
vehicle | vehicle: n. 1 conveyance: The police report that two vehicles were damaged in the crash. 2 means, channel, mechanism, carrier, conduit, agency, instrument: Water is the vehicle used in many sprays.
veil | veil: n. 1 covering, cover, screen, camouflage, cloak, curtain, mask, shroud: A veil of silence has been drawn over the meetings. He stole away under the veil of darkness. --v. 2 cover, conceal, hide, camouflage, cloak, mask, disguise, shroud, shield, obscure: The writer''s identity was veiled from us till recently.
veiled | veiled: adj. concealed, hidden, masked, obscure, unrevealed, covert, disguised, secret, sub rosa, subtle: There seemed to be a veiled threat in the way he said goodbye.
vein | vein: n. 1 blood-vessel; nervure: He killed himself by opening a vein in his wrist. 2 streak, seam, stripe, striation, stria, thread, line: The reddish vein gives this marble a warm feeling. 3 seam, lode, stratum, course, deposit, bed: The prospector discovered a vein of almost pure gold in the old mine. 4 thread, hint, suggestion, touch, trace, streak, line, strain, mood, spirit, tone, note, tenor, feeling, attitude, disposition, humour, temper; tendency or inclination or proclivity toward(s): Underlying her apparent kindness is a vein of bitter hatred. 5 way, manner, course, fashion, style, mode, pattern: He would have continued in that same vein if the chairman hadn''t stopped him.
velocity | velocity: n. speed, swiftness, rapidity, fleetness, quickness, briskness, alacrity, celerity, pace, rate of speed, miles per hour, m.p.h., kilometres per hour, km/hr: Our velocity slowed as we neared the outer atmosphere.
venal | venal: adj. corrupt, corruptible, bribable or bribeable, buyable, purchasable, mercenary, unprincipled, dishonourable, rapacious, avaricious, greedy, simoniacal, Colloq crooked, Slang bent: All we had to do was to find a venal official, cross his palm with silver, and they would release our son.
vendetta | vendetta: n. (blood) feud, quarrel, dispute, conflict, rivalry, enmity, bitterness, hatred, ill will, bad blood: Fifty years after leaving Palermo, the vendetta between their families still persisted.
veneer | veneer: n. gloss, fa�ade, finish, pretence, (false) front, (outward) show or display, appearance, mask, guise, aspect, superficies: Beneath that veneer of elegance and refinement lie the heart and soul of a monstrous criminal.
venerable | venerable: adj. respectable, honourable, estimable, respected, honoured, esteemed, august, sedate, impressive, revered, reverenced, worshipped: Venerable old military men were called on for advice.
venerate | venerate: v. respect, honour, esteem, revere, reverence, worship, hallow, adore, admire, look up to: Schweitzer was widely venerated for his charitable works.
veneration | veneration: n. respect, honour, esteem, reverence, deference, homage, devotion, worship, admiration, adoration, idolization, awe: Their veneration for their hero turned to contempt when his past was revealed.
venereal | venereal: adj. sexual; genital; social, sexually transmitted, gonorrhoeal or gonorrhoeic, syphilitic: Reports indicate that venereal disease has been on the decline since the advent of AIDS.
vengeance | vengeance: n. 1 revenge, retaliation, retribution, requital, reprisal: Her vengeance for what he had done was to disinherit him. 2 with a vengeance. a violently, fiercely, ferociously, wildly, vehemently, furiously, forcefully: The wind blew with a vengeance all night. b energetically, to the fullest extent, to the utmost or the fullest or the limit, (with) no holds barred, enthusiastically, wholeheartedly: Give Richard a job to do and he goes at with a vengeance.
venial | venial: adj. forgivable, excusable, pardonable, tolerable, tolerated, minor, petty, insignificant, unimportant, remittable or remissible: That hypocrite considers even his most heinous crimes to be venial.
venom | venom: n. 1 poison, toxin: The snakes are ''milked'' of their venom, which is collected for research in antitoxins and pharmaceuticals. 2 malice, maliciousness, malevolence, ill will, malignity, animosity, hate, hatred, hostility, antagonism, spite, spitefulness, spleen, rancour, bitterness, embitteredness, gall, poison, poisonousness, virulence: Vinnie was totally unprepared for the venom of the attack.
venomous | venomous: adj. 1 poisonous, deadly, toxic, dangerous, life-threatening, lethal: There are few venomous snakes in the British Isles. 2 poisonous, virulent, malicious, malevolent, malign, malignant, savage, baleful, envenomed, hostile, antagonistic, spiteful, splenetic, acerbic, rancorous, bitter, embittered, mean, vicious: That venomous little man caused me to lose my job.
