Adjectives That Start with V

Luckily we are no longer in the Middle Ages, where the letter V was interchanged with the letter U. Generally, the letter V came at the beginning of a word and the letter U was used within a word. For example the word “up” was written “vp” and the word “have” was written “haue.” It was not until about mid 1500s that the letter V as we know it was used only as a consonant.

V Adjectives

Now that we are done with the past, when you think of adjectives that start with the letter V, there are many in this article that are full of emotion and sound great when given the proper emphasis. Actually, there is a bit of a twist with the V adjectives below, as they all end with the suffix –ous, which means “full of,” which is fitting with the sound of the letter V.

• Vainglorious – vain; boastful. People who are vainglorious like to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.

• Vaporous – giving off a vapor (i.e. fog, smog, cloudy). When you wake up early on a winter’s morning it might be vapourous outside.

• Venomous – poisonous (i.e. certain snakes). Spiteful; malicious. There are two common definitions for venomous. The first you can use to describe a physical trait and the second a personality trait. Both are quite negative.

• Veracious – truthful; honest. It is safe to say that most news in the newspaper comes from veracious sources.

• Vexatious – annoying. A younger sibling can be sometimes be vexatious to their older brothers and sisters.

• Vicious – malicious; harmful. Similar to the adjective venomous to be vicious is to be mean/spiteful.

• Victorious – having won something (i.e. sports game,  competition, legal case). You can usually spot the victorious, as they have a big smile on their face after winning.

• Vigorous – having a lot of strength/energy. Regular exercise can help you feel more vigorous.

• Villainous – bad; evil. We often use this adjective when describing the villain in a story or movie.

• Virtuous – pure; chaste; having high moral values. To be virtuous is to have a very good character.

• Vivacious – lively; high spirited. Someone who is vivacious is generally full of life.

• Voluptuous – sexually attractive. This adjective is often used to describe a beautiful full-figured woman. However, it  can also refer to anything that is full of sensual delight (for example a high-quality wine).

• Vociferous – tendency to be loud (especially when giving one’s opinion). To be called vociferous is not generally a positive thing, as it suggests that you are too loud.

Test

Which adjectve(s) above answer the following?

1. Some might say that there are very few people in the world that can be described as...as the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, or Gandhi.
2. If you are the loser in a sports competition, you most likely envy the... team.
3. Two words that are synonyms. Hint: negative meaning
4. Express physical characteristics?
5. If you get bitten by this type of snake you need urgent medical attention.
6. The late actress Marilyn Monroe was described as...
7. Sometimes in classes there are one or two...students, who always have something to say.
8. The opposite of false.
9. Two adjectives that mean you are generally in high physical and mental condition.
10. Someone who thinks very highly of themselves?

Answer Key: 1. virtuous; 2. victorious; 3. venomous and vicious; 4. vigorous and voluptuous; 5. venomous; 6. voluptuous; 7. vociferous; 8. veracious; 9. vigorous and vivacious; 10. vainglorious.