16-letter words containing u, n, v, a, l
- slugging average — a measure of the effectiveness of a batter in making base hits, obtained by dividing the total bases reached by hitting by the number of official times at bat and carrying out the result to three decimal places. A batter making 275 total bases in 500 times at bat has a slugging average of .550.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).
- swedish vallhund — a small sturdy dog of a Swedish breed with a long body and pricked pointed ears
- texas revolution — a revolutionary movement, 1832–36, in which U.S. settlers asserted their independence from Mexico and established the republic of Texas.
- the unobservable — something that cannot be observed
- transverse flute — the normal orchestral flute, as opposed to the recorder (or fipple flute)
- travel insurance — insurance which covers losses that may be incurred while travelling, such as medical expenses, flight cancellations, lost luggage, etc
- unconventionally — not conventional; not bound by or conforming to convention, rule, or precedent; free from conventionality: an unconventional artist; an unconventional use of material.
- 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.
- ungava peninsula — a peninsula in NW Ungava region, in N Quebec, in E Canada.
- unimproved value — the valuation of land for rating purposes, disregarding the value of buildings or other development
- universalization — to make universal.
- 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)
- 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.
- vaughan williams — Ralph, 1872–1958, English composer.
- vauxhall gardens — a public garden at Vauxhall, laid out in 1661; a fashionable meeting place and site of lavish entertainments. Closed in 1859
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- vertebral column — spinal column.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- 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.
- 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.
- visual magnitude — Astronomy. magnitude (def 5a).
- visual-magnitude — size; extent; dimensions: to determine the magnitude of an angle.
- vitruvian scroll — a scroll forming a stylized wave pattern.
- vocabulary entry — (in dictionaries) a word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, affix, name, etc., listed with its definition or explanation in alphabetical order or listed for identification after the word from which it is derived or to which it is related.
- voluntary helper — a person who aids or assists in a specified function of one's own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration
- voluntary muscle — muscle whose action is normally controlled by an individual's will; mainly skeletal muscle, composed of parallel bundles of striated, multinucleate fibers.
- voluntary school — a school that promotes specific religious beliefs and which is funded by a local education authority but was not established by the authority
- voluntary sector — the part of the economy that consists of non-profit-making organizations, as opposed to the public and private sectors
- voluntary worker — a person who serves or acts in a specified function of their own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration
- volunteer bureau — an agency that matches up people wishing to do voluntary work with appropriate voluntary organizations
- 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.