes galera) native of Southern Africa and Madagascar. It is reddish brown or dark brown, grizzled with white. Called also vondsira, and marsh ichneumon.
Vap (n.) That which is vapid, insipid, or lifeless; especially, the lifeless part of liquor or wine.
Vapid (a.) 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 (n.) Any substance in the gaseous, or aeriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid.
Vapor (n.) In a loose and popular sense, any visible diffused substance floating in the atmosphere and impairing its transparency, as smoke, fog, etc.
Vapor (n.) Something unsubstantial, fleeting, or transitory; unreal fancy; vain imagination; idle talk; boasting.
Vapor (n.) To pass off in fumes, or as a moist, floating substance, whether visible or invisible, to steam; to be exhaled; to evaporate.
Vaporation (n.) The act or process of converting into vapor, or of passing off in vapor; evaporation.
Vaporific (a.) Producing vapor; tending to pass, or to cause to pass, into vapor; thus, volatile fluids are vaporific; heat is a vaporific agent.
Vaporimeter (n.) An instrument for measuring the volume or the tension of any vapor; specifically, an instrument of this sort used as an alcoholometer in testing spirituous liquors.
Vaporization (n.) The act or process of vaporizing, or the state of being converted into vapor; the artificial formation of vapor; specifically, the conversion of water into steam, as in a steam boiler.
Vaporize (v. t.) To convert into vapor, as by the application of heat, whether naturally or artificially.
Vara (n.) A Spanish measure of length equal to about one yard. The vara now in use equals 33.385 inches.
Varangian (n.) One of the Northmen who founded a dynasty in Russia in the 9th century; also, one of the Northmen composing, at a later date, the imperial bodyguard at Constantinople.
Varanus (n.) A genus of very large lizards native of Asia and Africa. It includes the monitors. See Monitor, 3.
Varec (n.) The calcined ashes of any coarse seaweed used for the manufacture of soda and iodine; also, the seaweed itself; fucus; wrack.
Vari (n.) The ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta) of Madagascar. Its long tail is annulated with black and white.
Variability (n.) The power possessed by living organisms, both animal and vegetable, of adapting themselves to modifications or changes in their environment, thus possibly giving rise to ultimate variation of structure or function.
Variable (a.) Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity.
Variable (a.) Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable; fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men are variable; passions are variable.
Variable (n.) A quantity which may increase or decrease; a quantity which admits of an infinite number of values in the same expression; a variable quantity; as, in the equation x2 - y2 = R2, x and y are variables.
Variable (n.) Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.
Variance (n.) A disagreement or difference between two parts of the same legal proceeding, which, to be effectual, ought to agree, -- as between the writ and the declaration, or between the allegation and the proof.
Variance (n.) Difference that produce dispute or controversy; disagreement; dissension; discord; dispute; quarrel.
Variant (n.) Something which differs in form from another thing, though really the same; as, a variant from a type in natural history; a variant of a story or a word.
Variation (n.) Extent to which a thing varies; amount of departure from a position or state; amount or rate of change.
Variation (n.) One of the different arrangements which can be made of any number of quantities taking a certain number of them together.
Variation (n.) The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing; modification; alternation; mutation; diversity; deviation; as, a variation of color in different lights; a variation in size; variation of language.
Varicocele (n.) A varicose enlargement of the veins of the spermatic cord; also, a like enlargement of the veins of the scrotum.
Varicose (a.) Intended for the treatment of varicose veins; -- said of elastic stockings, bandages. and the like.
Varicose (a.) Irregularly swollen or enlarged; affected with, or containing, varices, or varicosities; of or pertaining to varices, or varicosities; as, a varicose nerve fiber; a varicose vein; varicose ulcers.
Varicosity (n.) An enlargement or swelling in a vessel, fiber, or the like; a varix; as, the varicosities of nerve fibers.
Varied (a.) Changed; altered; various; diversified; as, a varied experience; varied interests; varied scenery.
Variegate (v. t.) To diversify in external appearance; to mark with different colors; to dapple; to streak; as, to variegate a floor with marble of different colors.
Variegation (n.) The act of variegating or diversifying, or the state of being diversified, by different colors; diversity of colors.
Varietal (a.) Of or pertaining to a variety; characterizing a variety; constituting a variety, in distinction from an individual or species.
Variety (n.) A number or collection of different things; a varied assortment; as, a variety of cottons and silks.
Variety (n.) In inorganic nature, one of those forms in which a species may occur, which differ in minor characteristics of structure, color, purity of composition, etc.
Variety (n.) Something varying or differing from others of the same general kind; one of a number of things that are akin; a sort; as, varieties of wood, land, rocks, etc.
Variety (n.) The quality or state of being various; intermixture or succession of different things; diversity; multifariousness.
Variolite (n.) A kind of diorite or diabase containing imbedded whitish spherules, which give the rock a spotted appearance.
Variolous (a.) Of or pertaining to the smallpox; having pits, or sunken impressions, like those of the smallpox; variolar; variolic.
Variorum (a.) Containing notes by different persons; -- applied to a publication; as, a variorum edition of a book.
Various (a.) Different; diverse; several; manifold; as, men of various names; various occupations; various colors.
Variscite (n.) An apple-green mineral occurring in reniform masses. It is a hydrous phosphate of alumina.
Varisse (n.) An imperfection on the inside of the hind leg in horses, different from a curb, but at the same height, and frequently injuring the sale of the animal by growing to an unsightly size.
Varix (n.) One of the prominent ridges or ribs extending across each of the whorls of certain univalve shells.
Varnish (n.) An artificial covering to give a fair appearance to any act or conduct; outside show; gloss.
Varnish (n.) To cover or conceal with something that gives a fair appearance; to give a fair coloring to by words; to gloss over; to palliate; as, to varnish guilt.
Varnish (n.) To lay varnish on; to cover with a liquid which produces, when dry, a hard, glossy surface; as, to varnish a table; to varnish a painting.
Vartabed (n.) A doctor or teacher in the Armenian church. Members of this order of ecclesiastics frequently have charge of dioceses, with episcopal functions.
Varuna (n.) The god of the waters; the Indian Neptune. He is regarded as regent of the west, and lord of punishment, and is represented as riding on a sea monster, holding in his hand a snaky cord or noose with which to bind offenders, under water.
Vary (v. i.) To alter or change in succession; to alternate; as, one mathematical quantity varies inversely as another.
Vary (v. i.) To alter, or be altered, in any manner; to suffer a partial change; to become different; to be modified; as, colors vary in different lights.
Vary (v. i.) To deviate; to depart; to swerve; -- followed by from; as, to vary from the law, or from reason.
Vary (v. i.) To differ, or be different; to be unlike or diverse; as, the laws of France vary from those of England.
Vary (v. t.) To embellish; to change fancifully; to present under new aspects, as of form, key, measure, etc. See Variation, 4.
Vary (v. t.) To make of different kinds; to make different from one another; to diversity; to variegate.
Vascular (a.) Consisting of, or containing, vessels as an essential part of a structure; full of vessels; specifically (Bot.), pertaining to, or containing, special ducts, or tubes, for the circulation of sap.
Vascular (a.) Of or pertaining to the higher division of plants, that is, the phaenogamous plants, all of which are vascular, in distinction from the cryptogams, which to a large extent are cellular only.
Vascular (a.) Of or pertaining to the vessels of animal and vegetable bodies; as, the vascular functions.
Vascular (a.) Operating by means of, or made up of an arrangement of, vessels; as, the vascular system in animals, including the arteries, veins, capillaries, lacteals, etc.
Vasculose (n.) One of the substances of which vegetable tissue is composed, differing from cellulose in its solubility in certain media.
Vase (n.) A vessel similar to that described in the first definition above, or the representation of one in a solid block of stone, or the like, used for an ornament, as on a terrace or in a garden. See Illust. of Niche.
Vase (n.) The body, or naked ground, of the Corinthian and Composite capital; -- called also tambour, and drum.
Vasoconstrictor (a.) Causing constriction of the blood vessels; as, the vasoconstrictor nerves, stimulation of which causes constriction of the blood vessels to which they go. These nerves are also called vasohypertonic.
Vasoconstrictor (n.) A substance which causes constriction of the blood vessels. Such substances are used in medicine to raise blood pressure.
Vasodentine (n.) A modified form of dentine, which is permeated by blood capillaries; vascular dentine.
Vasoformative (a.) Concerned in the development and formation of blood vessels and blood corpuscles; as, the vasoformative cells.
Vasomotor (a.) Causing movement in the walls of vessels; as, the vasomotor mechanisms; the vasomotor nerves, a system of nerves distributed over the muscular coats of the blood vessels.
Vassal (n.) The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him; a feudatory; a feudal tenant.
Vassalage (n.) Political servitude; dependence; subjection; slavery; as, the Greeks were held in vassalage by the Turks.
Vast (superl.) Of great extent; very spacious or large; also, huge in bulk; immense; enormous; as, the vast ocean; vast mountains; the vast empire of Russia.
Vasum (n.) A genus including several species of large marine gastropods having massive pyriform shells, with conspicuous folds on the columella.
Vat (n.) A large vessel, cistern, or tub, especially one used for holding in an immature state, chemical preparations for dyeing, or for tanning, or for tanning leather, or the like.
Vat (n.) A measure for liquids, and also a dry measure; especially, a liquid measure in Belgium and Holland, corresponding to the hectoliter of the metric system, which contains 22.01 imperial gallons, or 26.4 standard gallons in the United States.
Vatican (n.) A magnificent assemblage of buildings at Rome, near the church of St. Peter, including the pope's palace, a museum, a library, a famous chapel, etc.
Vaticanism (n.) The doctrine of papal supremacy; extreme views in support of the authority of the pope; ultramontanism; -- a term used only by persons who are not Roman Catholics.
Vaudeville (n.) A kind of song of a lively character, frequently embodying a satire on some person or event, sung to a familiar air in couplets with a refrain; a street song; a topical song.
Vaudeville (n.) A theatrical piece, usually a comedy, the dialogue of which is intermingled with light or satirical songs, set to familiar airs.
Vault (n.) An arched apartment; especially, a subterranean room, use for storing articles, for a prison, for interment, or the like; a cell; a cellar.
Vault (v. t.) 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.
Vaunt (n.) A vain display of what one is, or has, or has done; ostentation from vanity; a boast; a brag.
Vaunt (v. i.) To boast; to make a vain display of one's own worth, attainments, decorations, or the like; to talk ostentatiously; to brag.
