nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: unlike Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English unliken, unlyken, equivalent to un- + like. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈlaɪk/ 1. The act of withdrawing one's like from a post on social media. Labels: Internet Example: Getting an unlike for every 20 likes is common and not something you need to be losing sleep over. Example: On Facebook, users can also hide anyone in their network, including companies, from their News Feed, which is worse than an unlike, as brands cannot measure how many people still like them but have hidden their status updates […]
Word: unlikely Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English unlykely, unlikly, unlykly, unlicli. By surface analysis, un- + likely. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈlaɪkli/ 1. Not likely; improbable; not to be reasonably expected. Example: It is pretty unlikely that you'll win, but I will pray that at least you do well. Example: In the highly unlikely event of landing in water, lifejackets are stored under the seat. 2. Not holding out a prospect of success; likely to fail; unpromising. Example: unlikely means
Word: unlikely Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Middle English unlykely, unlikly, unlykly, unlicli. By surface analysis, un- + likely. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈlaɪkli/ 1. In an improbable manner.
Word: unlikely Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English unlykely, unlikly, unlykly, unlicli. By surface analysis, un- + likely. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈlaɪkli/ 1. Something or somebody considered unlikely. Example: The molecular ion candidates are divided by the testing phase into three categories: rejects, unlikelies, and probables. Differences between each candidate and the prominent peaks in the spectrum are computed. Example: "Here is my every possible phone number, plus a few unlikelies. And I've also put down the numbers of Karin and Wade, in case you've lost them. Karin can come anytime; Wade, up until six in the morning."
Word: unnerve Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-West Germanic *anda- Old English and- Old English on- Middle English on- English un- English nerve English unnerve From un- + nerve. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈnɜː(ɹ)v/ 1. To deprive of nerve, force, or strength; to weaken; to enfeeble. Compare enervate. Example: to unnerve the arm 2. To make somebody nervous, upset, alarm, shake the resolve of. Example: I was greatly unnerved by the news that my attacker was back in the country. Example: But new immigration is no longer the primary driver of the growing racial, ethnic and religious diversity that unnerves much of the GOP coalition.
Word: unripe Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old English unrīpe. Equivalent to un- + ripe. 1. Not ripe. Example: unripe fruit 2. Developing too early; premature.
Word: unseam Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From un- + seam. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsiːm/, /ʌnˈsim/, /ɐnˈsiːm/ 1. To open the seam or seams of; to rip; to cut open. Labels: transitive Example: Till he unseam'd him from the nave to th' chaps, and fix'd his head upon our battlements.
Word: unseat Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From un- (suffix meaning ‘not’) + seat (“to provide with a place to sit”). Pronunciation: /(ˌ)ʌnˈsiːt/, /ˌʌnˈsit/ 1. To dislodge or remove (someone) from a seat, especially on horseback. Labels: transitive Example: The frightened horse reared up and unseated its rider. Example: I was unseated from my bike after hitting an unexpected pothole. 2. To remove (someone) from an office or position, especially a political one; to dethrone. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: After having lost her seat to a Tory, she succeeded in unseating him in the next general election. Example: India has recently unseated China as the world’s most populous country. 3. To cause (something) to be removed or replaced in its role; to displace, to overturn. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: The Michelson-Morley experiment prompted scientists to unseat their belief in the luminiferous aether. Example: Printed newspapers are gradually being unseated by digital publications. 4. To upset the composure of (someone); to astound, to shock, to unsettle. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: The Matrix (1999) utterly unseated audiences around the world with its mind-blowing plot twist. Example: I was somewhat unseated by the strange noises outside my window. 5. To come off or out of a seat. Labels: intransitive Example: We replaced the screws, since the old ones unseated too easily. Example: When the feed-valve unseats, air begins to enter the train line and the black hand moves up; […]
Word: unseen Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English unsen, unseyn, unseien, from Old English unġesewen, from Proto-Germanic *unsewanaz, equivalent to un- + seen. Cognate with Dutch ongezien (“unseen”), German Low German unsehn (“unseen”), German ungesehen (“unseen”). Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsiːn/ 1. Not seen or discovered; invisible. Labels: not-comparable Example: You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream. Example: Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto. 2. Unskilled; inexperienced. Labels: not-comparable 3. Not hitherto noticed; unobserved. Labels: not-comparable Example: I to the world am like a drop of water That in the ocean seeks another drop, Who, falling there to find his fellow forth, Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself. Example: The advent of COVID passports, so soon after increased check-in bureaucracy post-Brexit, brought major logistical ramifications to St Pancras International, of a kind unseen at any other major station in Britain.
