<B>visor, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the movable front part of a helmet, lowered to cover the face, or the upper section of this part, the lower being the ventail. <DD><B> 2. </B>the brim of a cap, part that sticks out in front to protect the eyes from the sun. <DD><B> 3. </B>a shade that can be lowered from above to the inside of a car windshield to shield the eyes from the sun. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) an outward appearance that hides something different under it; mask; disguise. <BR> <I>Ex. to conceal hatred under a visor of friendliness.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cover up with or as if with a visor; protect. <BR> <I>Ex. Franny, looking at him, now had a hand visored over her eyes (J. D. Salinger).</I> <DD> Also, <B>vizor.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="visored">
<B>visored, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> furnished or covered with a visor. </DL>
<A NAME="visorless">
<B>visorless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no visor. </DL>
<A NAME="vista">
<B>vista, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a view seen through a narrow opening or passage. <BR> <I>Ex. The opening between the two rows of trees afforded a vista of the lake.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>such an opening or passage itself. <BR> <I>Ex. a shady vista of elms.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a mental view. <BR> <I>Ex. Education should open up new vistas.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>an extended view of a long period of time or series of events, experiences, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. the dim vista of centuries.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vista">
<B>VISTA</B> or <B>Vista, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> Volunteers in Service to America (an antipoverty agency of the United States government, established in 1964 to send volunteers to work and help in depressed areas of the country). </DL>
<A NAME="vistadome">
<B>vista dome,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a glass dome enclosing the upper level of a railroad observation car and providing a view of the scenery. </DL>
<A NAME="vistaed">
<B>vistaed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>placed or arranged so as to make a vista or avenue. <DD><B> 2. </B>provided with vistas. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) seen as if in prospect by the imagination. </DL>
<A NAME="vistaless">
<B>vistaless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> lacking any vista or prospect. </DL>
<A NAME="visual">
<B>visual, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of sight; having something to do with sight or vision. <BR> <I>Ex. Being near-sighted is a visual defect.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having the function of producing vision. <BR> <I>Ex. the visual rods in the eye.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>received through the sense of sight; performed or produced by means of vision. <BR> <I>Ex. visual impressions or sensations, a visual test.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>that can be seen; perceptible; visible. <BR> <I>Ex. visual colors.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>of vision and light in relation to each other; optical. <BR> <I>Ex. the visual focus of a lens. Telescopes and microscopes are visual instruments.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) of the nature of a mental vision; produced or occurring as a picture in the mind. <BR> <I>Ex. to form a visual image of the author's description.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a rough layout of an advertisement. <DD><B> b. </B>the part of an advertisement that contains pictures and designs. <BR> <I>Ex. A good ad is a fortunate melding of visual and words (Walter Carlson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=visualist.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>visuals,</B> </I>a film or part of a film without a sound track. <BR> <I>Ex. The program consists of a live lecture with visuals plus film clips (Harper's).</I> adv. <B>visually.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="visualacuity">
<B>visual acuity,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> distinctness of vision; the ability of the eye to perceive and distinguish an image. </DL>
<A NAME="visualaid">
<B>visual aid,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any device or means for aiding the learning process through the sense of sight, such as a chart, diagram, motion picture, or filmstrip. </DL>
<A NAME="visualarts">
<B>visual arts,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the arts that appeal through the sense of sight, including painting, photography, sculpture, architecture, landscape design, furniture, ceramics, jewelry, and textile design. </DL>
<A NAME="visualbinary">
<B>visual binary,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a binary or double star that can be seen as two stars with a telescope and sometimes with the unaided eye. </DL>
<A NAME="visualdouble">
<B>visual double,</B> =visual binary.</DL>
<A NAME="visualeducation">
<B>visual education,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the use of visual aids in teaching. </DL>
<A NAME="visualfield">
<B>visual field,</B> =field of vision.</DL>
<A NAME="visualflight">
<B>visual flight,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Aeronautics.) a flight in which the pilot navigates on the basis of observed bodies of land or water; contact flight. </DL>
<A NAME="visualinstrument">
<B>visual instrument,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an electronic keyboard instrument for producing patterns of different colors on a screen, played by itself or as an accompaniment to music. </DL>
