Adjectives That Start With V

This selection of adjectives that begin with "v" provides a wide variety of words that can be used to further describe nouns that you are writing about or discussing.

• vacant - empty, not occupied
• vagabond - someone who moves around a lot or doesn't have a long-term home
• valiant - brave; courageous; heroic
• validatory - serving to validate or corroborate
• variable - expected or likely to change or shift
• vast - wide; large; of great importance
• vaulting - overreaching; exaggerated
• vegetarian - prepared without meat
• vehement - having great vigor or passion; fervent or eager
• velvety - smooth, soft; feeling like velvet to the touch
• venerable - honorable; commanding respect
• verbose - wordy; using more words than are needed
• verdant - green in color; filled with live green plants
• versatile - can serve multiple purposes or be used in varying ways
• vertical - upright; up and down positioning
• viable - possible; capable of growing or living
• vindictive - seeking revenge; acting out of spite
• violent - causing harm through force; very powerful
• virulent - infection that spreads or worsens quickly; filled with malicious intent
• visual - can be seen; related to visual images
• vital - necessary; important
• vitriolic - making harsh remarks; making inflammatory personal attacks
• volcanic - relating to or coming from a volcano
• voluntary - without coercion; optional
• vulnerable - at risk of being harmed

There’s a bit of a twist with the "v" adjectives listed below. You’ll notice that many of them end with the suffix -ous, which means “full of” or “having qualities of.” Keep this in mind as you continue to add to your own personal list of adjectives!

• vacuous - lacking intellect; void of content
• vainglorious - vain; boastful
• valorous - having great valor
• vandalous - destructive; acting as a vandal
• vaporous - giving off a vapor, i.e. fog or smog
• various - multiple, more than one
• venomous - poisonous; spiteful; malicious
• venous - related to veins; full of veins
• veracious - truthful; honest (not to be confused with voracious: greedy or eager)
• vexatious - annoying, causing stress; filled with disorder
• vicious - malicious; harmful
• victorious - having won something, i.e. a game, competition, or legal case
• vigorous - having a lot of strength and energy; robust; forceful
• villainous - bad; evil; acting as a villain
• villous - anatomical term related to the villi or a structure covered with villi
• vinous - associated with or resembling wine
• virtuous - pure; chaste; having high moral values
• vitreous - derived from glass; resembling glass in appearance
• viscous - not liquid or solid; having a thick, sticky consistency
• vivacious - lively; high spirited
• vociferous - tendency to be loud, especially when giving one’s opinion
• voluminous - large, sizeable
• voluptuous - an attractive, full-figured woman
• vomitous - sickening, nauseating, disgusting, gross
• voracious - having an enormous appetite

Wondering how to work these words into your English language communication? These example sentences illustrate ways some of the above terms can be used.

1. The house I am thinking about buying is already vacant.
2. Will you please share your vegetarian lasagna recipe with me?
3. People who live in apartments can grow a vertical garden on a balcony or patio.
4. These vegetable seeds are three years old, so I'm not sure if they are viable.
5. I was surprised by the vicious tone of my employee's resignation letter.
6. This new virus seems to have a few particularly virulent strains.
7. My sister is the vivacious one in our family.
8. I love walking through the verdant pasture at my uncle's farm.
9. My cousin who lives on Saint Vicent sent a photo of volcanic ash falling on her car.
10. I saw a spider in the backyard that could be venomous.

Now that you have a list of adjectives that start with "v" in your back pocket, you can practice using some of them with this quick exercise. This exercise uses only adjectives that appear on our list of those ending in -ous. Choose an adjective from that list to complete the sentence or answer the question. Some adjectives from the list may be used more than once. Check your answers in the next section.

1. Some might say that there are very few people in the world that can be described as __________ as the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa or Gandhi.
2. If you are the loser in a sports competition, you most likely envy the __________ team.
3. List two words from the list above that are synonyms for spiteful.
4. Which of the above adjectives would you use to describe someone who has a lot of stamina?
5. If you get bitten by a __________ snake, you will need urgent medical attention.
6. The actress Marilyn Monroe was often described as __________.
7. In every class, there are one or two __________ students, who always have something to say.
8. Which adjective would describe an unwillingness to tell lies?
9. Which adjective would mean you are generally full of life?
10. My boss loves to talk about himself and his high-flying career, he is so __________.

Have you answered the practice exercises? Check your work here. The correct responses to the practice items above are listed below.

1. virtuous - Some might say that there are very few people in the world that can be described as virtuous as the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa or Gandhi.
2. victorious - If you are the loser in a sports competition, you most likely envy the victorious team.
3. venomous, vicious - Name two words that are synonyms for spiteful. venomous and vicious
4. vigorous - Which of the above adjectives would you use to describe someone who has a lot of stamina? vigorous
5. venomous - If you get bitten by a venomous snake you will need urgent medical attention.
6. voluptuous - The actress Marilyn Monroe was often described as voluptuous.
7. vociferous - In every class, there are one or two vociferous students, who always have something to say.
8. veracious - Which adjective would describe an unwillingness to tell lies? veracious
9. vivacious - Which adjective would mean you are generally full of life? vivacious
10. vainglorious - My boss loves to talk about himself and his high-flying career, he is so vainglorious.

Luckily, we are no longer in the Middle Ages when the letter "v" was interchanged with the letter "u." Generally, the letter "v" came at the beginning of a word and the letter "u" was used within a word. For example, “up” was written “vp” and “have” was written as “haue.” It wasn’t until the mid-1500s that the letter "v" started to be used as its very own consonant. Interesting, right? Now that you know a lot of adjectives that start with "v," it's time to build your vocabulary even more. Since the letter "u" is already on your mind, take a look at that letter by exploring some adjectives that begin with "u."