Word: unseen Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree English un- Arabic سِين (sīn)bor. English seen English unseen From un- + seen. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsiːn/ 1. past participle of unsee Labels: form-of, participle, past Example: What has been seen cannot be unseen.
Word: unseen Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English un- Arabic سِين (sīn)bor. English seen English unseen From un- + seen. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsiːn/ 1. An examination involving material not previously seen or studied. Example: I have French and Latin unseens this summer.
Word: unset Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English set English unset From un- + set. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsɛt/ 1. Not set; not fixed or appointed. Labels: not-comparable 2. Not mounted or placed in a setting. Labels: not-comparable 3. Not set. Labels: not-comparable Example: an unset broken bone 4. Not planted. Labels: not-comparable Example: And many maiden gardens, yet unset With virtuous wish would bear your living flowers 5. uncongealed, unconsolidated Labels: not-comparable Example: unset concrete; unset cement
Word: unset Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English set English unset From un- + set. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈsɛt/ 1. To make not set. Labels: transitive Example: to unset a single bit in a binary pattern
Word: unsheathe Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From un- + sheathe. 1. To deprive of a sheath; to draw from the sheath or scabbard, as a sword. Example: When I unsheathe the blade, it makes such a satisfying sound that I do it again. Example: Yes, Europe shared many of the concerns that had prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to unsheathe the tariff sword and seek to reshape trade with China.
Word: unsound Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English sound English unsound From un- + sound. Pronunciation: /ˌʌnˈsaʊnd/ 1. Not sound Example: unsound mind Example: In the ensuing financial panic, many persons sustained heavy losses, and large numbers of unsound schemes succumbed. 2. Not sound Labels: especially Example: ... A horse labouring under a temporary injury, capable of being speedily cured, is not unsound within the meaning of a warranty of soundness ... 3. Not sound Labels: UK, especially Example: You would not like Nietzsche, sir. He is fundamentally unsound.
Word: untie Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English untien, unteyen, untyȝen, untiȝen, from Old English untīġan (“to untie”), equivalent to un- + tie. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈtaɪ/ 1. To loosen, as something interlaced or knotted; to disengage the parts of. Labels: transitive Example: to untie a knot Example: Haſt thou the pretty vvorme of Nylus [an asp] there, / That killes and paines not? / […] / Come thou mortal vvretch, / VVith thy ſharpe teeth this knot intrinſicate, / Of life at once vntye: Poore venomous Foole, / Be angry, and diſpatch. 2. To free from fastening or from restraint; to let loose; to unbind. Labels: transitive Example: Though you untie the winds, and let them fight / Against the churches. Example: All the evils of an untied tongue we put upon the accounts of drunkenness. 3. To resolve; to unfold; to clear. Example: They quicken sloth, perplexities untie. 4. To become untied or loosed. Labels: intransitive 5. In the Perl programming language, to undo the process of tying, so that a variable uses default instead of custom functionality. Labels: transitive Example: After you finish with the INI file, all you need to do is untie the hash. Then you really are finished!
Word: untold Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old English unteald (“not counted or reckoned”), from tellan (“count, relate, tell”). Pronunciation: /ʌnˈtəʊld/, /ʌnˈtoʊld/, /anˈtəʉld/ 1. Not told; not related; not revealed; secret. Labels: not-comparable Example: As Royal Engineers General Mungo Melvin, who has been helping with the draft, put it: "This is the last untold story of the Normandy Invasion." 2. Not numbered or counted. Labels: not-comparable Example: Huge swaths of Port-au-Prince lay in ruins, and thousands of people were feared dead in the rubble. Example: More importantly, there is an untold multitude of Indian English terms that have never been given lexicographical treatment in any dictionary. 3. Not able to be counted, measured, told, expressed in words, or described; extremely large in scale, number, quantity, suffering, damage, etc.; uncountable, unmeasurable, immeasurable, indescribable, inexpressible. Labels: not-comparable Example: The South propose to found a Government on servile labor, not as it originally was an accident and an incident, but as the degrading and disgraceful foundation of a Government, and to such a Government as this the Chicago platform offer an armistice, and ask the American men to beg to it for peace. He closed with an appeal to all -- to those at the loom and at the plow, in the army and in the navy, in the workshop and in the counting room to spurn forever from their recognition and their confidence the base men who would not only degrade and disgrace the party they pretend to represent, but would also bring untold disgrace and dishonor upon our country and our flag. Example: Trains are kept on the move in circumstances when, for example, a fifteen-minute hold-up to carry out a repair task at one attempt would cause untold upset to a service running at close intervals.