Vavasor (n.) The vassal or tenant of a baron; one who held under a baron, and who also had tenants under him; one in dignity next to a baron; a title of dignity next to a baron.
Vavasory (n.) The quality or tenure of the fee held by a vavasor; also, the lands held by a vavasor.
Vaza parrot () Any one of several species of parrots of the genus Coracopsis, native of Madagascar; -- called also vasa parrot.
Veadar (n.) The thirteenth, or intercalary, month of the Jewish ecclesiastical calendar, which is added about every third year.
Vector (n.) A directed quantity, as a straight line, a force, or a velocity. Vectors are said to be equal when their directions are the same their magnitudes equal. Cf. Scalar.
Veda (n.) The ancient sacred literature of the Hindus; also, one of the four collections, called Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, constituting the most ancient portions of that literature.
Vedanta (n.) A system of philosophy among the Hindus, founded on scattered texts of the Vedas, and thence termed the "Anta," or end or substance.
Vedette (n.) A sentinel, usually on horseback, stationed on the outpost of an army, to watch an enemy and give notice of danger; a vidette.
Vedro (n.) A Russian liquid measure, equal to 3.249 gallons of U. S. standard measure, or 2.706 imperial gallons.
Veery (n.) 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.
Vega (n.) A brilliant star of the first magnitude, the brightest of those constituting the constellation Lyra.
Vegetable (n.) A plant used or cultivated for food for man or domestic animals, as the cabbage, turnip, potato, bean, dandelion, etc.; also, the edible part of such a plant, as prepared for market or the table.
Vegetable (v.) Of or pertaining to plants; having the nature of, or produced by, plants; as, a vegetable nature; vegetable growths, juices, etc.
Vegetable (v.) Plants without true flowers, and reproduced by minute spores of various kinds, or by simple cell division.
Vegetal (a.) Of or pertaining to vegetables, or the vegetable kingdom; of the nature of a vegetable; vegetable.
Vegetality (n.) The quality or state of being vegetal, or exhibiting those physiological phenomena which are common to plants and animals. See Vegetal, a., 2.
Vegetarian (n.) One who holds that vegetables and fruits are the only proper food for man. Strict vegetarians eat no meat, eggs, or milk.
Vegetate (v. i.) Fig.: To lead a live too low for an animate creature; to do nothing but eat and grow.
Vegetate (v. i.) To grow exuberantly; to produce fleshy or warty outgrowths; as, a vegetating papule.
Vegetate (v. i.) To grow, as plants, by nutriment imbibed by means of roots and leaves; to start into growth; to sprout; to germinate.
Vegetation (n.) An exuberant morbid outgrowth upon any part, especially upon the valves of the heart.
Vegetation (n.) The sum of vegetable life; vegetables or plants in general; as, luxuriant vegetation.
Vegetative (a.) Having relation to growth or nutrition; partaking of simple growth and enlargement of the systems of nutrition, apart from the sensorial or distinctively animal functions; vegetal.
Vegetative (a.) Having the power to produce growth in plants; as, the vegetative properties of soil.
Vegeto-animal (a.) Partaking of the nature both of vegetable and animal matter; -- a term sometimes applied to vegetable albumen and gluten, from their resemblance to similar animal products.
Vehemence (n.) The quality pr state of being vehement; impetuous force; impetuosity; violence; fury; as, the vehemence.
Vehemence (n.) Violent ardor; great heat; animated fervor; as, the vehemence of love, anger, or other passions.
Vehement (a.) Acting with great force; furious; violent; impetuous; forcible; mighty; as, vehement wind; a vehement torrent; a vehement fire or heat.
Vehement (a.) Very ardent; very eager or urgent; very fervent; passionate; as, a vehement affection or passion.
Vehicle (n.) Any liquid with which a pigment is applied, including whatever gum, wax, or glutinous or adhesive substance is combined with it.
Vehicle (n.) That in or on which any person or thing is, or may be, carried, as a coach, carriage, wagon, cart, car, sleigh, bicycle, etc.; a means of conveyance; specifically, a means of conveyance upon land.
Vehicle (n.) That which is used as the instrument of conveyance or communication; as, matter is the vehicle of energy.
Veil (n.) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; -- called also velum.
Veil (n.) Something hung up, or spread out, to intercept the view, and hide an object; a cover; a curtain; esp., a screen, usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphnous material, to hide or protect the face.
Vein (n.) A streak or wave of different color, appearing in wood, and in marble and other stones; variegation.
Vein (n.) One of the vessels which carry blood, either venous or arterial, to the heart. See Artery, 2.
Vein (n.) Peculiar temper or temperament; tendency or turn of mind; a particular disposition or cast of genius; humor; strain; quality; also, manner of speech or action; as, a rich vein of humor; a satirical vein.
Veinstone (n.) The nonmetalliferous mineral or rock material which accompanies the ores in a vein, as quartz, calcite, barite, fluor spar, etc.; -- called also veinstuff.
Velar (a.) Having the place of articulation on the soft palate; guttural; as, the velar consonants, such as k and hard q.
Veliger (n.) Any larval gastropod or bivalve mollusk in the state when it is furnished with one or two ciliated membranes for swimming.
Vellication () A local twitching, or convulsive motion, of a muscular fiber, especially of the face.
Vellum (n.) A fine kind of parchment, usually made from calfskin, and rendered clear and white, -- used as for writing upon, and for binding books.
Velocimeter (n.) An apparatus for measuring speed, as of machinery or vessels, but especially of projectiles.
Velocity (n.) Quickness of motion; swiftness; speed; celerity; rapidity; as, the velocity of wind; the velocity of a planet or comet in its orbit or course; the velocity of a cannon ball; the velocity of light.
Velocity (n.) Rate of motion; the relation of motion to time, measured by the number of units of space passed over by a moving body or point in a unit of time, usually the number of feet passed over in a second. See the Note under Speed.
Velum (n.) A delicate funnel-like membrane around the flagellum of certain Infusoria. See Illust. a of Protozoa.
Velum (n.) Curtain or covering; -- applied to various membranous partitions, especially to the soft palate. See under Palate.
Velum (n.) The circular membrane that partially incloses the space beneath the umbrella of hydroid medusae.
Velutina (n.) Any one of several species of marine gastropods belonging to Velutina and allied genera.
Velutinous (a.) Having the surface covered with a fine and dense silky pubescence; velvety; as, a velutinous leaf.
Velvet (n.) A silk fabric, having a short, close nap of erect threads. Inferior qualities are made with a silk pile on a cotton or linen back.
Velvet (n.) The soft and highly vascular deciduous skin which envelops and nourishes the antlers of deer during their rapid growth.
Velvetleaf (n.) A name given to several plants which have soft, velvety leaves, as the Abutilon Avicennae, the Cissampelos Pareira, and the Lavatera arborea, and even the common mullein.
Venal (a.) 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.
Venality (n.) The quality or state of being venal, or purchasable; mercenariness; prostitution of talents, offices, or services, for money or reward; as, the venality of a corrupt court; the venality of an official.
Venation (n.) The arrangement or system of veins, as in the wing of an insect, or in the leaves of a plant. See Illust. in Appendix.
Vend (v. t.) To transfer to another person for a pecuniary equivalent; to make an object of trade; to dispose of by sale; to sell; as, to vend goods; to vend vegetables.
Vendace (n.) A European lake whitefish (Coregonus Willughbii, or C. Vandesius) native of certain lakes in Scotland and England. It is regarded as a delicate food fish. Called also vendis.
Vender (n.) One who vends; one who transfers the exclusive right of possessing a thing, either his own, or that of another as his agent, for a price or pecuniary equivalent; a seller; a vendor.
Veneer (v. t.) A thin leaf or layer of a more valuable or beautiful material for overlaying an inferior one, especially such a thin leaf of wood to be glued to a cheaper wood; hence, external show; gloss; false pretense.
Veneer (v. t.) To overlay or plate with a thin layer of wood or other material for outer finish or decoration; as, to veneer a piece of furniture with mahogany. Used also figuratively.
Venerable (a.) Capable of being venerated; worthy of veneration or reverence; deserving of honor and respect; -- generally implying an advanced age; as, a venerable magistrate; a venerable parent.
Venerable (a.) Rendered sacred by religious or other associations; that should be regarded with awe and treated with reverence; as, the venerable walls of a temple or a church.
Veneracea (n. pl.) An extensive tribe of bivalve mollusks of which the genus Venus is the type. The shells are usually oval, or somewhat heartshaped, with a conspicuous lunule. See Venus.
Venerate (v. t.) To regard with reverential respect; to honor with mingled respect and awe; to reverence; to revere; as, we venerate parents and elders.
Venesection (n.) The act or operation of opening a vein for letting blood; bloodletting; phlebotomy.
Vengeance (n.) Punishment inflicted in return for an injury or an offense; retribution; -- often, in a bad sense, passionate or unrestrained revenge.
Venial (a.) Capable of being forgiven; not heinous; excusable; pardonable; as, a venial fault or transgression.
Venire facias () A judicial writ or precept directed to the sheriff, requiring him to cause a certain number of qualified persons to appear in court at a specified time, to serve as jurors in said court.
Venire facias () A writ in the nature of a summons to cause the party indicted on a penal statute to appear. Called also venire.
Venison (n.) Formerly, the flesh of any of the edible beasts of the chase, also of game birds; now, the flesh of animals of the deer kind exclusively.
Venite (n.) The 95th Psalm, which is said or sung regularly in the public worship of many churches. Also, a musical composition adapted to this Psalm.
Venom (n.) 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.
Venomous (a.) Full of venom; noxious to animal life; poisonous; as, the bite of a serpent may be venomous.
Venomous (a.) Having a poison gland or glands for the secretion of venom, as certain serpents and insects.
Venosity (n.) A condition in which the circulation is retarded, and the entire mass of blood is less oxygenated than it normally is.
Vent (n.) A small aperture; a hole or passage for air or any fluid to escape; as, the vent of a cask; the vent of a mold; a volcanic vent.
Vent (n.) Sectional area of the passage for gases divided by the length of the same passage in feet.
Vent (n.) The anal opening of certain invertebrates and fishes; also, the external cloacal opening of reptiles, birds, amphibians, and many fishes.
Vent (n.) The opening at the breech of a firearm, through which fire is communicated to the powder of the charge; touchhole.
Vent (v. t.) To suffer to escape from confinement; to let out; to utter; to pour forth; as, to vent passion or complaint.
