Barron's List 49

Front 1

Velocity

Back 1

Speed

Hint 1

The train went by at considerable velocity.

Front 2

Venal

Back 2

Capable of being bribed

Hint 2

The venal policeman cheerfully accepted the bribe offered him by the speeding motorist whom he had stopped.

Front 3

Vendetta

Back 3

Blood feud

Hint 3

The rival mobs engaged in a bitter vendetta.

Front 4

Vendor

Back 4

Seller

Hint 4

The fruit vendor sold her wares from a stall on the sidewalk.

Front 5

Veneer

Back 5

Thin layer; Cover

Hint 5

Casual acquaintances were deceived by his veneer of sophistication and failed to rec­ognize his fundamental shallowness.

Front 6

Venerable

Back 6

Deserving high respect

Hint 6

We do not mean to be disrespectful when we refuse to follow the advice of our venerable leader.

Front 7

Venerate

Back 7

Revere

Hint 7

"In Tibet today, the common people still venerate their traditional spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama."

Front 8

Venial

Back 8

Forgivable; Trivial

Hint 8

"When Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister, he committed a venial offense."

Front 9

Venom

Back 9

Poison; Hatred

Hint 9

"Bitten by a rattlesnake on his ankle, the cowboy contortionist curled up like a pretzel and sucked the venom out of the wound."

Front 10

Vent (Noun)

Back 10

A small opening; Outlet

Hint 10

The wine did not flow because the air vent in the barrel was clogged.

Front 11

Vent (Verb)

Back 11

Express; Utter

Hint 11

The angry teacher vented his wrath on his class.

Front 12

Ventriloquist

Back 12

Someone who can make his or her voice seem to come from another person or thing

Hint 12

This ventrilo­quist does an act in which she has a conversation with a wooden dummy.

Front 13

Venturesome

Back 13

"Bold, Fearless"

Hint 13

A group of venturesome women were the first to scale Mt. Annapurna.

Front 14

Veracity

Back 14

Truthfulness

Hint 14

"Asserting his veracity, young George Washington proclaimed, ""Father, I cannot tell a lie!"""

Front 15

Verbalize

Back 15

Put into words

Hint 15

"I know you don't like to talk about these things, but please try to verbalize your feelings."

Front 16

Verbatim

Back 16

Word for word

Hint 16

He repeated the message verbatim. alsoADJ.

Front 17

Verbiage

Back 17

Pompous array of words

Hint 17

"After we had waded through all the verbiage, we discovered that the writer had said very little."

Front 18

Verbose

Back 18

Wordy

Hint 18

Someone mute can't talk; someone verbose can hardly stop talking.

Front 19

Verdant

Back 19

Green; Lush in vegetation

Hint 19

Monet's paintings of the verdant meadows were symphonies in green.

Front 20

Verge

Back 20

Border; Edge

Hint 20

Madame Curie knew she was on the verge of discovering the secrets of radioactive ele­ments. alsoV.

Front 21

Verisimilitude

Back 21

Appearance of truth; Likelihood

Hint 21

Critics praised her for the verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth. She was completely believable.

Front 22

Verity

Back 22

Quality of being true; Lasting truth or principle

Hint 22

"Did you question the verity of Kato Kaelin's testimony about what he heard the night Nicole Brown Simpson was slain? To the skeptic, everything was relative: there were no eter­nal verities in which one could believe."

Front 23

Vernacular

Back 23

"Native Language of a Place,a style of architecture exemplifying the commonest techniques, decorative features, and materials of a particular historical period, region, or group of people.,Plain Everday language"

Hint 23

Cut out those old-fashioned thee's and thou's and write in the vernacular. alsoADJ.

Front 24

Versatile

Back 24

Having many talents; Capable of working in many fields

Hint 24

"She was a versatile athlete, earning varsity let­ters in basketball, hockey, and track."

Front 25

Vertex

Back 25

Summit

Hint 25

Let us drop a perpendicular line from the vertex of the triangle to the base.

Front 26

Vertigo

Back 26

Severe dizziness

Hint 26

"When you test potential air­plane pilots for susceptibility to spells of vertigo, be sure to hand out air-sickness bags."

Front 27

Verve

Back 27

Enthusiasm; Liveliness

Hint 27

She approached her stud­ies with such verve that it was impossible for her to do poorly.

Front 28

Vestige

Back 28

Trace; Remains

Hint 28

"We discovered vestiges of early Indian life in the cave. vestigial,ADJ."

Front 29

Vex

Back 29

Annoy; Distress

Hint 29

Please try not to vex your mother; she is doing the best she can.

Front 30

Viable

Back 30

Practical or workable; Capable of maintaining life

Hint 30

That idea won't work. Let me see whether I can come up with a viable alternative.

