<B>vacillate, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to waver in mind or opinion. <BR> <I>Ex. A vacillating person finds it hard to make up his mind.</I> (SYN) hesitate. <DD><B> 2. </B>to move first one way and then another; waver. (SYN) oscillate, sway. </DL>
<A NAME="vacillating">
<B>vacillating, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>tending to hesitate or be uncertain; characterized by hesitation or uncertainty. <BR> <I>Ex. A vacillating person finds it hard to make up his mind.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>unsteady; swaying. adv. <B>vacillatingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vacillation">
<B>vacillation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the action or quality of wavering in mind or opinion. <BR> <I>Ex. His constant vacillation made him an unfit administrator.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>unsteadiness; swaying. </DL>
<A NAME="vacillator">
<B>vacillator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who vacillates or wavers. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] is essentially a vacillator, a man who shrinks from unpleasant decisions (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<B>vacua, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plural of <B>vacuum.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vacuate">
<B>vacuate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to create a vacuum in. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to make empty. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) to annul; nullify. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) to clear out or discharge. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuation">
<B>vacuation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of emptying; evacuation. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuity">
<B>vacuity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>emptiness. <DD><B> 2. </B>an empty space; vacuum. <DD><B> 3. </B>emptiness of mind; lack of ideas or intelligence. <BR> <I>Ex. In indolent vacuity of thought (William Cowper).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>something foolish or stupid. <BR> <I>Ex. an undue preoccupation with the vacuities which society has invented (Arnold Bennett).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>an absence or lack (of something specified). </DL>
<B>vacuole, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a tiny cavity in the protoplasm of a living cell, containing fluid. <DD><B> 2. </B>(formerly) any very small cavity in organic tissue. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuous">
<B>vacuous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>showing no thought or intelligence; stupid; foolish. <BR> <I>Ex. the vacuous smile of an idiot; a vacuous, solemn snob (Thackeray).</I> (SYN) fatuous. <DD><B> 2. </B>having no meaning or direction; idle; indolent. <BR> <I>Ex. a vacuous life.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>empty (of matter or anything solid or tangible). adv. <B>vacuously.</B> noun <B>vacuousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vacuum">
<B>vacuum, </B>noun, pl. <B>vacuums</B> or (except for def. 6) <B>vacua,</B> adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an empty space without even air in it. <DD><B> 2. </B>an enclosed space from which almost all the air or other gas has been removed, especially to permit experimentation without atmospheric distortion. <DD><B> 3. </B>an empty space; void. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Her husband's death left a vacuum in her life.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the condition or amount of loss in atmospheric pressure within a space. <DD><B> 5a. </B>emptiness. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) something that needs filling; hiatus; gap. <BR> <I>Ex. a political vacuum.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Figurative.) a condition of seclusion or apartness from others. <BR> <I>Ex. to live in a vacuum.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B><B>=vacuum cleaner.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with a vacuum. <BR> <I>Ex. a vacuum gauge.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>producing a vacuum. <BR> <I>Ex. a vacuum fan.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>using a vacuum. <BR> <I>Ex. vacuum canning.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>entirely or partially exhausted of air (or other gas). <BR> <I>Ex. a vacuum tube.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>using suction. <BR> <I>Ex. vacuum ventilation.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>using gas pressures that are lower than atmospheric pressure, as in various processes. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to clean with a vacuum cleaner. <BR> <I>Ex. Mother vacuums the rugs on Thursday.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to use any vacuum device on. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to use a vacuum cleaner. <BR> <I>Ex. She is a tidy housekeeper who contends that "nothing can clear the mind like vacuuming" (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumbottle">
<B>vacuum bottle</B> or <B>flask,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bottle or flask made with a vacuum between its inner and outer walls so that its contents remain hot or cold for long periods of time; thermos bottle. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumcleaner">
<B>vacuum cleaner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an apparatus for cleaning carpets, rugs, floors, and often furniture and curtains, by suction. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumcleaning">