Ventail (n.) That part of a helmet which is intended for the admission of air, -- sometimes in the visor.
Venter (n.) A belly, or protuberant part; a broad surface; as, the venter of a muscle; the venter, or anterior surface, of the scapula.
Venter (n.) A pregnant woman; a mother; as, A has a son B by one venter, and a daughter C by another venter; children by different venters.
Ventilate (v. t.) To open and expose to the free passage of air; to supply with fresh air, and remove impure air from; to air; as, to ventilate a room; to ventilate a cellar; to ventilate a mine.
Ventilate (v. t.) To provide with a vent, or escape, for air, gas, etc.; as, to ventilate a mold, or a water-wheel bucket.
Ventilate (v. t.) To sift and examine; to bring out, and subject to penetrating scrutiny; to expose to examination and discussion; as, to ventilate questions of policy.
Ventilation (n.) The act of fanning, or winnowing, for the purpose of separating chaff and dust from the grain.
Ventilation (n.) The act of sifting, and bringing out to view or examination; free discussion; public exposure.
Ventilation (n.) The act of ventilating, or the state of being ventilated; the art or process of replacing foul air by that which is pure, in any inclosed place, as a house, a church, a mine, etc.; free exposure to air.
Ventilative (a.) Of or pertaining to ventilation; adapted to secure ventilation; ventilating; as, ventilative apparatus.
Ventilator (n.) A contrivance for effecting ventilation; especially, a contrivance or machine for drawing off or expelling foul or stagnant air from any place or apartment, or for introducing that which is fresh and pure.
Ventose (a.) The sixth month of the calendar adopted by the first French republic. It began February 19, and ended March 20. See Vend/miaire.
Ventral (a.) Of or pertaining to that surface of a carpel, petal, etc., which faces toward the center of a flower.
Ventral (a.) Of or pertaining to the lower side or surface of a creeping moss or other low flowerless plant. Opposed to dorsal.
Ventral (a.) Of, pertaining to, or situated near, the belly, or ventral side, of an animal or of one of its parts; hemal; abdominal; as, the ventral fin of a fish; the ventral root of a spinal nerve; -- opposed to dorsal.
Ventricle (n.) Fig.: Any cavity, or hollow place, in which any function may be conceived of as operating.
Ventricous (a.) Swelling out on one side or unequally; bellied; ventricular; as, a ventricose corolla.
Ventriculite (n.) Any one of numerous species of siliceous fossil sponges belonging to Ventriculites and allied genera, characteristic of the Cretaceous period.
Ventriloquism (n.) The act, art, or practice of speaking in such a manner that the voice appears to come, not from the person speaking, but from some other source, as from the opposite side of the room, from the cellar, etc.
Ventro- () A combining form used in anatomy to indicate connection with, or relation to, the abdomen; also, connection with, relation to, or direction toward, the ventral side; as, ventrolateral; ventro-inguinal.
Ventro-inguinal (a.) Pertaining both to the abdomen and groin, or to the abdomen and inguinal canal; as, ventro-inguinal hernia.
Venture (n.) An event that is not, or can not be, foreseen; an accident; chance; hap; contingency; luck.
Venture (n.) An undertaking of chance or danger; the risking of something upon an event which can not be foreseen with certainty; a hazard; a risk; a speculation.
Venture (v. i.) To hazard one's self; to have the courage or presumption to do, undertake, or say something; to dare.
Venturesome (a.) Inclined to venture; not loth to run risk or danger; venturous; bold; daring; adventurous; as, a venturesome boy or act.
Venue (n.) 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.
Venule (n.) A small vein; a veinlet; specifically (Zool.), one of the small branches of the veins of the wings in insects.
Venus (n.) 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.
Veracity (n.) The quality or state of being veracious; habitual observance of truth; truthfulness; truth; as, a man of veracity.
Veranda (n.) An open, roofed gallery or portico, adjoining a dwelling house, forming an out-of-door sitting room. See Loggia.
Veratrol (n.) A liquid hydrocarbon obtained by the decomposition of veratric acid, and constituting the dimethyl ether of pyrocatechin.
Verb (n.) A word which affirms or predicates something of some person or thing; a part of speech expressing being, action, or the suffering of action.
Verbal (a.) Consisting in, or having to do with, words only; dealing with words rather than with the ideas intended to be conveyed; as, a verbal critic; a verbal change.
Verbal (a.) Expressed in words, whether spoken or written, but commonly in spoken words; hence, spoken; oral; not written; as, a verbal contract; verbal testimony.
Verbal (a.) Of or pertaining to a verb; as, a verbal group; derived directly from a verb; as, a verbal noun; used in forming verbs; as, a verbal prefix.
Verbatim (adv.) Word for word; in the same words; verbally; as, to tell a story verbatim as another has related it.
Verbena (n.) A genus of herbaceous plants of which several species are extensively cultivated for the great beauty of their flowers; vervain.
Verbenaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order (Verbenaceae) of gamopetalous plants of which Verbena is the type. The order includes also the black and white mangroves, and many plants noted for medicinal use or for beauty of bloom.
Verbiage (n.) The use of many words without necessity, or with little sense; a superabundance of words; verbosity; wordiness.
Verbose (a.) Abounding in words; using or containing more words than are necessary; tedious by a multiplicity of words; prolix; wordy; as, a verbose speaker; a verbose argument.
Verbosity (n.) The quality or state of being verbose; the use of more words than are necessary; prolixity; wordiness; verbiage.
Verdant (a.) Covered with growing plants or grass; green; fresh; flourishing; as, verdant fields; a verdant lawn.
Verderor (n.) An officer who has the charge of the king's forest, to preserve the vert and venison, keep the assizes, view, receive, and enroll attachments and presentments of all manner of trespasses.
Verdict (n.) Decision; judgment; opinion pronounced; as, to be condemned by the verdict of the public.
Verdigris (n.) A green poisonous substance used as a pigment and drug, obtained by the action of acetic acid on copper, and consisting essentially of a complex mixture of several basic copper acetates.
Verdin (n.) A small yellow-headed bird (Auriparus flaviceps) of Lower California, allied to the titmice; -- called also goldtit.
Verdurous (a.) Covered with verdure; clothed with the fresh green of vegetation; verdured; verdant; as, verdurous pastures.
Veretillum (n.) Any one of numerous species of club-shaped, compound Alcyonaria belonging to Veretillum and allied genera, of the tribe Pennatulacea. The whole colony can move about as if it were a simple animal.
Verfication (n.) The act of verifying, or the state of being verified; confirmation; authentication.
Verge (n.) A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent.
Verge (n.) A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.
Verge (n.) 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.
Verge (n.) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement.
Verge (n.) 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.
Vergency (n.) The reciprocal of the focal distance of a lens, used as measure of the divergence or convergence of a pencil of rays.
Verify (v. t.) To confirm or establish the authenticity of by examination or competent evidence; to authenciate; as, to verify a written statement; to verify an account, a pleading, or the like.
Verify (v. t.) To prove to be true or correct; to establish the truth of; to confirm; to substantiate.
Verisimilitude (n.) The quality or state of being verisimilar; the appearance of truth; probability; likelihood.
Verity (n.) The quality or state of being true, or real; consonance of a statement, proposition, or other thing, with fact; truth; reality.
Verjuice (n.) The sour juice of crab apples, of green or unripe grapes, apples, etc.; also, an acid liquor made from such juice.
Vermeology (n.) A discourse or treatise on worms; that part of zoology which treats of worms; helminthology.
Vermicelli (n.) The flour of a hard and small-grained wheat made into dough, and forced through small cylinders or pipes till it takes a slender, wormlike form, whence the Italian name. When the paste is made in larger tubes, it is called macaroni.
Vermicular (a.) Of or pertaining to a worm or worms; resembling a worm; shaped like a worm; especially, resembling the motion or track of a worm; as, the vermicular, or peristaltic, motion of the intestines. See Peristaltic.
Vermiculate (a.) Wormlike in shape; covered with wormlike elevations; marked with irregular fine lines of color, or with irregular wavy impressed lines like worm tracks; as, a vermiculate nut.
Vermiculate (v. t.) To form or work, as by inlaying, with irregular lines or impressions resembling the tracks of worms, or appearing as if formed by the motion of worms.
Vermiculation (n.) A very fine wavy crosswise color marking, or a patch of such markings, as on the feathers of birds.
Vermiculation (n.) The act of vermiculating, or forming or inlaying so as to resemble the motion, track, or work of a worm.
Vermiculation (n.) The act or operation of moving in the manner of a worm; continuation of motion from one part to another; as, the vermiculation, or peristaltic motion, of the intestines.
Vermiculite (n.) A group of minerals having, a micaceous structure. They are hydrous silicates, derived generally from the alteration of some kind of mica. So called because the scales, when heated, open out into wormlike forms.
Vermiform (a.) Resembling a worm in form or motions; vermicular; as, the vermiform process of the cerebellum.
Vermilinguia (n. pl.) A tribe of edentates comprising the South American ant-eaters. The tongue is long, slender, exsertile, and very flexible, whence the name.
Vermilinguia (n. pl.) A tribe of Old World lizards which comprises the chameleon. They have long, flexible tongues.
Vermilion (n.) A bright red pigment consisting of mercuric sulphide, obtained either from the mineral cinnabar or artificially. It has a fine red color, and is much used in coloring sealing wax, in printing, etc.
Vermilion (n.) Hence, a red color like the pigment; a lively and brilliant red; as, cheeks of vermilion.
Vermilion (v. t.) To color with vermilion, or as if with vermilion; to dye red; to cover with a delicate red.
Vermin (n. sing. & pl.) A noxious or mischievous animal; especially, noxious little animals or insects, collectively, as squirrels, rats, mice, flies, lice, bugs, etc.
Vermuth (n.) A liqueur made of white wine, absinthe, and various aromatic drugs, used to excite the appetite.
Vernacular (a.) Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or nature; native; indigenous; -- now used chiefly of language; as, English is our vernacular language.
Vernacular (n.) The vernacular language; one's mother tongue; often, the common forms of expression in a particular locality.
Vernacularization (n.) The act or process of making vernacular, or the state of being made vernacular.
Vernation (n.) The arrangement of the leaves within the leaf bud, as regards their folding, coiling, rolling, etc.; prefoliation.
Vernine (n.) An alkaloid extracted from the shoots of the vetch, red clover, etc., as a white crystalline substance.