Word: unwell Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English well English unwell From un- + well. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈwɛl/ 1. Not in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill Example: feel unwell 2. Specifically, ill from menstruation; affected with, or having, catamenial; menstruant. Labels: dated, euphemistic
Word: unwilling Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English willing English unwilling From un- + willing. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ/ 1. Not willing; reluctant Example: an unwilling servant Example: We are unwilling to restore his previous privileges after his betrayal of our trust.
Word: unwrap Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English unwrappen, equivalent to un- + wrap. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈɹæp/ 1. To open or undo, as what is wrapped or folded. Labels: transitive Example: For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten. Example: Soon the plate was full of wingless bats and batless wings. He covered the plate of broken bats and quickly unwrapped the plate of cat cookies. Snap, snap, snap went their tails. Snap, snap, snap went their legs. 2. To become unwrapped. Labels: intransitive 3. To remove word wrap from. Labels: transitive Example: Use the SHIFT key to unwrap text. 4. To flatten (a three-dimensional model) into a two-dimensional plane. Labels: transitive
Word: unwrap Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English unwrappen, equivalent to un- + wrap. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈɹæp/ 1. An act of unwrapping. Example: Each of us, content within / this yuletide season we begin, / the cheerfulness of eager voices, / at each unwrap, a child rejoices.
Word: uproot Part of Speech: verb Etymology: PIE word *wréh₂ds From up- (prefix indicating a higher direction or position) + root (“to tear up by the roots; (figuratively) to remove forcibly from a place; to eradicate, exterminate”, verb). Root is derived from root (“underground part of a plant”, noun), from Middle English rote, from Old English rōt, rōte, from Old Norse rót, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”). Pronunciation: /ˌʌpˈɹuːt/, /ˌʌpˈɹut/ 1. To tear up (a plant, etc.) by the roots, or as if by the roots; to extirpate, to root up. Labels: transitive Example: Mark me! the Lord's hand is stretched out, and will not be withdrawn until his nest be turned up, even as the plough uprooteth and scattereth the nest of the field-mouse and the blind mole; […] Example: [S]he and Mr. Joseph Tuggs, and Miss Charlotta Tuggs, and Mr. Cymon Tuggs, with their eight feet in a corresponding number of yellow shoes, seated themselves on four rush-bottomed chairs, which, being placed in a soft part of the sand, forthwith sunk down some two feet and a half. […] Mr. Cymon, by an exertion of great personal strength, uprooted the chairs, and removed them further back. 2. To destroy (something) utterly; to eradicate, exterminate. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: [B]ravely bearing on, thy will / Is destined an eternal war to wage / With tyranny and falshood, and uproot / The germs of misery from the human heart. Example: For, having his mind set upon righteousness, and casting away maliciousness, he straightway overthroweth the evil, and uprooteth the sin. 3. To remove (someone or something) from a familiar circumstance, especially suddenly and unwillingly. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: [H]ave ye a Sultan who ruleth over you and is tyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you are; one who, if any of you commit an offence, taketh his goods and ruineth him and who, whenas he will, turneth you out of house and home and uprooteth you, stock and branch? Example: The Anglification of Scotland has been proceeding apace to the damage of its education, its music, its literature, its genius, and the generation that is growing up under this influence is uprooted from its past, and, being deprived of the inspiration of its nationality, is also deprived of its communal sense. 4. Of oneself or someone: to move away from a familiar environment (for example, to live elsewhere). Labels: intransitive, reflexive
Word: uproot Part of Speech: noun Etymology: PIE word *wréh₂ds From up- (prefix indicating a higher direction or position) + root (“to tear up by the roots; (figuratively) to remove forcibly from a place; to eradicate, exterminate”, verb). Root is derived from root (“underground part of a plant”, noun), from Middle English rote, from Old English rōt, rōte, from Old Norse rót, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”). Pronunciation: /ˌʌpˈɹuːt/, /ˌʌpˈɹut/ 1. The act of uprooting something. Example: With the uproot of the Chinese commercial system in the 1890s such a crisis was bound to surface.
