The adjectives, triumphal and triumphant, have close meanings, but are different, and triumphant is much more commonly used than triumphal. Triumphant means victorious (“having victory”) while triumphal means “relating to victory”: The rebels were triumphant; they drove the government forces from the city. They celebrated their victory with a triumphal dinner. Of course, in many cases, both words could […]

These three words are all nouns, the most common of which are vale and veil. Vail is a very little-known word, except as the name of a town in Colorado, famous for its ski-resorts. Vale is an old-fashioned word for valley, dale, or hollow—a small valley. It is used mainly in older or more poetic writing and place-names. […]

Waiver is a noun meaning “an action, official document, or status releasing a person or organization from a requirement, or giving up a right, privilege, or claim.” Note there are two meanings here—(1) “freeing an individual or organization from a requirement,” and (2) “giving up a right, privilege, or etc.”: Students can apply for a […]

Ween, meaning “to believe” is archaic and often only used and seen in creative writing, not conversation, nor academic, technical, or practical writing. Wean means “to accustom a person to something—to cause someone to become dependent or independent of something.” The original and primary meaning is “to guide children or animals to lose the habit of […]

Veracious means true, accurate, truthful, and honest. The root vera, “truth,” appears also in verify, veracity, and veritable: John and Julia’s story did not seem veracious; I think they were lying. Voracious means very hungry, or insatiable; it describes desires and hungers that cannot easily be satisfied; a voracious person can consume large amounts and still want […]