Vernonin (n.) A glucoside extracted from the root of a South African plant of the genus Vernonia, as a deliquescent powder, and used as a mild heart tonic.
Verrucose (a.) Covered with wartlike elevations; tuberculate; warty; verrucous; as, a verrucose capsule.
Versant (n.) The slope of a side of a mountain chain; hence, the general slope of a country; aspect.
Versatile (a.) Capable of turning; freely movable; as, a versatile anther, which is fixed at one point to the filament, and hence is very easily turned around; a versatile toe of a bird.
Versatile (a.) Liable to be turned in opinion; changeable; variable; unsteady; inconstant; as versatile disposition.
Versatile (a.) Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily applied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided; as, versatile genius; a versatile politician.
Verse (n.) A line consisting of a certain number of metrical feet (see Foot, n., 9) disposed according to metrical rules.
Verse (n.) Metrical arrangement and language; that which is composed in metrical form; versification; poetry.
Versed (a.) Acquainted or familiar, as the result of experience, study, practice, etc.; skilled; practiced.
Versemonger (n.) A writer of verses; especially, a writer of commonplace poetry; a poetaster; a rhymer; -- used humorously or in contempt.
Versicle (n.) A little verse; especially, a short verse or text said or sung in public worship by the priest or minister, and followed by a response from the people.
Versification (n.) The act, art, or practice, of versifying, or making verses; the construction of poetry; metrical composition.
Versifier (n.) One who converts into verse; one who expresses in verse the ideas of another written in prose; as, Dr. Watts was a versifier of the Psalms.
Version (n.) A condition of the uterus in which its axis is deflected from its normal position without being bent upon itself. See Anteversion, and Retroversion.
Version (n.) A translation; that which is rendered from another language; as, the Common, or Authorized, Version of the Scriptures (see under Authorized); the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament.
Version (n.) An account or description from a particular point of view, especially as contrasted with another account; as, he gave another version of the affair.
Verso (n.) The reverse, or left-hand, page of a book or a folded sheet of paper; -- opposed to recto.
Versus (prep.) Against; as, John Doe versus Richard Roe; -- chiefly used in legal language, and abbreviated to v. or vs.
Vert (n.) Everything that grows, and bears a green leaf, within the forest; as, to preserve vert and venison is the duty of the verderer.
Vert (n.) The color green, represented in a drawing or engraving by parallel lines sloping downward toward the right.
Vertebrarterial (a.) Of or pertaining to a vertebrae and an artery; -- said of the foramina in the transverse processes of cervical vertebrae and of the canal which they form for the vertebral artery and vein.
Vertebrated (a.) Having a backbone, or vertebral column, containing the spinal marrow, as man, quadrupeds, birds, amphibia, and fishes.
Vertebro- () A combining form used in anatomy to indicate connection with, or relation to, a vertebra, vertebrae, or vertebral column; as in vertebrocostal.
Vertex (n.) The point in any figure opposite to, and farthest from, the base; the terminating point of some particular line or lines in a figure or a curve; the top, or the point opposite the base.
Vertical (a.) Of or pertaining to the vertex; situated at the vertex, or highest point; directly overhead, or in the zenith; perpendicularly above one.
Vertically (adv.) In a vertical manner, position, or direction; perpendicularly; as, to look down vertically; to raise a thing vertically.
Verticillaster (a.) A whorl of flowers apparently of one cluster, but composed of two opposite axillary cymes, as in mint. See Illust. of Whorl.
Verticillated (a.) Arranged in a transverse whorl or whorls like the rays of a wheel; as, verticillate leaves of a plant; a verticillate shell.
Vertigo (n.) Any one of numerous species of small land snails belonging to the genus Vertigo, having an elongated or conical spiral shell and usually teeth in the aperture.
Vertigo (n.) Dizziness or swimming of the head; an affection of the head in which objects, though stationary, appear to move in various directions, and the person affected finds it difficult to maintain an erect posture; giddiness.
Verumontanum (n.) An elevation, or crest, in the wall of the urethra where the seminal ducts enter it.
Verve (n.) Excitement of imagination such as animates a poet, artist, or musician, in composing or performing; rapture; enthusiasm; spirit; energy.
Vervet (n.) A South African monkey (Cercopithecus pygerythrus, / Lelandii). The upper parts are grayish green, finely specked with black. The cheeks and belly are reddish white.
Very (adv.) In a high degree; to no small extent; exceedingly; excessively; extremely; as, a very great mountain; a very bright sum; a very cold day; the river flows very rapidly; he was very much hurt.
Vesbium (n.) A rare metallic element of which little is known. It is said by Scacchi to have been extracted from a yellowish incrustation from the cracks of a Vesuvian lava erupted in 1631.
Vesicate (v. t.) To raise little bladders or blisters upon; to inflame and separate the cuticle of; to blister.
Vesicle (n.) A small cavity, nearly spherical in form, and usually of the size of a pea or smaller, such as are common in some volcanic rocks. They are produced by the liberation of watery vapor in the molten mass.
Vesicle (n.) A small, and more or less circular, elevation of the cuticle, containing a clear watery fluid.
Vesico- () A combining form used in anatomy to indicate connection with, or relation to, the bladder; as in vesicoprostatic, vesicovaginal.
Vesicular (a.) Containing, or composed of, vesicles or vesiclelike structures; covered with vesicles or bladders; vesiculate; as, vesicular coral; vesicular lava; a vesicular leaf.
Vesicular (a.) Of or pertaining to vesicles; esp., of or pertaining to the air vesicles, or air cells, of the lungs; as, vesicular breathing, or normal breathing, in which the air enters freely the air vesicles of the lungs.
Vesicularia (n.) Any one of numerous species of marine Bryozoa belonging to Vesicularia and allied genera. They have delicate tubular cells attached in clusters to slender flexible stems.
Vesiculous (a.) Bladdery; vesicular; vesiculate; composed of vesicles; covered with vesicles; as, a vesiculose shell.
Vesper (a.) Of or pertaining to the evening, or to the service of vespers; as, a vesper hymn; vesper bells.
Vespertilio (n.) A genus of bats including some of the common small insectivorous species of North America and Europe.
Vespertiliones (n. pl.) A tribe of bats including the common insectivorous bats of America and Europe, belonging to Vespertilio and allied genera. They lack a nose membrane.
Vessel (n.) A general name for any hollow structure made to float upon the water for purposes of navigation; especially, one that is larger than a common rowboat; as, a war vessel; a passenger vessel.
Vessel (n.) A hollow or concave utensil for holding anything; a hollow receptacle of any kind, as a hogshead, a barrel, a firkin, a bottle, a kettle, a cup, a bowl, etc.
Vessel (n.) Any tube or canal in which the blood or other fluids are contained, secreted, or circulated, as the arteries, veins, lymphatics, etc.
Vessel (n.) Fig.: A person regarded as receiving or containing something; esp. (Script.), one into whom something is conceived as poured, or in whom something is stored for use; as, vessels of wrath or mercy.
Vest (n.) An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe.
Vest (n.) To clothe with authority, power, or the like; to put in possession; to invest; to furnish; to endow; -- followed by with before the thing conferred; as, to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death.
Vest (n.) To clothe with possession; as, to vest a person with an estate; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of; as, an estate is vested in possession.
Vest (n.) To clothe with, or as with, a vestment, or garment; to dress; to robe; to cover, surround, or encompass closely.
Vest (n.) To place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; to commit to another; -- with in before the possessor; as, the power of life and death is vested in the king, or in the courts.
Vest (v. i.) To come or descend; to be fixed; to take effect, as a title or right; -- followed by in; as, upon the death of the ancestor, the estate, or the right to the estate, vests in the heir at law.
Vesta (n.) 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.
Vestal (a.) A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar.
Vestales (n. pl.) A group of butterflies including those known as virgins, or gossamer-winged butterflies.
Vested (a.) Not in a state of contingency or suspension; fixed; as, vested rights; vested interests.
Vestibule (n.) The porch or entrance into a house; a hall or antechamber next the entrance; a lobby; a porch; a hall.
Vestry (n.) A body, composed of wardens and vestrymen, chosen annually by a parish to manage its temporal concerns.
Vestry (n.) A parochial assembly; an assembly of persons who manage parochial affairs; -- so called because usually held in a vestry.
Vestry (n.) A room appendant to a church, in which sacerdotal vestments and sacred utensils are sometimes kept, and where meetings for worship or parish business are held; a sacristy; -- formerly called revestiary.
Vestryman (n.) A member of a vestry; especially (Prot. Epis. Ch.), a member other than a warden. See Vestry.
Vesture (v. t.) A garment or garments; a robe; clothing; dress; apparel; vestment; covering; envelope.
Vesture (v. t.) The corn, grass, underwood, stubble, etc., with which land was covered; as, the vesture of an acre.
Vesuvianite (n.) A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, and also massive, of a brown to green color, rarely sulphur yellow and blue. It is a silicate of alumina and lime with some iron magnesia, and is common at Vesuvius. Also called idocrase.
Vesuvine (n.) A trade name for a brown dyestuff obtained from certain basic azo compounds of benzene; -- called also Bismarck brown, Manchester brown, etc.
Vetch (n.) Any leguminous plant of the genus Vicia, some species of which are valuable for fodder. The common species is V. sativa.
Veteran (a.) Long exercised in anything, especially in military life and the duties of a soldier; long practiced or experienced; as, a veteran officer or soldier; veteran skill.
Veteran (n.) One who has been long exercised in any service or art, particularly in war; one who has had.
Veterinary (a.) Of or pertaining to the art of healing or treating the diseases of domestic animals, as oxen, horses, sheep, etc.; as, a veterinary writer or school.
Vetiver (n.) An East Indian grass (Andropogon muricatus); also, its fragrant roots which are much used for making mats and screens. Also called kuskus, and khuskhus.
Veto (n.) A document or message communicating the reasons of the executive for not officially approving a proposed law; -- called also veto message.
Veto (n.) The exercise of such authority; an act of prohibition or prevention; as, a veto is probable if the bill passes.
Veto (v. t.) To prohibit; to negative; also, to refuse assent to, as a legislative bill, and thus prevent its enactment; as, to veto an appropriation bill.
Vex (v. t.) To make angry or annoyed by little provocations; to irritate; to plague; to torment; to harass; to afflict; to trouble; to tease.
Vexation (n.) The act of vexing, or the state of being vexed; agitation; disquiet; trouble; irritation.
