verbosity(ver BAHS i tee) n. wordiness; long-windedness; having an excess of
words
- The professor’s verbositymade it difficult for some of his students to decide
what was important and what was not. - Verbosityhas 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 veritablesmorgasbord 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 vindictivein deciding the felon’s sentence.
- Because Sean had suffered defeat at the hands of his opponent once before,
he vowed to be vindictivein 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 virtualcinch. - When running a memory-hungry computer program,virtualmemory
makes temporary use of disk space when enough real memory is
unavailable. - E-Bay provides a department-store experience in virtualshopping.
[-ly adv., -ity n.]
viscid(VIS id) adj. 1. having a cohesive, sticky, liquid consistency; viscous;
- covered by a viscid substance
- Chocolate syrup is a viscidsubstance.
- When Jack picked up the jar and felt the viscidtexture 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 vituperativein 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 wistfulfor the days when he didn’t have to work for a living.
- Liza had wistfulfeelings for her childhood home in Iowa.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. yearning]
340 Essential Vocabulary