16-letter words containing l, e, v, r, i
- unconversational — of, relating to, or characteristic of conversation: a conversational tone of voice.
- underpitch vault — a construction having a central vault intersected by vaults of lower pitch.
- unimproved value — the valuation of land for rating purposes, disregarding the value of buildings or other development
- universalization — to make universal.
- valles marineris — a canyon on Mars, 3100 miles (5000 km) in length, named after the Mariner spacecraft.
- vancouver island — an island of SW Canada, off the SW coast of British Columbia: separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound, and from the US mainland by Juan de Fuca Strait; the largest island off the W coast of North America. Chief town: Victoria. Pop: 706 243 (2001). Area: 32 137 sq km (12 408 sq miles)
- vapor channeling — Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage.
- variable annuity — an annuity in which the premiums are invested chiefly in common stocks or other securities, the annuitant receiving payments based on the yield of the investments instead of in fixed amounts.
- vegetable slicer — a device with a sharp blade for slicing vegetables finely;
- velcro fastening — a fastening made of Velcro
- venereal disease — sexually transmitted disease. Abbreviation: VD.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- verbal adjective — an adjective derived from a verb, as, in English, smiling in smiling eyes, or, in Greek, batós “going,” “moving,” derived from baínen “to go,” “to move.”.
- verbal auxiliary — an auxiliary verb, especially when considered as a member of a separate class of words used with verbs rather than as a special subclass of verbs.
- verbal diarrhoea — a tendency to speak at excessive length
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.
- verruca vulgaris — the common wart.
- vertical farming — a proposed system of growing crops in urban areas using specially designed skyscrapers
- vertical tasting — a tasting of different vintages of one particular wine.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- viceregal assent — the formal signing of an act of parliament by a governor general, by which it becomes law
- victimless crime — a legal offense, as prostitution or gambling, to which all participating parties have consented.
- victorian values — qualities considered to characterize the Victorian period, including enterprise and initiative and the importance of the family
- video journalism — the techniques, methods, etc., of preparing and broadcasting informational, social, political, and other nonfiction subjects via news and documentary programs.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- vinylidene group — the bivalent group C 2 H 2 , derived from ethylene.
- vinylidene resin — any synthetic resin in which the basic structure consists of the H2C:CR2 group, where R usually is a halogen
- vinylpyrrolidone — Vinylpyrrolidone is a substance used as a binder in pharmaceuticals.
- virgin olive oil — oil from olives that is not processed
- virtual particle — an elementary particle of transitory existence that does not appear as a free particle in a particular situation but that can transmit a force from one particle to another.
- visibility meter — any instrument for measuring the visual range through the atmosphere, as a transmissometer.
- visible spectrum — the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is normally visible, from 380 to 760 nm.
- visual interface — (tool, text) (vi) /V-I/, /vi:/, *never* /siks/ A screen editor crufted together by Bill Joy for an early BSD release. vi became the de facto standard Unix editor and a nearly undisputed hacker favourite outside of MIT until the rise of Emacs after about 1984. It tends to frustrate new users no end, as it will neither take commands while expecting input text nor vice versa, and the default setup provides no indication of which mode the editor is in (one correspondent accordingly reports that he has often heard the editor's name pronounced /vi:l/). Nevertheless it is still widely used (about half the respondents in a 1991 Usenet poll preferred it), and even some Emacs fans resort to it as a mail editor and for small editing jobs (mainly because it starts up faster than the bulkier versions of Emacs). See holy wars.
- vulcanized fiber — a leatherlike substance made by compression of layers of paper or cloth that have been treated with acids or zinc chloride, used chiefly for electric insulation.
- welfare services — services that provide help with people's living conditions and financial problems
- well-diversified — distinguished by various forms or by a variety of objects: diversified activity.
- whirling dervish — a member of a Turkish order of dervishes, or Sufis, whose ritual consists in part of a highly stylized whirling dance.