Word: uproot Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From up- (prefix indicating a higher direction or position) + root (“of a pig or other animal: to dig or turn up with the snout; to search as if by digging in soil, rummage”, verb). Root is derived from Middle English wroten (“to dig or turn up with the snout; to remove soil, dig up”), from Old English wrōtan (“to dig or turn up with the snout”), from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną (“to dig or turn up with the snout”); further etymology uncertain. Pronunciation: /ˌʌpˈɹuːt/, /ˌʌpˈɹut/ 1. Of a pig or other animal: to dig up (something in the ground) using the snout; to rummage for (something) in the ground; to grub up, to root, to rout. Labels: transitive
Word: urgency Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From urgent + -ency or Latin urgentia. Pronunciation: /ˈɜː.d͡ʒən.si/, /ˈɝ.d͡ʒən.si/ 1. The quality or condition of being urgent. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: the urgency of a demand Example: Arsenal lacked urgency and inspiration until shortly before half-time, Wheater's block denying Van Persie from close range before Walcott drilled wide. 2. Insistence, pressure, urge. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I have this sudden urgency to use the toilet. 3. A sudden and compelling need to urinate that is difficult to defer, associated with conditions such as urinary tract infections and overactive bladder. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: vassal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas). Pronunciation: /ˈvæsəl/ 1. The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service. Labels: historical Example: The manor's vassals owed first fruits and a tithe to the parish church, another 10% to the lord (including at least 50 eels), a week or two each year of service in the manor's upkeep, and service in the local fyrd. Example: It was superimposed on rules of conduct evolved at an earlier date as the spontaneous expression of class consciousness; rules that pertained to the fealty of vassals (the transition appears clearly, towards the end of the eleventh century, in the Book of the Christian Life by Bishop Bonizo of Sutri, for whom the knight is, first and foremost, an enfeoffed vassal ) and constituted above all a class code of noble and 'courteous' people. 2. Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior. Labels: historical Example: The king ordered his vassals to join him on the crusade unless they had a written note signed by the archbishop or pope. 3. Any subordinate bound by similar close ties. Labels: figuratively Example: The vassals of his anger.
Word: vassal Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas). Pronunciation: /ˈvæsəl/ 1. Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile. Labels: not-comparable Example: Did they, quoth you? / Who sees the heavenly Rosaline / That, like a rude and savage man of Inde / At the first opening of the gorgeous east / Bows not his vassal head and strucken blind / Kisses the base ground with obedient breast?
Word: vassal Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas). Pronunciation: /ˈvæsəl/ 1. To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave. Labels: transitive 2. To subordinate to someone or something. Labels: transitive
Word: veal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English veel, from Anglo-Norman veel, from Latin vitellus, diminutive of vitulus (“calf”). Doublet of vitellus. Pronunciation: /viːl/ 1. The flesh of a calf (i.e. a young bovine) used for food. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. The female genitalia. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
Word: veal Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English veel, from Anglo-Norman veel, from Latin vitellus, diminutive of vitulus (“calf”). Doublet of vitellus. Pronunciation: /viːl/ 1. To raise a calf for meat production. Example: The division outside the vealing place is for a cow that has had or is near having calf. Example: It was about the size of a vealed calf, but shorter in the legs, and much longer in the body.
Word: vedette Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Italian vedettabor. French vedettebor. English vedette Borrowed from French vedette. Pronunciation: /vɪˈdɛt/, /vəˈdɛt/ 1. A sentinel, usually on horseback, stationed on the outpost of an army, to watch an enemy and give notice of danger. Labels: historical Example: The enemy made no effort to pursue Marshal Blücher. On the contrary, a patrole which I sent to Sombref in the morning found all quiet; and the enemy's vedettes fell back as the patrole advanced. Example: My goal was Desolation Peak, the cabin where rookie vedette Jack Kerouac spent 63 eventful days in the summer of 1956. 2. A cabaret performer, usually the main female artist of a show. Example: Josephine Baker arrived in Cuba in 1951. When this famous black American vedette arrived—she who had first enraptured Paris and later the rest of Europe—Rita Montaner played a trick on her. La Baker, as well as Cuban vedettes and rumba dancers, had conquered Europe by selling exoticism to an avid European public.
Word: veil Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile. Pronunciation: /veɪl/ 1. Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. Example: The veil of the temple was rent in twain. Example: She, as a veil down to the slender waist, / Her unadorned golden tresses wore. 2. Anything that partially obscures a clear view. Labels: figuratively Example: Above the smoky veil over the town rose Akerhus fort, with its towers standing out in sharp relief against the mirror of the fjord, beyond where the Nœs point loomed as a black shadow. 3. A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. Example: [I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page. Example: Beckett complains that "in the forest of symbols" there is never quiet, and longs to break through the veil of language to silence. 4. A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) Example: a nun's veil Example: a paten veil 5. The calyptra of mosses. 6. velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa). 7. A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom. 8. A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum. Example: The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil; the spores are white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap. 9. An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation. 10. That which separates the living and the spirit world. Labels: figuratively Example: "I have heard most furious bigots talking through the veil." "So have I, for that matter," said Malone, "and in this very room."