Vexatious (a.) Causing vexation; agitating; afflictive; annoying; as, a vexatious controversy; a vexatious neighbor.
Viability (n.) The capacity of living, or being distributed, over wide geographical limits; as, the viability of a species.
Viable (a.) Capable of living; born alive and with such form and development of organs as to be capable of living; -- said of a newborn, or a prematurely born, infant.
Viaduct (n.) A structure of considerable magnitude, usually with arches or supported on trestles, for carrying a road, as a railroad, high above the ground or water; a bridge; especially, one for crossing a valley or a gorge. Cf. Trestlework.
Vial (n.) A small bottle, usually of glass; a little glass vessel with a narrow aperture intended to be closed with a stopper; as, a vial of medicine.
Viatecture (n.) The art of making roads or ways for traveling, including the construction of bridges, canals, viaducts, etc.
Viaticum (n.) An allowance for traveling expenses made to those who were sent into the provinces to exercise any office or perform any service.
Vibraculum (n.) One of the movable, slender, spinelike organs or parts with which certain bryozoans are furnished. They are regarded as specially modified zooids, of nearly the same nature as Avicularia.
Vibrate (v. i.) To have the constituent particles move to and fro, with alternate compression and dilation of parts, as the air, or any elastic body; to quiver.
Vibrate (v. i.) To move to and fro, or from side to side, as a pendulum, an elastic rod, or a stretched string, when disturbed from its position of rest; to swing; to oscillate.
Vibrate (v. i.) To pass from one state to another; to waver; to fluctuate; as, a man vibrates between two opinions.
Vibrate (v. i.) To produce an oscillating or quivering effect of sound; as, a whisper vibrates on the ear.
Vibratile (a.) Adapted to, or used in, vibratory motion; having the power of vibrating; vibratory; as, the vibratile organs of insects.
Vibration (n.) The act of vibrating, or the state of being vibrated, or in vibratory motion; quick motion to and fro; oscillation, as of a pendulum or musical string.
Vibratory (a.) Consisting in, or causing, vibration, or oscillation; vibrating; as, a vibratory motion; a vibratory power.
Vibrio (n.) A genus of motile bacteria characterized by short, slightly sinuous filaments and an undulatory motion; also, an individual of this genus.
Vibrissa (n.) One of the specialized or tactile hairs which grow about the nostrils, or on other parts of the face, in many animals, as the so-called whiskers of the cat, and the hairs of the nostrils of man.
Viburnum (n.) A genus of shrubs having opposite, petiolate leaves and cymose flowers, several species of which are cultivated as ornamental, as the laurestine and the guelder-rose.
Vicar (n.) One deputed or authorized to perform the functions of another; a substitute in office; a deputy.
Vicarious (prep.) Acting as a substitute; -- said of abnormal action which replaces a suppressed normal function; as, vicarious hemorrhage replacing menstruation.
Vicarious (prep.) Of or pertaining to a vicar, substitute, or deputy; deputed; delegated; as, vicarious power or authority.
Vicarious (prep.) Performed of suffered in the place of another; substituted; as, a vicarious sacrifice; vicarious punishment.
Vice (n.) A defect; a fault; an error; a blemish; an imperfection; as, the vices of a political constitution; the vices of a horse.
Vice (n.) The buffoon of the old English moralities, or moral dramas, having the name sometimes of one vice, sometimes of another, or of Vice itself; -- called also Iniquity.
Vice (prep.) Denoting one who in certain cases may assume the office or duties of a superior; designating an officer or an office that is second in rank or authority; as, vice president; vice agent; vice consul, etc.
Vicegerent (a.) Having or exercising delegated power; acting by substitution, or in the place of another.
Vicegerent (a.) Having or exercising delegated power; acting by substitution, or in the place of another.
Vicegerent (n.) An officer who is deputed by a superior, or by proper authority, to exercise the powers of another; a lieutenant; a vicar.
Viceroy (prep.) The governor of a country or province who rules in the name of the sovereign with regal authority, as the king's substitute; as, the viceroy of India.
Vicine (n.) An alkaloid ex tracted from the seeds of the vetch (Vicia sativa) as a white crystalline substance.
Vicinity (n.) That which is near, or not remote; that which is adjacent to anything; adjoining space or country; neighborhood.
Vicinity (n.) The quality or state of being near, or not remote; nearness; propinquity; proximity; as, the value of the estate was increased by the vicinity of two country seats.
Vicious (a.) Addicted to vice; corrupt in principles or conduct; depraved; wicked; as, vicious children; vicious examples; vicious conduct.
Vicious (a.) Not well tamed or broken; given to bad tricks; unruly; refractory; as, a vicious horse.
Vicissitude (n.) Regular change or succession from one thing to another; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
Vicontiels (n. pl.) Things belonging to the sheriff; especially, farms (called also vicontiel rents) for which the sheriff used to pay rent to the king.
Victim (n.) A living being sacrificed to some deity, or in the performance of a religious rite; a creature immolated, or made an offering of.
Victim (n.) A person or living creature destroyed by, or suffering grievous injury from, another, from fortune or from accident; as, the victim of a defaulter; the victim of a railroad accident.
Victim (n.) A person or thing destroyed or sacrificed in the pursuit of an object, or in gratification of a passion; as, a victim to jealousy, lust, or ambition.
Victor (n.) The winner in a contest; one who gets the better of another in any struggle; esp., one who defeats an enemy in battle; a vanquisher; a conqueror; -- often followed by art, rarely by of.
Victoria (n.) A kind of low four-wheeled pleasure carriage, with a calash top, designed for two persons and the driver who occupies a high seat in front.
Victorious (a.) Of or pertaining to victory, or a victor' being a victor; bringing or causing a victory; conquering; winning; triumphant; as, a victorious general; victorious troops; a victorious day.
Victory (n.) The defeat of an enemy in battle, or of an antagonist in any contest; a gaining of the superiority in any struggle or competition; conquest; triumph; -- the opposite of defeat.
Victual (v. t.) To supply with provisions for subsistence; to provide with food; to store with sustenance; as, to victual an army; to victual a ship.
Victualer (n.) A vessel employed to carry provisions, usually for military or naval use; a provision use; a provision ship.
Victualing (a.) Of or pertaining to victuals, or provisions; supplying provisions; as, a victualing ship.
Victuals (n. pl.) Food for human beings, esp. when it is cooked or prepared for the table; that which supports human life; provisions; sustenance; meat; viands.
Vidame (n.) One of a class of temporal officers who originally represented the bishops, but later erected their offices into fiefs, and became feudal nobles.
Vide () imperative sing. of L. videre, to see; -- used to direct attention to something; as, vide supra, see above.
Vie (v. i.) To strive for superiority; to contend; to use emulous effort, as in a race, contest, or competition.
Vie (v. t.) To do or produce in emulation, competition, or rivalry; to put in competition; to bandy.
Vienna paste () A caustic application made up of equal parts of caustic potash and quicklime; -- called also Vienna caustic.
View (n.) Mental survey; intellectual perception or examination; as, a just view of the arguments or facts in a case.
View (n.) Mode of looking at anything; manner of apprehension; conception; opinion; judgment; as, to state one's views of the policy which ought to be pursued.
View (n.) Power of seeing, either physically or mentally; reach or range of sight; extent of prospect.
View (n.) That which is looked towards, or kept in sight, as object, aim, intention, purpose, design; as, he did it with a view of escaping.
View (n.) That which is seen or beheld; sight presented to the natural or intellectual eye; scene; prospect; as, the view from a window.
View (n.) The pictorial representation of a scene; a sketch, /ither drawn or painted; as, a fine view of Lake George.
View (v. t.) To see; to behold; especially, to look at with attention, or for the purpose of examining; to examine with the eye; to inspect; to explore.
View (v. t.) To survey or examine mentally; to consider; as, to view the subject in all its aspects.
Viewer (n.) A person appointed to inspect highways, fences, or the like, and to report upon the same.
Vigesimo-quarto (a.) Having twenty-four leaves to a sheet; as, a vigesimo-quarto form, book, leaf, size, etc.
Vigesimo-quarto (n.) A book composed of sheets each of which is folded into twenty-four leaves; hence, indicating more or less definitely a size of book so made; -- usually written 24mo, or 24?.
Vigil (v. 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.
Vigilant (a.) Attentive to discover and avoid danger, or to provide for safety; wakeful; watchful; circumspect; wary.
Vigintivirate (n.) The office of the vigintiviri, a body of officers of government consisting of twenty men; also, the vigintiviri.
Vignette (v. t.) To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge insensibly fading away.
Vigonia (a.) Of or pertaining to the vicu/a; characterizing the vicu/a; -- said of the wool of that animal, used in felting hats, and for other purposes.
Vigor (n.) Active strength or force of body or mind; capacity for exertion, physically, intellectually, or morally; force; energy.
Vigor (n.) Strength or force in animal or force in animal or vegetable nature or action; as, a plant grows with vigor.
Vigoroso (a. & adv.) Vigorous; energetic; with energy; -- a direction to perform a passage with energy and force.
Vigorous (a.) Exhibiting strength, either of body or mind; powerful; strong; forcible; energetic; as, vigorous exertions; a vigorous prosecution of a war.
Vigorous (a.) Possessing vigor; full of physical or mental strength or active force; strong; lusty; robust; as, a vigorous youth; a vigorous plant.
Viinage (n.) The place or places adjoining or near; neighborhood; vicinity; as, a jury must be of the vicinage.
Viking (n.) One belonging to the pirate crews from among the Northmen, who plundered the coasts of Europe in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries.
Vilayet (n.) One of the chief administrative divisions or provinces of the Ottoman Empire; -- formerly called eyalet.
Vile (superl.) Morally base or impure; depraved by sin; hateful; in the sight of God and men; sinful; wicked; bad.
Villain (n.) A vile, wicked person; a man extremely depraved, and capable or guilty of great crimes; a deliberate scoundrel; a knave; a rascal; a scamp.
Villain (n.) One who holds lands by a base, or servile, tenure, or in villenage; a feudal tenant of the lowest class, a bondman or servant.
Villainous (a.) Proceeding from, or showing, extreme depravity; suited to a villain; as, a villainous action.
Villainy (n.) The quality or state of being a villain, or villainous; extreme depravity; atrocious wickedness; as, the villainy of the seducer.
Villanage (n.) The state of a villain, or serf; base servitude; tenure on condition of doing the meanest services for the lord.