<B>visualist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who thinks, remembers, or imagines in terms of sight. </DL>
<A NAME="visualizable">
<B>visualizable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be visualized. <BR> <I>Ex. The electron microscope ... made many virus particles visualizable (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="visualization">
<B>visualization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or fact of visualizing. <DD><B> 2. </B>a thing visualized. </DL>
<A NAME="visualize">
<B>visualize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to form a mental picture of. <BR> <I>Ex. to visualize a friend's face when he is away, to visualize the scene of a battle.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make visible. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to form a mental picture of something invisible, absent, or abstract. </DL>
<A NAME="visualizer">
<B>visualizer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who visualizes or has the ability to form mental images of invisible things or abstractions. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Psychology.) a person whose mental images are mainly visual. </DL>
<A NAME="visualpollution">
<B>visual pollution,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the defacement of the environment or surroundings by litter, graffiti, billboards, run-down or ugly buildings, and unsightly building projects. <BR> <I>Ex. The chief weapon in the arsenal of those fighting visual pollution here is a law that restricts the type, size, number and placement of roadside advertising signs (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="visualpurple">
<B>visual purple,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Biochemistry.) a purplish-red protein present in the rods of the retina of the eye, that, in the presence of light, is bleached to form a yellow pigment (visual yellow); rhodopsin. Visual purple, in turn, decomposes to form colorless substances and vitamin A. Visual purple is considered an important factor in vision, especially night vision. </DL>
<A NAME="visuals">
<B>visuals, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>visual.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="visualyellow">
<B>visual yellow,</B> =retinene.</DL>
<A NAME="visuospatial">
<B>visuospatial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of the field of vision, especially as it involves the relationships of space and configuration of the objects seen. <BR> <I>Ex. Psychological testing has repeatedly shown that girls are in general better at verbal skills, whereas boys are better at visuospatial skills (such as jigsaw puzzles) (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="visviva">
<B>vis viva,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>(Latin.) a living or active force. <DD><B> 2. </B>the energy of motion or of a moving thing; kinetic energy. </DL>
<A NAME="vita">
<B>vita, </B>noun, pl. <B>vitae.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Latin.) life. <DD><B> 2. </B>a biography. </DL>
<A NAME="vitaceous">
<B>vitaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> belonging to the grape family. </DL>
<A NAME="vitaglass">
<B>vitaglass, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a glass that allows the passage of a large part of the ultraviolet rays of the sunlight. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>Vitaglass,</B> a trademark for this glass. </DL>
<A NAME="vital">
<B>vital, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of life; having something to do with life; exhibited by living things. <BR> <I>Ex. vital energy. Growth and decay are vital processes.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>necessary to life. <BR> <I>Ex. Eating is a vital function. The heart is a vital organ.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) very necessary; very important; basic; essential. <BR> <I>Ex. a vital question. The education of young people is vital to the future of our country. Voting is a vital function of citizens in a democracy. Drainage of the swamp was considered vital to the welfare of the community.</I> (SYN) fundamental. <DD><B> 4. </B>causing death, failure, or ruin. <BR> <I>Ex. a vital wound, a vital blow to an industry.</I> (SYN) mortal. <DD><B> 5. </B>having life; living; animate. <DD><B> 6. </B>full of life and spirit; lively. <BR> <I>Ex. What a vital boy he is--never idle, never dull.</I> (SYN) vigorous. <DD><B> 7. </B>being that immaterial force that is present in living things and by which they are animated and maintained. <BR> <I>Ex. the vital spark.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>vitals,</B> <B>a. </B>the parts or organs necessary to life. The brain, heart, lungs, and stomach are vitals. <BR> <I>Ex. A slight wound; though it pierced his body, it ... missed the vitals (John Fletcher).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) the essential parts or features of anything; essentials. <BR> <I>Ex. If the vitals were preserved, I should not differ for the rest (Thomas Burton).</I> adv. <B>vitally.</B> noun <B>vitalness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vitalcapacity">
<B>vital capacity,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the amount of air that the lungs can hold when breathing in as deeply as possible and then exhaling. </DL>
<A NAME="vitalforce">
<B>vital force</B> or <B>principle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the animating force in animals and plants; the principle upon which the phenomena of life are supposed to depend. </DL>
<B>vitalism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the doctrine that the behavior of a living organism is, at least in part, due to a vital principle that cannot possibly be explained by physics and chemistry. </DL>
<A NAME="vitalist">
<B>vitalist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an adherent of the doctrine of vitalism. </DL>
