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universal

"With the approach of the new millennium we see an almost universal fear of major disruptions." TIME, 9/19/99

unkempt

"Budget cuts have resulted in overcrowded and unkempt camping sites in our parks." Freeman Tilden, The National Parks

unmitigated

"The crossword puzzle is the unmitigated sedentary hobby of Americans." Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue

unsavory

"Punishing students by assigning them more work, has made education unsavory and unappealing to the average student." H. C. McKown, "The Three R's Today"

unwieldy

"Today's light weight, compact cameras are a far cry from the unwieldy ones used by early photographers." Popular Photography, 9/96

urbane

"Their prose is less ornate, their urbane satire more muted." Book review, New York Times

usurp

"There is a constant struggle as one branch of government attempts to usurp some of the powers of the other." Milton Konvitz, editor, Bill of Rights Reader

utopia

"I was held spellbound by the middle-class utopia, without a blot, without a tear." William James, "What Makes Life Significant"

V

vacillated

"In planning for the book I vacillated between a selective, but deeper approach or a general, more limited approach." Milton Konvitz, editor, Bill of Rights Reader

valor

"Thrice have the Mexicans before us fled, Their armies broken, their prince in triumph led; Both to thy valor, brave young man, we owe." Sir Robert Howard & John Dryden, The Indian Queen

vapid

"The new James Bond movie lacks the excitement of the many before and is a vapid copy." Newsday, 10/25/98

vehemently

"The President spoke vehemently against any large tax cut." New York Times, 9/16/99

veneer

"Since then, she has frequently tried to crack the veneer of role, surface, and pose." Mark Stevens, "Spice Girls," New York, 6/21/99

venerable

"Despite their huge popularity the most venerable papers refused to accept crossword puzzles as more than a passing fad." Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue

venial

"The coach tried to overlook the venial errors of his players and concentrated on the serious ones." Sports Illustrated, 5/12/99

venom

"The point envenom'd too! Then, venom, do thy work." William Shakespeare, Hamlet

vertigo

"Iron workers on beams, hundreds of feet above Broadway, were immune to periods of vertigo." Architectural Digest, 1/93

vestige

"They kept at the rescue efforts as long as there was a vestige of hope for the earthquake victims." TIME, 8/30/99

vexatious

"This vexatious law suit dragged on interminably, becoming a legend in the process." Charles Dickens, Bleak House

viable

"The organism remains viable in the soil for years." Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

vicissitudes

"Her husband was not only faithful but patient in the face of remarkable vicissitudes." Eliza Jane Berman, Noble Minds

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vigil

"The U.N. peacekeeping troops are keeping a vigil over the disputed area." New York Times, 9/21/99

vigilant

"I deny not but that it is of great concernment in the church and commonwealth to have a vigilant eye how looks demean themselves." John Milton, "Aereopagitica"

vilified

"One who belongs to the most vilified minority in history is not likely to be unaware of the freedoms guaranteed by our constitutions." Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, decision, October 1943

vindicated

"His family was certain that his actions would be vindicated when all of the facts became available." "Pilot Blamed in Crash," New York Post, 11/26/99

virile

"The danger to our virile economy from weaknesses in the Far East should not be overlooked." Wall Street Journal, 5/16/98

virtuosity

"Employing his virtuosity as an orchestrator of suspense, the author puts Lector in Florence, Italy, speaking impeccable Italian." Paul Grey, "Dessert, Anyone?," TIME, 6/21/99

virulently

"Another part of my hope was for communities of people of colour that, for the most part, have been virulently homophobic." Mark Haslam, "When Bigotry Kills," Globe and Mail, Toronto, 3/5/99

vitiate

"This act is an attempt to vitiate the separation of powers upon which our democracy is founded." Justice Earl Warren, Bill of Rights Reader, 1957

vitriolic

"The speaker's vitriolic comments about ethnic and religious groups brought condemnation from the mayor." New York Daily News, 9/5/98

vituperation

"To justify his action he used vituperation, calling his enemies 'detestable pests.'" Barbara G. Walker, The Women's Encyclopedia

vivacious

"The performance of this vivacious leading lady made the play a delight." New York Post, 10/15/98

vogue

"Examining the private lives of our political leaders is in vogue this election period." New York, 9/4/99

volition

"To prove her innocence, she took a lie detector test of her own volition." New York Times, 9/21/99

voluble

"He came to hate Ray Gribble and his voluble companions of the submerged tenth of the class." Sinclair Lewis, "Young Man Axelbrod"

voluminous

"The testimony in the case relating to the President's actions has become voluminous." Washington Post, 5/15/99

voracious

"We spent a good number of our waking hours feeding voracious stoves." Jean Stafford, "New England Winter"

vulnerable

"Any vulnerable area in an otherwise strong person or structure is known as an Achilles heel." Barbara G. Walker,

The Women's Encyclopedia

W

wan

"Why so pale and wan, fond lover? Prithee, why so pale?" John Suckling, "Encouragement to a Lover"

wane

"Japan, once an economic power, has seen its influence wane." New York Times, 8/1/99

wary

"These figures were wary in their movements and perfectly silent afoot." Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim

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