Villanelle (n.) A poem written in tercets with but two rhymes, the first and third verse of the first stanza alternating as the third verse in each successive stanza and forming a couplet at the close.
Villiform (a.) Having the form or appearance of villi; like close-set fibers, either hard or soft; as, the teeth of perch are villiform.
Villous (a.) Abounding in, or covered with, fine hairs, or a woolly substance; shaggy with soft hairs; nappy.
Villus (n.) One of the minute papillary processes on certain vascular membranes; a villosity; as, villi cover the lining of the small intestines of many animals and serve to increase the absorbing surface.
Vinaigrette (n.) A small perforated box for holding aromatic vinegar contained in a sponge, or a smelling bottle for smelling salts; -- called also vinegarette.
Vinaigrette (n.) A small, two-wheeled vehicle, like a Bath chair, to be drawn or pushed by a boy or man.
Vinasse (n.) The waste liquor remaining in the process of making beet sugar, -- used in the manufacture of potassium carbonate.
Vincetoxin (n.) A glucoside extracted from the root of the white swallowwort (Vincetoxicum officinale, a plant of the Asclepias family) as a bitter yellow amorphous substance; -- called also asclepiadin, and cynanchin.
Vinculum (n.) A straight, horizontal mark placed over two or more members of a compound quantity, which are to be subjected to the same operation, as in the expression x2 + y2 - x + y.
Vindicate (v. t.) To maintain or defend with success; to prove to be valid; to assert convincingly; to sustain against assault; as, to vindicate a right, claim, or title.
Vindicate (v. t.) To support or maintain as true or correct, against denial, censure, or objections; to defend; to justify.
Vindication (n.) The act of vindicating, or the state of being vindicated; defense; justification against denial or censure; as, the vindication of opinions; his vindication is complete.
Vindication (n.) The claiming a thing as one's own; the asserting of a right or title in, or to, a thing.
Vinegar (a.) A sour liquid used as a condiment, or as a preservative, and obtained by the spontaneous (acetous) fermentation, or by the artificial oxidation, of wine, cider, beer, or the like.
Vingt et un () A game at cards, played by two or more persons. The fortune of each player depends upon obtaining from the dealer such cards that the sum of their pips, or spots, is twenty-one, or a number near to it.
Vinometer (n.) An instrument for determining the strength or purity of wine by measuring its density.
Vintage (n.) The produce of the vine for one season, in grapes or in wine; as, the vintage is abundant; the vintage of 1840.
Vinyl (n.) 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.
Viol (n.) A stringed musical instrument formerly in use, of the same form as the violin, but larger, and having six strings, to be struck with a bow, and the neck furnished with frets for stopping the strings.
Viola (n.) An instrument in form and use resembling the violin, but larger, and a fifth lower in compass.
Violaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants, of which the violet is the type. It contains about twenty genera and two hundred and fifty species.
Violaniline (n.) A dyestuff of the induline group, made from aniline, and used as a substitute for indigo in dyeing wool and silk a violet-blue or a gray-blue color.
Violantin (n.) A complex nitrogenous substance, produced as a yellow crystalline substance, and regarded as a complex derivative of barbituric acid.
Violaquercitrin (n.) A yellow crystalline glucoside obtained from the pansy (Viola tricolor), and decomposing into glucose and quercitrin.
Violate (v. t.) To do violence to, as to anything that should be held sacred or respected; to profane; to desecrate; to break forcibly; to trench upon; to infringe.
Violation (n.) An act of irreverence or desecration; profanation or contemptuous treatment of sacred things; as, the violation of a church.
Violation (n.) Infringement; transgression; nonobservance; as, the violation of law or positive command, of covenants, promises, etc.
Violation (n.) The act of violating, treating with violence, or injuring; the state of being violated.
Violence (n.) Injury done to that which is entitled to respect, reverence, or observance; profanation; infringement; unjust force; outrage; assault.
Violence (n.) The quality or state of being violent; highly excited action, whether physical or moral; vehemence; impetuosity; force.
Violent (a.) Acting, characterized, or produced by unjust or improper force; outrageous; unauthorized; as, a violent attack on the right of free speech.
Violent (a.) Moving or acting with physical strength; urged or impelled with force; excited by strong feeling or passion; forcible; vehement; impetuous; fierce; furious; severe; as, a violent blow; the violent attack of a disease.
Violet (n.) Any one of numerous species of small violet-colored butterflies belonging to Lycaena, or Rusticus, and allied genera.
Violet (n.) Any plant or flower of the genus Viola, of many species. The violets are generally low, herbaceous plants, and the flowers of many of the species are blue, while others are white or yellow, or of several colors, as the pansy (Viola tricolor).
Violet (n.) Dark blue, inclining to red; bluish purple; having a color produced by red and blue combined.
Violet (n.) In art, a color produced by a combination of red and blue in equal proportions; a bluish purple color.
Violet (n.) The color of a violet, or that part of the spectrum farthest from red. It is the most refrangible part of the spectrum.
Violet-tip (n.) A very handsome American butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). Its wings are mottled with various shades of red and brown and have violet tips.
Violine (n.) A pale yellow amorphous substance of alkaloidal nature and emetic properties, said to have been extracted from the root and foliage of the violet (Viola).
Violoncello (n.) A stringed instrument of music; a bass viol of four strings, or a bass violin with long, large strings, giving sounds an octave lower than the viola, or tenor or alto violin.
Violone (n.) The largest instrument of the bass-viol kind, having strings tuned an octave below those of the violoncello; the contrabasso; -- called also double bass.
Violuric (a.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a complex nitroso derivative of barbituric acid. It is obtained as a white or yellow crystalline substance, and forms characteristic yellow, blue, and violet salts.
Viper (a.) Any one of numerous species of Old World venomous makes belonging to Vipera, Clotho, Daboia, and other genera of the family Viperidae.
Viperoides (n. pl.) A division of serpents which includes the true vipers of the Old World and the rattlesnakes and moccasin snakes of America; -- called also Viperina.
Virago (n.) A woman of extraordinary stature, strength, and courage; a woman who has the robust body and masculine mind of a man; a female warrior.
Virelay (n.) An ancient French song, or short poem, wholly in two rhymes, and composed in short lines, with a refrain.
Vireo (n.) 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.
Vireton (n.) An arrow or bolt for a crossbow having feathers or brass placed at an angle with the shaft to make it spin in flying.
Virgalieu (n.) A valuable kind of pear, of an obovate shape and with melting flesh of delicious flavor; -- more properly called White Doyenne.
Virgin (a.) Being a virgin; chaste; of or pertaining to a virgin; becoming a virgin; maidenly; modest; indicating modesty; as, a virgin blush.
Virgin (n.) A female insect producing eggs from which young are hatched, though there has been no fecundation by a male; a parthenogenetic insect.
Virgo (n.) A constellation of the zodiac, now occupying chiefly the sign Libra, and containing the bright star Spica.
Virgo (n.) A sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of August, marked thus [/] in almanacs.
Virial (n.) A certain function relating to a system of forces and their points of application, -- first used by Clausius in the investigation of problems in molecular physics.
Viridine (n.) A greenish, oily, nitrogenous hydrocarbon, C12H19N7, obtained from coal tar, and probably consisting of a mixture of several metameric compounds which are higher derivatives of the base pyridine.
Viridite (n.) A greenish chloritic mineral common in certain igneous rocks, as diabase, as a result of alternation.
Virility (n.) The quality or state of being virile; developed manhood; manliness; specif., the power of procreation; as, exhaustion.
Viroled (a.) Furnished with a virole or viroles; -- said of a horn or a bugle when the rings are of different tincture from the rest of the horn.
Virtual (a.) Being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual presence of a man in his agent or substitute.
Virtual (a.) Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing.
Virtually (adv.) In a virtual manner; in efficacy or effect only, and not actually; to all intents and purposes; practically.
Virtue (n.) Active quality or power; capacity or power adequate to the production of a given effect; energy; strength; potency; efficacy; as, the virtue of a medicine.
Virtue (n.) Specifically, moral excellence; integrity of character; purity of soul; performance of duty.
Virtuosity (n.) The quality or state of being a virtuoso; in a bad sense, the character of one in whom mere artistic feeling or aesthetic cultivation takes the place of religious character; sentimentalism.
Virtuoso (n.) A performer on some instrument, as the violin or the piano, who excels in the technical part of his art; a brilliant concert player.
Virtuoso (n.) One devoted to virtu; one skilled in the fine arts, in antiquities, and the like; a collector or ardent admirer of curiosities, etc.
Virtuous (a.) Having moral excellence; characterized by morality; upright; righteous; pure; as, a virtuous action.
Virulent (a.) Very bitter in enmity; actuated by a desire to injure; malignant; as, a virulent invective.
Virus (v. i.) Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; -- applied to organic poisons.
Virus (v. i.) Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the soul; as, the virus of obscene books.
Virus (v. i.) 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.
Vis-a-vis (n.) A carriage in which two persons sit face to face. Also, a form of sofa with seats for two persons, so arranged that the occupants are face to face while sitting on opposite sides.
Vis-a-vis (n.) One who, or that which, is face to face with another; esp., one who faces another in dancing.
Visage (n.) The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face.
Visceroskeletal (a.) Of or pertaining to the framework, or skeleton, or skeleton, of the viscera; as, the visceroskeletal system of muscles.
Viscid (a.) Sticking or adhering, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscous; glutinous; sticky; tenacious; clammy; as, turpentine, tar, gums, etc., are more or less viscid.
Viscidity (n.) The quality or state of being viscid; also, that which is viscid; glutinous concretion; stickiness.
Viscin (n.) A clear, viscous, tasteless substance extracted from the mucilaginous sap of the mistletoe (Viscum album), holly, etc., and constituting an essential ingredient of birdlime.
Viscosimeter (n.) An instrument for measuring the degree of viscosity of liquids, as solutions of gum.
Viscosity (n.) A quality analogous to that of a viscous fluid, supposed to be caused by internal friction, especially in the case of gases.
Viscount (a.) A nobleman of the fourth rank, next in order below an earl and next above a baron; also, his degree or title of nobility. See Peer, n., 3.
Viscount (a.) An officer who formerly supplied the place of the count, or earl; the sheriff of the county.
Viscous (a.) Adhesive or sticky, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscid; glutinous; clammy; tenacious; as, a viscous juice.
Viscus (n.) One of the organs, as the brain, heart, or stomach, in the great cavities of the body of an animal; -- especially used in the plural, and applied to the organs contained in the abdomen.
