Page 349 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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verbosity (ver BAHS i tee) n. wordiness; long-windedness; having an excess of
words
• The professor’s verbosity made it difficult for some of his students to decide
what was important and what was not.
• Verbosity has been a trait of many politicians, but they wait until after
they’re elected to exhibit it.
[Syn. wordiness]
veritable (VER i ti bul) adj. in effect or practically, although not actually
• Karen had a veritable treasure trove of World’s Fair memorabilia in her attic
and basement.
• Victor prepared a veritable smorgasbord of meats and cheeses for his guests.
[veritably adv.] [Syn. virtual]
vindictive (vin DIK tiv) adj. 1. seeking revenge; in the spirit of revenge; 2. acting
to seek vengeance
• The judge tried not to be vindictive in deciding the felon’s sentence.
• Because Sean had suffered defeat at the hands of his opponent once before,
he vowed to be vindictive in the rematch.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. vengeful]
virtual (VOER tyoo uhl) adj. 1. being as if, but not actual (for example, virtual
reality or a computer’s virtual memory); 2. taking place in cyberspace
• Being able to get bleacher seats at Shea Stadium for a weekday afternoon
game is a virtual cinch.
• When running a memory-hungry computer program, virtual memory
makes temporary use of disk space when enough real memory is
unavailable.
• E-Bay provides a department-store experience in virtual shopping.
[-ly adv., -ity n.]
viscid (VIS id) adj. 1. having a cohesive, sticky, liquid consistency; viscous;
2. covered by a viscid substance
• Chocolate syrup is a viscid substance.
• When Jack picked up the jar and felt the viscid texture on his hand, it took
a moment for him to figure out that the honey had leaked.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. viscous]
vituperative (vi TOO per uh tiv) adj. berating; speaking abusively to or about
• Walter was vituperative in his description of his working conditions and his
boss.
• When Harold spoke to Maude, he was very angry and did so in a vituperative
manner.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. scolding]
wistful (WIST ful) adj. expressing or showing vague yearnings; longing
thoughtfully
• Lloyd was wistful for the days when he didn’t have to work for a living.
• Liza had wistful feelings for her childhood home in Iowa.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. yearning]