Word: veil Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile. Pronunciation: /veɪl/ 1. To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. Labels: transitive Example: I'm under surface Towers veiled in silk I guess I'm not welcome In this house they built 2. To conceal as with a veil. Labels: transitive Example: The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.
Word: verbena Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Latin verbēna (“leaves or twigs of olive, myrtle, laurel, or other sacred plants employed in religious ceremonies”), from Proto-Indo-European *werbʰ-. Doublet of vervain, via French. Pronunciation: /vɚˈbinə/, /vɜːˈbiːnə/ 1. Verbena, a genus of herbaceous plants of which several species are extensively cultivated for the great beauty of their flowers; vervain. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Linda pulled a piece of verbena and crumpled it, and held her hands to her mother. - Example: Hidden behind a large stone urn full of verbena, Dottie watched as her enemy greeted Johnny at the door.
Word: vestal Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin Vestālis. Pronunciation: /ˈvɛs.t(ə)l/ 1. Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth. Labels: not-comparable 2. Pure; chaste. Labels: not-comparable Example: Does money fail?—come to my mint—coin paper, Till gold be at a discount, and ashamed To show his bilious face, go purge himself, In emulation of her vestal whiteness.
Word: vestal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin Vestālis. Pronunciation: /ˈvɛs.t(ə)l/ 1. A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar; a vestal virgin. 2. A female virgin; a woman who has never had sexual relations. 3. A nun.
Word: vestige Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French vestige, from Latin vestīgium (“footstep, footprint, track, the sole of the foot, a trace, mark”). Doublet of vestigium. Pronunciation: /ˈvɛs.tɪd͡ʒ/ 1. A mark left on the earth by a foot. 2. A faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present. Labels: broadly Example: the vestiges of ancient magnificence in Palmyra Example: vestiges of former population 3. A vestigial organ; a non-functional organ or body part that was once functional in an evolutionary ancestor. Example: Any person seeing such a condition could not help being frightened at the conditions found, and it seems to me that that fact should lead us to think that the appendix is a vestige or becoming so. Example: Now this paired organ of Jacobsen began in reptiles and is well developed in many mammals. But in man it is a vestige, often disappearing altogether; and the two openings are closed. 4. The remaining portion of a partially suppressed sideband. Example: [J]ust a trace, or vestige, of the other sideband is included. In the receiver detection circuitry the vestige of the lower sideband is added to the upper sideband.
Word: vestigial Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin vestīgium + -al. By surface analysis, vestige + -ial. Pronunciation: /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒɪəl/, /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒəl/ 1. Of or pertaining to a vestige or remnant; like a trace from the past. Labels: not-comparable 2. Not fully developed in mature animals. Labels: not-comparable 3. Of a vestigial structure; that has lost all or most of its original function in the course of evolution. Labels: not-comparable Example: Remnants of the vascular supply of lost organs may be present in the tissues of the receptacle when all external evidence of the organs has disappeared. Only rarely does the vascular supply of a vestigial organ disappear while external remnants are still present.
Word: vestigial Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Latin vestīgium + -al. By surface analysis, vestige + -ial. Pronunciation: /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒɪəl/, /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒəl/ 1. A small, degenerate, or imperfectly developed part or organ which has been more fully developed in some past generation.
Word: vicariously Part of Speech: adv Etymology: Etymology tree English vicarious Middle English -ly English -ly English vicariously From vicarious + -ly (adverbial suffix). Pronunciation: /vaɪ̯ˈkɜɹ.i.əs.li/, /vɪ-/ 1. In a vicarious manner; indirectly; as, by, or through a substitute; by proxy. Labels: not-comparable Example: Mr. Miller argues convincingly that a majority of Americans shared the romantic nationalism of such expansionists as Theodore Roosevelt and Sen. Albert Beveridge and participated vicariously in their dreams of martial glory and expanding markets.