Front 31

Vicarious

Back 31

Acting as a substitute; Done by a deputy

Hint 31

Many people get a vicarious thrill at the movies by imagin­ing they are the characters on the screen.

Front 32

Vicissitude

Back 32

Change of fortune

Hint 32

"Humbled by life's vicissi­tudes, the last emperor of China worked as a lowly gar­dener in the palace over which he had once ruled."

Front 33

Vie

Back 33

Contend; Compete

Hint 33

"Politicians vie with one another, competing for donations and votes."

Front 34

Vigilance

Back 34

"Watchfulness, 2nd Meaning: Care,Concern"

Hint 34

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Front 35

Vignette

Back 35

"Picture; Short literary sketch; a decorative design representing branches, leaves, grapes, or the like, as in a manuscript; Picture with Soften Edges"

Hint 35

The New Yorker published her latest vignette.

Front 36

Vigor

Back 36

Active strength

Hint 36

"Although he was over seventy years old, Jack had the vigor of a man in his prime. vigor­OUS,ADJ."

Front 37

Vilify

Back 37

Slander

Hint 37

"Waging a highly negative campaign, the candidate attempted to vilify his opponent's reputation. vili­fication, N."

Front 38

Vindicate

Back 38

Clear from blame; Exonerate; Justify or sup­port

Hint 38

The lawyer's goal was to vindicate her client and prove him innocent on all charges. The critics' extremely favorable reviews vindicate my opinion that The Madness of King George is a brilliant movie.

Front 39

Vindictive

Back 39

Out for revenge; Malicious

Hint 39

I think it's unwor­thy of Martha to be so vindictive; she shouldn't stoop to such petty acts of revenge.

Front 40

Viper

Back 40

"Poisonous snake, spiteful character, GB: adder"

Hint 40

"The habitat of the horned viper, a particularly venomous snake, is in sandy regions like the Sahara or the Sinai peninsula."

Front 41

Virile

Back 41

"Manly, Potent"

Hint 41

I do not accept the premise that a man proves he's virile by being belligerent.

Front 42

Virtual

Back 42

In essence; For practical purposes

Hint 42

She is a vir­tual financial wizard when it comes to money matters.

Front 43

Virtue

Back 43

"Goodness, moral excellence; Good quality"

Hint 43

"Virtue carried to extremes can turn into vice: humility, for example, can degenerate into servility and spinelessness."

Front 44

Virtuoso

Back 44

Highly skilled artist; person who is an expert

Hint 44

"The child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin grew into a virtuoso whose violin performances thrilled millions. virtuosity, N."

Front 45

Virulent

Back 45

Extremely poisonous; Hostile; Bitter; Unhealthy

Hint 45

"Laid up with a virulent case of measles, Vera blamed her doctors because her recovery took so long. In fact, she became quite virulent on the subject of the quality of modern medical care."

Front 46

Virus

Back 46

Disease communicator

Hint 46

The doctors are looking for a specific medicine to control this virus.

Front 47

Visceral

Back 47

Felt in one's inner organs; characterized by or proceeding from instinct rather than intellect; Instinctive

Hint 47

She disliked the vis­ceral sensations she had whenever she rode the roller coaster.

Front 48

Viscid

Back 48

Adhesive; Gluey

Hint 48

The trunk of the maple tree was viscid with sap.

Front 49

Viscous

Back 49

Sticky; Gluey; Thick (Opposite: Watery)

Hint 49

"Melted tar is a viscous sub­stance. Viscosity, N."

Front 50

Vise

Back 50

Tool for holding work in place

Hint 50

"Before filing its edges, the locksmith took the blank key and fixed it firmly between the jaws of a vise."

Front 51

Visionary

Back 51

Produced by imagination; Fanciful; Mystical

Hint 51

She was given to visionary schemes that never materialized. also N.

Front 52

Vital

Back 52

"Energetic and lively; Critical; Alive, breathing"

Hint 52

"The vital, highly energetic first aid instructor stressed that it was vital in examining accident victims to note their vital signs."

Front 53

Vitriolic

Back 53

Corrosive; Sarcastic; Sardonic

Hint 53

Such vitriolic criticism is uncalled for.

Front 54

Vituperative

Back 54

Abusive; Scolding

Hint 54

He became more vitu­perative as he realized that we were not going to grant him his wish.

Front 55

Vivacious

Back 55

Animated; Lively

Hint 55

She had always been viva­cious and sparkling.

Front 56

Vociferous

Back 56

Clamorous; Noisy

Hint 56

The crowd grew vocifer­ous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands.

Front 57

Vogue

Back 57

Popular fashion

Hint 57

Jeans became the vogue on many college campuses.

Front 58

Vice

Back 58

Bad Habit; Sin

*Hint Attached

Hint 58

Think GTA: Vice City

it's certainly not GTA: VISE City