vent | vent: n. 1 opening, slit, slot, hole, aperture, air-hole, blow-hole, spiracle, orifice, outlet, inlet, funnel, flue, duct, passage; fumarole, fissure, pipe, mofette or moffette: The tepee has a vent at the peak to let the smoke of the fire escape. 2 give vent to. See 3, below. --v. 3 give vent to, express, verbalize, air, articulate, enunciate, declare, voice, announce, communicate, pronounce, proclaim, reveal, release, let go, let loose, allow to become known, make known, blurt out, make public, broadcast: Has Margie ever vented her true feelings about your work as a bomb disposal expert? Arnold vents his spleen on any unfortunate who will stand for it. 4 discharge, release, emit, eject, issue, empty, dump, expel, send or pour out or forth, throw out: It is illegal to vent poisonous fumes into the atmosphere.
venture | venture: n. 1 risk, chance, hazardous undertaking, experiment, speculation, gamble, plunge, fling: Their new publishing venture turned out to be quite a success. --v. 2 dare(say), make bold, hazard, volunteer, tender, offer, broach, advance, proffer, put forward: Ambrose ventured some nasty remark and was asked to leave. 3 jeopardize, risk, endanger, hazard, imperil; gamble, bet, wager, plunge, put down: Thomas ventured his last chip on the number four.
venturesome | venturesome: adj. 1 daring, bold, intrepid, adventurous, courageous, plucky, adventuresome, audacious, fearless, doughty, brave, spirited: Henderson felt that he was being truly venturesome by sailing single-handed round the Isle of Wight. 2 risky, rash, reckless, sporting, game, daredevil: Taking one''s family into the American West was truly a venturesome undertaking - even in the 20th century.
verbal | verbal: adj. 1 spoken, oral, vocal, said, uttered, expressed, enunciated, articulated, colloquial, conversational, viva voce, word-of-mouth, unwritten: We had a verbal agreement that you would behave yourself. 2 word-for-word, verbatim, literal: We have an accurate verbal transcript of the proceedings. 3 word, lexical, vocabulary: She did very well on the verbal parts of the examination but poorly on the mathematics.
verbatim | verbatim: adj. 1 word-for-word, verbatim et literatim (= ''word-for-word and letter for letter''), literal, exact, precise, accurate, faithful, strict: This verbatim translation may be accurate but all the poetic expressiveness is lost. --adv. 2 word for word, verbatim et literatim, literally, exactly, precisely, accurately, faithfully, to the letter, strictly: To make certain there would be no misunderstanding, the speech was copied verbatim.
verge� | verge�: n. 1 edge, border, boundary, margin, brink, threshold, brim: Frances is jealous of John to the verge of insanity. 2 on the verge of. about to, ready to, on the (very) point of, preparing to, soon to: Many smaller companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. --v. 3 Often, verge on. border (on), approach, come close or near (to), Technical be asymptotic to: Cathy''s idea of comfort verges on what is more commonly thought of as luxury. Her charitable contributions last year verged on zero.
verge� | verge�: v. incline, lean, tend, extend, stretch, turn; approach, draw, move: The road verges southwards after the bridge.
verify | verify: v. affirm, confirm, testify to, attest (to), bear witness to, vouch for, corroborate, support, substantiate, clinch or clench, prove, demonstrate, show, bear out, authenticate, validate, certify, guarantee, back up, warrant: Can you verify the accuracy of his testimony?
veritable | veritable: adj. real, true, virtual, genuine, actual, legitimate, authentic: Frank becomes a veritable monster if denied his daily doughnut.
vernacular | vernacular: adj. 1 native, local, regional, indigenous, autochthonous: Old Hebrew fell out of use, to be replaced by vernacular Aramaic. 2 popular, informal, colloquial, conversational, ordinary, familiar, everyday, spoken, vulgar, vulgate; plain, simple, straightforward, easy: We have both the vernacular and the formal, literary, or clerical levels of language. Can you translate this scientific gobbledegook into vernacular English that we can understand? --n. 3 jargon, patois, argot, cant, idiom, phraseology, language, talk, speech: Alf occasionally slips into the vernacular of a Billingsgate fishmonger (his former calling ) .
versatile | versatile: adj. 1 adaptable, resourceful, all-round, all-purpose, many-sided, multi-purpose, multifaceted, flexible, adjustable, protean, dexterous, handy, facile: Everett is a versatile painter who works in many media and styles. 2 variable, changeable, protean, changing, flexible, fluctuating: Any versatile organization should be able to accommodate staff losses.