Word: vignette Part of Speech: noun Etymology: First attested in 1751. From French vignette, diminutive of vigne (“vine”), from Latin vīnea, from vīnum (“wine”). Replaced earlier Middle English vynet. Pronunciation: /vɪnˈjɛt/ 1. A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture. 2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position. Example: The centrality of this particular trope can been seen in the vignette adorning the opening page of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1751–1752). 3. Any small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge. Labels: broadly 4. A short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture. Labels: broadly Example: A particular classroom incident, and the vignette I used to portray it, had a significant impact on the interpretative framework for my research into scientific literacy. Example: I have two favourite vignettes from the voting lobbies on Wednesday night. The first is the news that one minister told the Tory chief whip, Julian Smith: “You don’t know what you’re doing,” to which Smith replied, “I do know what I’m doing”. 5. The central pictorial image on a postage stamp. Example: At the top of the stamp and centered slightly to the right is the wording, “U. S. Postage,” in white Gothic. Below the vignette are the words, “Little White House,” in quotations, with “Warm Springs,” centered directly below in dark Gothic, […] 6. The characteristic of a camera lens, either by deficiency in design or by mismatch of the lens with the film format, that produces an image smaller than the film's frame with a crudely focused border. Photographers may deliberately choose this characteristic for a special effect. 7. Any effect in a photographic picture where qualities vanish towards the edges. Example: Liz Brent, broker at Go Brent in Maryland and Washington, DC, said she’s spent the past few months changing how she presents properties by emphasizing photographs, 3-D tours, and video vignettes for homes online. 8. A hardware deficiency (even occurring in most expensive models) of a computer display wherein the picture slants towards a colour or brightness towards the edges especially if viewed from an angle. 9. A small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen to indicate that tolls have been paid. Example: In order to drive on Bulgarian roads outside Sofia you'll need to purchase a vignette which must be displayed in the windscreen.
Word: vignette Part of Speech: verb Etymology: First attested in 1751. From French vignette, diminutive of vigne (“vine”), from Latin vīnea, from vīnum (“wine”). Replaced earlier Middle English vynet. Pronunciation: /vɪnˈjɛt/ 1. To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge gradually fading away. Example: Long minutes afterwards the sun disclosed itself, high above the earth's rim, over a vignetted bank of edgeless mist. Example: Along the wainscot lie heaps of bolsters and quilts, covered with old-fashioned chintzes. Before the War these chintzes were specially made in Russia for the Central Asian market: one bolster depicts steamships, early motor-cars, and the first aeroplane, vignetted in circles of flowers on a vermilion background.
Word: vilayet Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Ottoman Turkish ولایت (vilayet, “province”), from Arabic وِلَايَة (wilāya, “province, administration”). Doublet of wilaya, wilayat, and Blighty. Pronunciation: /ˌvɪləˈjɛt/ 1. A province, particularly (historical) the first-level administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire.
Word: vinaigrette Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from French vinaigrette. Sense 4 (“type of Russian salad”) is a semantic loan from Russian винегре́т (vinegrét), whence also the doublet vinegret. Pronunciation: /vɪnəˈɡɹɛt/ 1. A sauce, made of an acidic liquid such as vinegar or lemon juice; oil; and other ingredients, used as a salad dressing, or as a marinade for cold meats. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. A small perforated box for holding aromatic vinegar contained in a sponge, or a smelling bottle for smelling salts Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Lady Selina smells at her vinaigrette, and replies in her softest, affectedest, civilest, and crushingest manner— "Poor—DEAR—OLD MAN!" 3. A small, two-wheeled vehicle, like a litter, to be drawn or pushed by a person. They were used in France until the late 18th century. Labels: countable, historical, uncountable 4. Alternative form of vinegret (“type of Russian salad”). Labels: alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable
Word: vindicate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from Latin vindicātus, perfect passive participle of vindicō (“lay legal claim to something; set free; protect, avenge, punish”), from vim, accusative singular of vīs (“force, power”), + dīcō (“say; declare, state”). See avenge. Pronunciation: /ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪ̯t/, [ˈvɪndɪˌkʰeɪ̯t] 1. To clear of an accusation, suspicion or criticism. Labels: transitive Example: to vindicate someone's honor Example: As a man of vision, he understood this. Without Cerberus, humanity was doomed to an existence of groveling subservience at the feet of alien masters. Still, there were those who would call what he did criminal. Unethical. Amoral. History would vindicate him, but until it did he and his followers were forced to exist in hiding, working toward their goals in secret. 2. To justify by providing evidence. Labels: transitive Example: to vindicate a right, claim or title Example: The Ukrainians immediately demanded a goal and their claims were vindicated as replays showed the ball crossed the line before Terry's intervention. 3. To maintain or defend (a cause) against opposition. Labels: transitive Example: to vindicate the rights of labor movement in developing countries Example: When Trump's election pulled back the curtain on the rise of the far-right in America, I'd naively assumed the Jewish left would be vindicated. 4. To be proven reasonable, correct, or justified. Labels: transitive 5. To provide justification for. Labels: transitive Example: The violent history of the suspect vindicated the use of force by the police. 6. To lay claim to; to assert a right to; to claim. Labels: transitive 7. To liberate; to set free; to deliver. Labels: obsolete, transitive 8. To avenge; to punish. Labels: obsolete, transitive Example: a war to vindicate infidelity
Word: volcanic Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From French volcanique, from volcan (“volcano”); and/or directly from volcan(o) + -ic. Pronunciation: /vɒlˈkænɪk/, /vɔlˈkænɪk/, /vɑlˈkænɪk/ 1. Of or pertaining to a volcano or volcanoes. Labels: not-comparable Example: volcanic heat Example: volcanic activity 2. Produced by a volcano, or, more generally, by igneous agencies. Labels: not-comparable Example: volcanic tufa Example: volcanic ash 3. Changed or affected by the heat of a volcano. Labels: not-comparable 4. Reminiscent of a volcano; explosive, violent, full of suppressed anger, energy etc. Labels: figuratively, not-comparable Example: Jo rose indignified, Vanessa following in her volcanic wake. Example: With that the system was complete, and ready to have its disastrous effect on Martin Luther's volcanic temper.