Vise (n.) An indorsement made on a passport by the proper authorities of certain countries on the continent of Europe, denoting that it has been examined, and that the person who bears it is permitted to proceed on his journey; a visa.
Vise (n.) An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.
Vishnu (n.) A divinity of the modern Hindu trimurti, or trinity. He is regarded as the preserver, while Brahma is the creator, and Siva the destroyer of the creation.
Visible (a.) Perceivable by the eye; capable of being seen; perceptible; in view; as, a visible star; the least spot is visible on white paper.
Vision (v.) Especially, that which is seen otherwise than by the ordinary sight, or the rational eye; a supernatural, prophetic, or imaginary sight; an apparition; a phantom; a specter; as, the visions of Isaiah.
Vision (v.) The faculty of seeing; sight; one of the five senses, by which colors and the physical qualities of external objects are appreciated as a result of the stimulating action of light on the sensitive retina, an expansion of the optic nerve.
Visionary (a.) Affected by phantoms; disposed to receive impressions on the imagination; given to reverie; apt to receive, and act upon, fancies as if they were realities.
Visionary (a.) Existing in imagination only; not real; fanciful; imaginary; having no solid foundation; as, visionary prospect; a visionary scheme or project.
Visionary (a.) Of or pertaining to a visions or visions; characterized by, appropriate to, or favorable for, visions.
Visionary (n.) One whose imagination overpowers his reason and controls his judgment; an unpractical schemer; one who builds castles in the air; a daydreamer.
Visit (v. i.) To make a visit or visits; to maintain visiting relations; to practice calling on others.
Visit (v. t.) The act of going to view or inspect; an official or formal inspection; examination; visitation; as, the visit of a trustee or inspector.
Visit (v. t.) 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.
Visit (v. t.) 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.
Visit (v. t.) 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.
Visit (v. 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.
Visitation (n.) A festival in honor of the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist, celebrated on the second of July.
Visitation (n.) Special dispensation; communication of divine favor and goodness, or, more usually, of divine wrath and vengeance; retributive calamity; retribution; judgment.
Visitation (n.) The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination.
Visitatorial (a.) Of or pertaining to visitation, or a judicial visitor or superintendent; visitorial.
Visitor () A superior, or a person lawfully appointed for the purpose, who makes formal visits of inspection to a corporation or an institution. See Visit, v. t., 2, and Visitation, n., 2.
Visor (n.) 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.
Vista (n.) 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.
Visual (a.) Of or pertaining to sight; used in sight; serving as the instrument of seeing; as, the visual nerve.
Vital (a.) Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.
Vitalism (n.) The doctrine that all the functions of a living organism are due to an unknown vital principle distinct from all chemical and physical forces.
Vitality (n.) The quality or state of being vital; the principle of life; vital force; animation; as, the vitality of eggs or vegetable seeds; the vitality of an enterprise.
Vitalize (v. t.) To endow with life, or vitality; to give life to; to make alive; as, vitalized blood.
Vitals (n. pl.) Fig.: The part essential to the life or health of anything; as, the vitals of a state.
Vitelligenous (a.) Producing yolk, or vitelline substance; -- applied to certain cells (also called nutritive, or yolk, cells) formed in the ovaries of many insects, and supposed to supply nutriment to the developing ova.
Vitellin (n.) An albuminous body, belonging to the class of globulins, obtained from yolk of egg, of which it is the chief proteid constituent, and from the seeds of many plants. From the latter it can be separated in crystalline form.
Vitelline (a.) Of or pertaining to the yolk of eggs; as, the vitelline membrane, a smooth, transparent membrane surrounding the vitellus.
Vitellogene (n.) A gland secreting the yolk of the eggs in trematodes, turbellarians, and some other helminths.
Vitiate (v. t.) To make vicious, faulty, or imperfect; to render defective; to injure the substance or qualities of; to impair; to contaminate; to spoil; as, exaggeration vitiates a style of writing; sewer gas vitiates the air.
Vitiation (n.) The act of vitiating, or the state of being vitiated; depravation; corruption; invalidation; as, the vitiation of the blood; the vitiation of a contract.
Vitiligo (n.) A rare skin disease consisting in the development of smooth, milk-white spots upon various parts of the body.
Vitrescence (n.) The quality or state of being vitreous; glassiness, or the quality of being vitrescent; capability of conversion into glass; susceptibility of being formed into glass.
Vitrifiable (a.) Capable of being vitrified, or converted into glass by heat and fusion; as, flint and alkalies are vitrifiable.
Vitrify (v. t.) To convert into, or cause to resemble, glass or a glassy substance, by heat and fusion.
Vitrina (n.) A genus of terrestrial gastropods, having transparent, very thin, and delicate shells, -- whence the name.
Vitriol (n.) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster.
Vitriol (n.) Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric.
Vitriolate (v. t.) To convert into, or change to, a vitriol; to make into sulphuric acid or a sulphate.
Vitriolated (a.) Changed into a vitriol or a sulphate, or subjected to the action of sulphuric acid or of a sulphate; as, vitriolated potash, i. e., potassium sulphate.
Vitriolic (a.) Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste. Cf. Vitriol.
Vitrite (n.) A kind of glass which is very hard and difficult to fuse, used as an insulator in electrical lamps and other apparatus.
Vituperate (v. t.) To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate.
Vituperative (a.) Uttering or writing censure; containing, or characterized by, abuse; scolding; abusive.
Vivace (a. & adv.) Brisk; vivacious; with spirit; -- a direction to perform a passage in a brisk and lively manner.
Vivacity (n.) Life; animation; spiritedness; liveliness; sprightliness; as, the vivacity of a discourse; a lady of great vivacity; vivacity of countenance.
Vivandiere (n.) In Continental armies, especially in the French army, a woman accompanying a regiment, who sells provisions and liquor to the soldiers; a female sutler.
Vivarium (n.) A place artificially arranged for keeping or raising living animals, as a park, a pond, an aquarium, a warren, etc.
Vive () Long live, that is, success to; as, vive le roi, long live the king; vive la bagatelle, success to trifles or sport.
Vives (n.) 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.
Vivianite (n.) A hydrous phosphate of iron of a blue to green color, growing darker on exposure. It occurs in monoclinic crystals, also fibrous, massive, and earthy.
Vivid (a.) Forming brilliant images, or painting in lively colors; lively; sprightly; as, a vivid imagination.
Vivid (a.) True to the life; exhibiting the appearance of life or freshness; animated; spirited; bright; strong; intense; as, vivid colors.
Vivificate (v. t.) To bring back a metal to the metallic form, as from an oxide or solution; to reduce.
Vivification (n.) One of the changes of assimilation, in which proteid matter which has been transformed, and made a part of the tissue or tissue cells, is endowed with life, and thus enabled to manifest the phenomena of irritability, contractility, etc.
Vivification (n.) The act of vivifying, or the state of being vivified; restoration of life; revival.
Vivipara (n. pl.) An artificial division of vertebrates including those that produce their young alive; -- opposed to Ovipara.
Vivisection (n.) The dissection of an animal while alive, for the purpose of making physiological investigations.
Vocable (n.) A word; a term; a name; specifically, a word considered as composed of certain sounds or letters, without regard to its meaning.
Vocabulary (n.) A list or collection of words arranged in alphabetical order and explained; a dictionary or lexicon, either of a whole language, a single work or author, a branch of science, or the like; a word-book.
Vocal (a.) Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, /poken with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; -- said of certain articulate sounds.
Vocal (a.) Of or pertaining to the voice or speech; having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices.
Vocal (n.) 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.
Vocality (n.) The quality or state of being vocal; utterableness; resonance; as, the vocality of the letters.
Vocation (n.) A call; a summons; a citation; especially, a designation or appointment to a particular state, business, or profession.
Vocation (n.) The bestowment of God's distinguishing grace upon a person or nation, by which that person or nation is put in the way of salvation; as, the vocation of the Jews under the old dispensation, and of the Gentiles under the gospel.
Vocative (a.) Of or pertaining to calling; used in calling; specifically (Gram.), used in address; appellative; -- said of that case or form of the noun, pronoun, or adjective, in which a person or thing is addressed; as, Domine, O Lord.
Vocule (n.) A short or weak utterance; a faint or feeble sound, as that heard on separating the lips in pronouncing p or b.
Vodanium (n.) A supposed element, afterward found to be a mixture of several metals, as copper, iron, lead, nickel, etc.
Vogue (n.) 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.
Voice (n.) 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.
Voice (n.) 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.
Voice (n.) 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.
Voice (v. t.) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
Voice (v. t.) To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation.
Voice (v. t.) 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.
Voiced (a.) Uttered with voice; pronounced with vibrations of the vocal cords; sonant; -- said of a sound uttered with the glottis narrowed.
Void (a.) Of no legal force or effect, incapable of confirmation or ratification; null. Cf. Voidable, 2.
Void (a.) To remove the contents of; to make or leave vacant or empty; to quit; to leave; as, to void a table.
Voidable (a.) Capable of being avoided, or of being adjudged void, invalid, and of no force; capable of being either avoided or confirmed.
Voided (a.) Having the inner part cut away, or left vacant, a narrow border being left at the sides, the tincture of the field being seen in the vacant space; -- said of a charge.
Voidness (n.) The quality or state of being void; /mptiness; vacuity; nullity; want of substantiality.
Voir dire () An oath administered to a witness, usually before being sworn in chief, requiring him to speak the truth, or make true answers in reference to matters inquired of, to ascertain his competency to give evidence.
Vol-au-vent (n.) A light puff paste, with a raised border, filled, after baking, usually with a ragout of fowl, game, or fish.
Volant (a.) Passing through the air upon wings, or as if upon wings; flying; hence, passing from place to place; current.
Volapuk (n.) Literally, world's speech; the name of an artificial language invented by Johan Martin Schleyer, of Constance, Switzerland, about 1879.
Volatile (a.) Capable of wasting away, or of easily passing into the aeriform state; subject to evaporation.
Volatile (a.) Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper.
Volatile (a.) Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly.
Volatility (n.) Quality or state of being volatile; disposition to evaporate; changeableness; fickleness.
Volatilization (n.) The act or process of volatilizing, or rendering volatile; the state of being volatilized.
Volatilize (v. t.) To render volatile; to cause to exhale or evaporate; to cause to pass off in vapor.
Volborthite (n.) A mineral occurring in small six-sided tabular crystals of a green or yellow color. It is a hydrous vanadate of copper and lime.
