vocation (voh KAY shin) n. 1. a calling to enter a certain career; 2. any career,
profession, or trade
- Eric’s vocationas a beachcomber was sealed from the moment his mother
bought him the comb. - Everyone should have some vocationor a railroad car full of money.
vociferously(voh SIF oer is lee) adv. 1. loudly making one’s feelings known;
- characteristically making a fuss to be sure of being heard
- The crow cawed vociferously,as if complaining about the screen separating
it from the cherry pie. - The crowd vociferouslyyelled at the center fielder to throw the ball to home
plate.
[vociferous adj., vociferousness n.] [Syn. clamorously, stridently, boisterously]
vulgar(VUHL goer) adj. 1. common; popular with the great majority of people;
- in the vernacular; 3. characterized by lack of culture or refinement; boorish
- Certain computer terms like RAM and ROM have found their way into
vulgarusage. - VulgarLatin was quite different from the Latin used in literature.
- Richard’s wearing jeans to the opera last Thursday was rather vulgar,in
Karen’s opinion.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. coarse, common]
ward(WAWRD) vt. to fend off; parry; push aside or away —n. 1. the act of
guarding; 2. the state of being under guard; 3. a child or other person placed under
the guardianship of another or of a court; 4. each of the parts or divisions of a
hospital or a jail; 5. an administrative district of a city or town - The sun tried to wardoff the winter cold.
- The guard was wardover the second floor.
- The class was the wardof the school while in the building.
- By order of the court, Burt Ward was made Bruce Wayne’s ward.
- The hospital had a maternity wardand a prison ward,which some would
say are one and the same. - The congressman was elected to represent the third ward.
[-ed, -ing]
whereas(wair AZ) conj. 1. it being the case that; because; 2. but, on the other
hand; 3. in as much as - Whereasyou already have the umbrella, why don’t you open it?
- You have the steering wheel, whereasI have the car key.
- Whereastomorrow is your birthday, let’s party today.
whimsical(WIM zi kil) adj. 1. characterized by capriciousness; 2. oddly extraor-
dinary; fanciful; freakish; 3. unpredictable; subject to change - Artist Peter Max is known for his whimsicalcartoons.
- Teresa took a whimsicalnotion to jump into the Pacific Ocean.
- We’d love to tell you what the bus schedule is, but as far as we can tell, it’s
purely whimsical,depending on the driver’s inclination.
[-ly adv.]
U – Z: SAT Words 239