Word: volcanic Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French volcanique, from volcan (“volcano”); and/or directly from volcan(o) + -ic. Pronunciation: /vɒlˈkænɪk/, /vɔlˈkænɪk/, /vɑlˈkænɪk/ 1. A volcanic rock. Example: The Ellesmere Island Volcanics are a Late Cretaceous volcanic group of volcanoes and lava flows in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada.
Word: voluminous Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Late Latin voluminosus, from volumen, from volvō (“roll, turn about”) + -men (noun-forming suffix). Related to volume. Pronunciation: /vəˈl(j)uː.mɪ.nəs/, /vəˈlu.mə.nəs/ 1. Of or pertaining to volume or volumes. 2. Consisting of many folds, coils, or convolutions. Example: I remember that the Baroness was clad in a voluminous silk dress, pale grey in colour, and adorned with flounces and a crinoline and train. Example: Like the Cuscus of the Moluccas, the Galeopithecus feeds chiefly on leaves, and possesses a very voluminous stomach and long convoluted intestines. The brain is very small, and the animal possesses such remarkable tenacity of life, that it is exceedingly difficult to kill it by any ordinary means. 3. Of great volume, or bulk; large. Example: Matters of a much more extraordinary kind are to be the subject of this history, or I should grossly mis-spend my time in writing so voluminous a work […] 4. Having written much, or produced many volumes. Example: a voluminous writer
Word: volunteer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer. Pronunciation: /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/, /ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/, /-ˈtɪɚ/, /ˌvɒlənˈtɪɹ/, /ˌvɔlənˈtɪə/ 1. One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay. Example: The volunteers at the nature reserve meet up ever other Sunday to help its upkeep. Example: The largest age group for volunteers was 35-44, the CNCS survey said, and volunteers were most likely to be parents with children under 18. The typical volunteer may live in Utah, which ranked first in the percentage of people who said they volunteered among all 50 states and Washington, DC. 2. One who enters into military service voluntarily (but who, when in service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers), as opposed to a conscript. 3. A voluntary member of the organized militia of a country, as distinguished from a regular or member of the standing army. Example: That summer and fall the Army organized twenty-five regiments of volunteers, including two black regiments, which would have all-black captains and lieutenants. All officers were to be selected from regulars and volunteers who had distinguished themselves[…] 4. A person who acts out of their own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor. 5. A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see volunteer plant in Wikipedia. 6. A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.