Volcanist (n.) One who believes in the igneous, as opposed to the aqueous, origin of the rocks of the earth's crust; a vulcanist. Cf. Neptunist.
Volcanization (n.) The act of volcanizing, or the state of being volcanized; the process of undergoing volcanic heat, and being affected by it.
Volcanize (v. t.) To subject to, or cause to undergo, volcanic heat, and to be affected by its action.
Volcano (n.) A mountain or hill, usually more or less conical in form, from which lava, cinders, steam, sulphur gases, and the like, are ejected; -- often popularly called a burning mountain.
Vole (n.) Any one of numerous species of micelike rodents belonging to Arvicola and allied genera of the subfamily Arvicolinae. They have a thick head, short ears, and a short hairy tail.
Volition (n.) The act of willing or choosing; the act of forming a purpose; the exercise of the will.
Volley (n.) A flight of missiles, as arrows, bullets, or the like; the simultaneous discharge of a number of small arms.
Volley (v. i.) To be thrown out, or discharged, at once; to be discharged in a volley, or as if in a volley; to make a volley or volleys.
Volt (n.) A circular tread; a gait by which a horse going sideways round a center makes two concentric tracks.
Volta (n.) 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.
Voltagraphy (n.) In electrotypy, the act or art of copying, in metals deposited by electrolytic action, a form or pattern which is made the negative electrode.
Voltaic (a.) Of or pertaining to Alessandro Volta, who first devised apparatus for developing electric currents by chemical action, and established this branch of electric science; discovered by Volta; as, voltaic electricity.
Voltaic (a.) Of or pertaining to voltaism, or voltaic electricity; as, voltaic induction; the voltaic arc.
Voltameter (n.) An instrument for measuring the voltaic electricity passing through it, by its effect in decomposing water or some other chemical compound acting as an electrolyte.
Voltigeur (n.) One of a picked company of irregular riflemen in each regiment of the French infantry.
Voltmeter (n.) An instrument for measuring in volts the differences of potential between different points of an electrical circuit.
Voltzite (n.) An oxysulphide of lead occurring in implanted spherical globules of a yellowish or brownish color; -- called also voltzine.
Voluble (a.) Easily rolling or turning; easily set in motion; apt to roll; rotating; as, voluble particles of matter.
Voluble (a.) Moving with ease and smoothness in uttering words; of rapid speech; nimble in speaking; glib; as, a flippant, voluble, tongue.
Volume (n.) A roll; a scroll; a written document rolled up for keeping or for use, after the manner of the ancients.
Volume (n.) Anything of a rounded or swelling form resembling a roll; a turn; a convolution; a coil.
Volume (n.) Dimensions; compass; space occupied, as measured by cubic units, that is, cubic inches, feet, yards, etc.; mass; bulk; as, the volume of an elephant's body; a volume of gas.
Volumenometer (n.) An instrument for measuring the volume of a body, especially a solid, by means of the difference in tension caused by its presence and absence in a confined portion of air.
Volumescope (n.) An instrument consisting essentially of a glass tube provided with a graduated scale, for exhibiting to the eye the changes of volume of a gas or gaseous mixture resulting from chemical action, and the like.
Volumeter (n.) An instrument for measuring the volumes of gases or liquids by introducing them into a vessel of known capacity.
Voluminous (a.) Having written much, or produced many volumes; copious; diffuse; as, a voluminous writer.
Voluntariness (n.) The quality or state of being voluntary; spontaneousness; specifically, the quality or state of being free in the exercise of one's will.
Voluntary (n.) A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
Voluntary (v. t.) Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed; intended; not accidental; as, if a man kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
Voluntary (v. t.) Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
Voluntary (v. t.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.
Voluntary (v. t.) Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one's self, or of itself; free.
Voluntaryism (n.) The principle of supporting a religious system and its institutions by voluntary association and effort, rather than by the aid or patronage of the state.
Volunteer (a.) A grantee in a voluntary conveyance; one to whom a conveyance is made without valuable consideration; a party, other than a wife or child of the grantor, to whom, or for whose benefit, a voluntary conveyance is made.
Volunteer (a.) Of or pertaining to a volunteer or volunteers; consisting of volunteers; voluntary; as, volunteer companies; volunteer advice.
Volunteer (v. i.) To enter into, or offer for, any service of one's own free will, without solicitation or compulsion; as, he volunteered in that undertaking.
Volunteer (v. t.) To offer or bestow voluntarily, or without solicitation or compulsion; as, to volunteer one's services.
Voluptuary (n.) A voluptuous person; one who makes his physical enjoyment his chief care; one addicted to luxury, and the gratification of sensual appetites.
Voluptuous (a.) Full of delight or pleasure, especially that of the senses; ministering to sensuous or sensual gratification; exciting sensual desires; luxurious; sensual.
Voluptuous (a.) Given to the enjoyments of luxury and pleasure; indulging to excess in sensual gratifications.
Voluta (n.) Any one of numerous species of large, handsome marine gastropods belonging to Voluta and allied genera.
Volute (n.) A spiral scroll which forms the chief feature of the Ionic capital, and which, on a much smaller scale, is a feature in the Corinthian and Composite capitals. See Illust. of Capital, also Helix, and Stale.
Vomer (n.) 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.
Vomit (v. t.) Hence, to eject from any hollow place; to belch forth; to emit; to throw forth; as, volcanoes vomit flame, stones, etc.
Vomit (v. t.) To throw up; to eject from the stomach through the mouth; to disgorge; to puke; to spew out; -- often followed by up or out.
Vomito (n.) The yellow fever in its worst form, when it is usually attended with black vomit. See Black vomit.
Vomiturition (n.) The vomiting of but little matter; also, that vomiting which is effected with little effort.
Voracious (a.) Greedy in eating; very hungry; eager to devour or swallow; ravenous; gluttonous; edacious; rapacious; as, a voracious man or appetite; a voracious gulf or whirlpool.
Vortex (n.) Any one of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera. See Illustration in Appendix.
Vortical (a.) Of or pertaining to a vortex or vortexes; resembling a vortex in form or motion; whirling; as, a vortical motion.
Votary (n.) One devoted, consecrated, or engaged by a vow or promise; hence, especially, one devoted, given, or addicted, to some particular service, worship, study, or state of life.
Vote (n.) Expression of judgment or will by a majority; legal decision by some expression of the minds of a number; as, the vote was unanimous; a vote of confidence.
Vote (n.) That by means of which will or preference is expressed in elections, or in deciding propositions; voice; a ballot; a ticket; as, a written vote.
Vote (v. t.) To declare by general opinion or common consent, as if by a vote; as, he was voted a bore.
Vote (v. t.) To enact, establish, grant, determine, etc., by a formal vote; as, the legislature voted the resolution.
Voter (n.) One who votes; one who has a legal right to vote, or give his suffrage; an elector; a suffragist; as, an independent voter.
Votive (a.) Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet.
Vouchee (n.) The person who is vouched, or called into court to support or make good his warranty of title in the process of common recovery.
Voucher (n.) The act of calling in a person to make good his warranty of title in the old form of action for the recovery of lands.
Voucher (n.) The tenant in a writ of right; one who calls in another to establish his warranty of title. In common recoveries, there may be a single voucher or double vouchers.
Vouchsafement (n.) The act of vouchsafing, or that which is vouchsafed; a gift or grant in condescension.
Vow (n.) To give, consecrate, or dedicate to God, or to some deity, by a solemn promise; to devote; to promise solemnly.
Voyage (n.) Formerly, a passage either by sea or land; a journey, in general; but not chiefly limited to a passing by sea or water from one place, port, or country, to another; especially, a passing or journey by water to a distant place or country.
Voyageur (n.) A traveler; -- applied in Canada to a man employed by the fur companies in transporting goods by the rivers and across the land, to and from the remote stations in the Northwest.
Vulcan (n.) The god of fire, who presided over the working of metals; -- answering to the Greek Hephaestus.
Vulcanian (a.) Of or pertaining to Vulcan; made by Vulcan; hence, of or pertaining to works in iron or other metals.
Vulcanic (a.) Of or pertaining to volcanoes; specifically, relating to the geological theory of the Vulcanists, or Plutonists.
Vulcanization (n.) The act or process of imparting to caoutchouc, gutta-percha, or the like, greater elasticity, durability, or hardness by heating with sulphur under pressure.
Vulcanize (v. t.) To change the properties of, as caoutchouc, or India rubber, by the process of vulcanization.
Vulcanology (n.) The science which treats of phenomena due to plutonic action, as in volcanoes, hot springs, etc.
Vulgar (a.) Belonging or relating to the common people, as distinguished from the cultivated or educated; pertaining to common life; plebeian; not select or distinguished; hence, sometimes, of little or no value.
Vulgar (a.) Hence, lacking cultivation or refinement; rustic; boorish; also, offensive to good taste or refined feelings; low; coarse; mean; base; as, vulgar men, minds, language, or manners.
Vulgar (a.) Of or pertaining to the mass, or multitude, of people; common; general; ordinary; public; hence, in general use; vernacular.
Vulgarity (n.) The quality or state of being vulgar; mean condition of life; the state of the lower classes of society.
Vulgate (a.) An ancient Latin version of the Scripture, and the only version which the Roman Church admits to be authentic; -- so called from its common use in the Latin Church.
Vulnerable (a.) Capable of being wounded; susceptible of wounds or external injuries; as, a vulnerable body.
Vulnerable (a.) Liable to injury; subject to be affected injuriously; assailable; as, a vulnerable reputation.
Vulnerary (a.) Useful in healing wounds; adapted to the cure of external injuries; as, vulnerary plants or potions.
Vulpic (a.) Pertaining to, derived from, or designating, an acid obtained from a lichen (Cetraria vulpina) as a yellow or red crystalline substance which on decomposition yields pulvinic acid.
Vulpinite (n.) A scaly granular variety of anhydrite of a grayish white color, used for ornamental purposes.
Vulture (n.) Any one of numerous species of rapacious birds belonging to Vultur, Cathartes, Catharista, and various other genera of the family Vulturidae.
Vulturine (a.) Of or pertaining to a vulture; resembling a vulture in qualities or looks; as, the vulturine sea eagle (Gypohierax Angolensis); vulturine rapacity.
Vulva (n.) The external parts of the female genital organs; sometimes, the opening between the projecting parts of the external organs.
Vyce (n.) A kind of clamp with gimlet points for holding a barrel head while the staves are being closed around it.
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