versed | versed: adj. Usually, well-versed in. well-read or (well-)informed in or (well-)trained or (well-)grounded or (well-)schooled or (well-)educated or (well-)tutored or learned or cultured or lettered or cultivated or literate or competent or accomplished or skilled in, (well) posted on, knowledgeable in or about, proficient or experienced or practised or expert or good in or at, conversant or familiar or (well-)acquainted with: The applicant appears to be sufficiently well-versed in several subjects to be qualified to teach them.
version | version: n. 1 form, variant, variation, type, model, style, kind, variety, manifestation, portrayal, adaptation, rendition, interpretation, adaptation, construct, construction, conception, idea: This is yet another modern designer''s version of 1920s'' and 1930s'' art deco. 2 story, account, rendering, rendition, translation, interpretation, reading, understanding, view, side: Simon''s version of what happened is completely distorted.
vertex | vertex: n. top, tip, extremity, zenith, meridian, apogee, peak, apex, acme, summit, pinnacle, crest, crown, cap, height(s): The building is surmounted by a pyramidal dome at the vertex of which is a statue of Osiris.
vertigo | vertigo: n. dizziness, light-headedness, giddiness, instability, Colloq wooziness: Vertigo suddenly overcame me, and I grabbed a rail to steady myself.
verve | verve: n. spirit, vivacity, vivaciousness, vitality, life, liveliness, animation, sparkle, energy, vigour, exuberance, briskness, brio, esprit, �lan, dash, flair, panache, flourish, enthusiasm, zeal, zest, gusto, Colloq pizazz, zip, vim, get-up-and-go, zing, oomph: Helen''s verve adds much to this production of Carmen .
very | very: adv. 1 extremely, truly, really, to a great extent, exceedingly, greatly, (very) much, profoundly, deeply, acutely, unusually, extraordinarily, uncommonly, exceptionally, remarkably, absolutely, completely, entirely, altogether, totally, quite, rather, hugely, vastly, Dialect right, Brit jolly, Colloq damn(ed), terribly, awfully, darned, US dialect danged, plumb, Slang Brit bleeding , Chiefly Brit bloody: The Bell Inn has a very fine wine list. Vicky was very attached to her pony. I shall be there very soon. 2 most, extremely, certainly, surely, definitely, decidedly, unequivocally, unquestionably, quite, entirely, altogether: If you ask her out, she is very likely to say no. --adj. 3 exact, precise, perfect; same, selfsame, identical, particular: Her hopes were the very opposite of his. I arrived the very day she left. He is the very model of a hard-working student. 4 least, mere, merest, bare, barest, sheer, sheerest; utter, pure, simple: The very thought of war makes me ill. The very mention of her name strikes terror into the hearts of the local residents.
vessel | vessel: n. 1 container, receptacle, utensil, holder: Food was stored in vessels neatly arrayed around the sarcophagus. 2 craft, boat, ship, ark, Literary barque or US also bark: The vessel docked gently at the airlock of the space station.
vestige | vestige: n. trace, suggestion, soup�on, hint, glimmer, inkling, suspicion, sign, evidence, mark, token, scent, whiff, tinge, taste; remnant, scrap, fragment, memorial, residue, relic, remains: Vestiges of an ancient city have been found in the sea off Cyprus.
vestigial | vestigial: adj. imperfect, undeveloped, underdeveloped, rudimentary, incomplete: Anatomists regard the coccyx in man and apes as a vestigial tail.
vet | vet: v. examine, review, investigate, scrutinize, inspect, check (out), look over, scan; validate, authenticate; Colloq give (something or someone) the once-over, size up: We engaged an expert to vet the definitions of culinary terms for the new dictionary.
veteran | veteran: n. 1 old hand, past master, old-timer, trouper, Colloq warhorse: Barlow was a veteran of twenty years'' experience in the service. --adj. 2 experienced, practised, seasoned, mature, long-serving, battle-scarred: Did it never occur to this veteran politician that there are degrees of misconduct?
veto | veto: v. 1 stop, block, deny, ban, turn down, reject, disallow, rule out, quash, prevent, prohibit, interdict, taboo, outlaw, proscribe, preclude, Colloq put the kibosh on, kill, nix: Father vetoed the idea that we go to Brighton for the holiday. Any measure he proposed was summarily vetoed. --n. 2 denial, ban, stoppage, block, embargo, turn-down, rejection, disallowance, quashing, prevention, prohibition, interdiction, taboo, proscription, preclusion, vetoing, Colloq killing, nixing: The home secretary''s veto of the abortion measure greatly angered the women''s groups.