Word: volunteer Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer. Pronunciation: /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/, /ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/, /-ˈtɪɚ/, /ˌvɒlənˈtɪɹ/, /ˌvɔlənˈtɪə/ 1. To enlist oneself as a volunteer. Labels: intransitive 2. To do or offer to do something voluntarily. Labels: ambitransitive Example: to volunteer for doing the dishes Example: Miranda: No good. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side. Shepard: It's not a fortress; there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft. Jacob: Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer. Miranda: I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time. We need to send a tech expert. 3. To offer, usually unprompted. Labels: transitive Example: to volunteer an explanation 4. To offer the services of (someone else) to do something. Labels: informal, transitive Example: My sister volunteered me to do the dishes. 5. To grow without human sowing or intentional cultivation. Labels: intransitive
Word: vow Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Inherited from Middle English vowe, voue, that from Old French vut, in turn from Latin vōtum (“a promise, dedication, vow”), from vovēre (“to promise, vow”). Not related to avow. Doublet of vote. Pronunciation: /vaʊ/ 1. A solemn promise to perform some act, or behave in a specified manner, especially a promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order. Example: The old hermit, up in the mountains, took a vow of silence. Example: And Moses spake vnto the heads of the tribes, concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. If a man vowe a vow vnto the Lord, or sweare an othe to bind his soule with a bond: he shall not breake his word, hee shall doe according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. 2. A declaration or assertion. Example: Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself. 3. A votive offering. Labels: obsolete Example: There are also waxen vows, that represent other parts of the body mixed with them; but of these there are few in comparison of the number of the Priapi.
Word: vow Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Inherited from Middle English vowe, voue, that from Old French vut, in turn from Latin vōtum (“a promise, dedication, vow”), from vovēre (“to promise, vow”). Not related to avow. Doublet of vote. Pronunciation: /vaʊ/ 1. To make a vow; to promise. Labels: ambitransitive Example: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it. Example: We do not vow that we will never sin, nor neglect a duty (nor ought we to do so). 2. To make a vow regarding (something). Labels: transitive Example: The wronged woman vowed revenge. 3. To declare publicly that one has made a vow, usually to show one's determination or to announce an act of retaliation. Example: The rebels vowed to continue their fight.
Word: wager Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English wajour, wageour, wager, from Old Northern French wageure, from wagier (“to pledge”) (compare Old French guagier, whence modern French gager and contemporary Walloon wadjî), ultimately from Frankish *waddjōn (“to pledge”), from Frankish *wadi ~ *waddī (“pledge”). See also wage. Pronunciation: /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/, /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒɚ/, /ˈwæɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ 1. A bet; a stake; a pledge. Example: 1842-43, Edgar Allan Poe, "The Mystery of Marie Roget" “This thicket was a singular, an exceedingly singular one. It was unusually dense. Within its naturally walled enclosure were three extraordinary stones, forming a seat with a back and footstool.… , whose boys were in the habit of closely examining the shrubberies about them in search of the bark of the sassafras. Would it be a rash wager – a wager of one thousand to one – that a day never passed over the heads of these boys without finding at least one of them ensconced in the umbrageous hall, and enthroned upon its natural throne? Those who would hesitate at such a wager, have either never been boys themselves, or have forgotten the boyish nature." Example: They have hired high-tech security companies to monitor wagers at a granular level and implemented sophisticated algorithmic systems to spot unusual gambling activity, ensuring that no athlete would be foolish enough to wager on a game. […] And prop bets have proved particularly ripe for manipulation. A prop bet is a wager on a specific occurrence during a game, rather than on the final result. 2. The subject of a bet. 3. A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. Example: Besides these Plates, the Wagers may be as the Persons please among themselves, but the Horses must be evidenced by good Testimonies to have been bred in Ireland. Example: If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity. 4. An offer to make oath.
Word: wager Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English wajour, wageour, wager, from Old Northern French wageure, from wagier (“to pledge”) (compare Old French guagier, whence modern French gager and contemporary Walloon wadjî), ultimately from Frankish *waddjōn (“to pledge”), from Frankish *wadi ~ *waddī (“pledge”). See also wage. Pronunciation: /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/, /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒɚ/, /ˈwæɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ 1. To bet something; to put it up as collateral. Labels: transitive Example: I'd wager my boots on it. Example: They have hired high-tech security companies to monitor wagers at a granular level and implemented sophisticated algorithmic systems to spot unusual gambling activity, ensuring that no athlete would be foolish enough to wager on a game. 2. To suppose; to dare say. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: I'll wager that Johnson knows something about all this.
Word: wager Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English wage Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English wager From wage (verb) + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/, /ˈweɪ.d͡ʒɚ/, /ˈwæɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ 1. Agent noun of wage; one who wages. Labels: agent, form-of Example: They were wagers of warfare against the wilderness and the Indians, and founders of families and towns. Example: Hatshepsut was no wager of wars, no bloodstained conqueror.
Word: wagonette Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From wagon + -ette. 1. A kind of four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, normally uncovered. Example: The cabs here are mostly covered waggonettes, with one horse. They hold four people; the sides have coloured glass, and behind the driver there is a window which is drawn aside when you communicate with him. Example: On glowing summer afternoons wagonettes came full of Americans and cultured suburbans to see the sepulchre