<B>vacuum cleaning,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the act of cleaning with a vacuum cleaner. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumfan">
<B>vacuum fan,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fan that operates by suction, used to ventilate an enclosed area. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumgauge">
<B>vacuum gauge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a form of pressure gauge for indicating the internal pressure or the amount of vacuum in a container. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumize">
<B>vacuumize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to produce a vacuum in (a container, chamber, or other enclosed area). <DD><I>v.i. </I> to produce a vacuum. </DL>
<A NAME="vacuummelting">
<B>vacuum melting,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a method of melting metals or alloys in a sealed furnace to prevent atmospheric oxidation, remove gaseous impurities, and improve purity and physical properties. <BR> <I>Ex. To produce stronger and more ductile steel,17 U.S. companies have adopted another new innovation called vacuum melting (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumpacked">
<B>vacuum-packed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>packed in an airtight can, jar, or other container, to keep fresh. <BR> <I>Ex. vacuum-packed coffee.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having had all or most of the air removed before sealing. <BR> <I>Ex. vacuum-packed cans.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vacuumpump">
<B>vacuum pump,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a pump or device by which a partial vacuum can be produced. <DD><B> 2. </B>a pump in which a partial vacuum is utilized to raise water. </DL>
<B>vacuum tube,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sealed glass tube or bulb from which almost all the air has been removed, and into which electrodes from outside project; electron tube. A vacuum tube consists typically of a cathode or filament, that emits electrons, an anode or plate that receives the electrons and a grid, between the cathode and anode, that controls the flow of electrons. Vacuum tubes were once widely used in radio and television sets, photoelectric cells, and other devices to control the flow of electric currents. </DL>
<B>vacuum ventilation,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system in which the vitiated air is drawn out of the space to be ventilated, and is replaced by the fresh air coming in from the outside because of the decreased pressure. </DL>
<A NAME="vad">
<B>V.A.D.</B> or <B>VAD</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> Voluntary Aid Detachment. </DL>
<A NAME="vademecum">
<B>vade mecum,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>anything a person carries about with him because of its usefulness. <DD><B> 2. </B>a book for ready reference; manual; handbook. <BR> <I>Ex. [His] tax guide alone has sold more than thirteen million copies in its eighteen years as the taxpayer's vade mecum (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<B>vadose, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) having to do with or occurring in the unsaturated area between the earth's surface and the water table. <BR> <I>Ex. the vadose zone. The descending vadose water dissolves the soluble minerals and carries them in solution down into the zone of saturation (White and Renner).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vaevictis">
<B>vae victis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) woe to the vanquished. </DL>
<A NAME="vagabond">
<B>vagabond, </B>noun, adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an idle wanderer; wanderer; tramp. (SYN) vagrant, nomad, hobo. <DD><B> 2. </B>a good-for-nothing person; rascal. (SYN) rogue. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>wandering. <BR> <I>Ex. the Crow chieftain and his vagabond warriors (Washington Irving). The Gypsies lead a vagabond life.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>shiftless; disreputable; good-for-nothing. <BR> <I>Ex. a vagabond tramp.</I> (SYN) worthless. <DD><B> 3. </B>moving hither and thither; drifting. <BR> <I>Ex. vagabond winds.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) not subject to control or restraint; roving; straying. <BR> <I>Ex. vagabond thoughts, a short book well-suited to vagabond habits.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to roam or wander about like a vagabond. <BR> <I>Ex. the delights and tribulations of vagabonding around the Gulf (Sunset).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vagabondage">
<B>vagabondage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the fact or condition of being a vagabond; idle wandering. <BR> <I>Ex. the vagabondage of the Gypsies. (Figurative.) to indulge in literary vagabondage.</I> (SYN) vagrancy. <DD><B> 2. </B>vagabonds collectively. <BR> <I>Ex. rural vagabondage.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vagabondish">
<B>vagabondish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or characteristic of a vagabond. </DL>
<A NAME="vagabondism">
<B>vagabondism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the ways or habits of a vagabond; vagabondage. </DL>
<A NAME="vagabondize">
<B>vagabondize, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to wander as or like a vagabond; roam at will. </DL>
<A NAME="vagal">
<B>vagal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the vagus nerve. <BR> <I>Ex. In 20 more or less sedentary men a 6- to 12-week period of vigorous physical retraining restored the vagal tone toward normal (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
