verifiable (VER i FY i bl) adj.capable of being proven true; ascertainible- For an alibi to be any good, it must be verifiable.
- While Jack Benny’s age was clearly verifiable(he was born in 1894 and died
in 1974), he claimed to have been 39 for 41 years.
[verifiably adv.]
verisimilitude(ver i si MIL i tood) n. 1. the appearance of being true or real;
- something having the appearance of being true or real
- The best cubic zirconiums have a verisimilitudethat would fool all but an
experienced gem expert into thinking they were diamonds. - Often, a verisimilitudeis a truth, but if something appears to be too good to
be true, then it probably is.
[Syn. truth]
verity (VER i tee) n. 1. conforming to the truth or fact; reality; 2. a principle or
belief; a reality - A skeptic does not believe anything he hears unless he can confirm its verity.
- It is a veritythat men and women are different.
[Syn. truth]
vestige (VES tij) n. 1. remaining trace of something no longer used or that no
longer exists; 2. a trace; a bit; 3. an atrophied or rudimentary organ more fully
developed in earlier forms of a species - The human appendix is a vestige,thought to be from the time when our
main source of protein was insects. - A con man would never succeed in conning his mark, unless the story he
told had some vestigeof truth. - Apes and humans have vestigesof tails, suggesting that some earlier ances-
tors probably were tailed.
[vestigial adj., vestgially adv.]
vex (VEKS) vt. 1. to disturb, annoy, irritate, especially in a petty or nagging way;
- to distress, afflict, or plague
- Ian questioned everything he was asked to do, just to vexhis parents.
- Melissa found it vexingthat two-year-old Sebastian listened carefully to what
she wanted him to do, smiled at her, and then did whatever he wanted. - Marge continued to be vexedby her rheumatism.
[-ed, -ing] [Syn. annoy]
vicarious(vy KAR ee uhs) adj. 1. taking the place of another as a deputy or a
stand-in; substituting for another; 2. imagining participation in another’s activity - The deputy sheriff acts with the vicariouspowers of the sheriff when he
forms a posse. - When Jill told Fran of her exciting ride down the rapids of the Colorado
River, Fran experienced a vicariousthrill.
[-ly adv.]
236 Essential Vocabulary