Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

veg|etate /ve dʒ I te I t/ (vegetates , vegetating , vegetated ) VERB If someone vegetates , they spend their time doing boring or worthless things. □ [V ] He spends all his free time at home vegetating in front of the TV.

veg|etat|ed /ve dʒ I te I t I d/ ADJ [usu adv ADJ ] If an area is vegetated , it is covered with plants and trees. [FORMAL ] □  That part of Castle Walk is not thickly vegetated.

veg|eta|tion /ve dʒ I te I ʃ ^ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Plants, trees, and flowers can be referred to as vegetation . [FORMAL ] □  The inn has a garden of semi-tropical vegetation.

veg|eta|tive /ve dʒ I tət I v, [AM ] -te I t-/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone is in a vegetative state, they are unable to move, think, or speak, and their condition is not likely to improve. [MEDICAL ] □  She was in what was described as a vegetative state.

veg|gie /ve dʒi/ (veggies )

1 ADJ Veggie means the same as vegetarian . [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □  You can cook a cheap veggie chilli in 15 minutes. ● N‑COUNT A veggie is someone who is vegetarian.

2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Veggies are plants such as cabbages, potatoes, and onions which you can cook and eat. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □  …well-balanced meals of fresh fruit and veggies, chicken, fish, pasta, and no red meat. in BRIT, usually use veg

veg|gie|burg|er /ve dʒibɜː ^r gə ^r / → see vegeburger

ve|he|ment /viː əmənt/ ADJ If a person or their actions or comments are vehement , the person has very strong feelings or opinions and expresses them forcefully. □  She suddenly became very vehement and agitated, jumping around and shouting. □  She is a vehement critic of government policy. ●  ve|he|mence N‑UNCOUNT □  He spoke more loudly and with more vehemence than he had intended. ●  ve|he|ment|ly ADV [ADV with v] □  Krabbe has always vehemently denied stealing the car.

ve|hi|cle ◆◆◇ /viː I k ^ə l/ (vehicles )

1 N‑COUNT A vehicle is a machine such as a car, bus, or truck which has an engine and is used to carry people from place to place. □  …a vehicle which was somewhere between a tractor and a truck.

2 N‑COUNT You can use vehicle to refer to something that you use in order to achieve a particular purpose. □ [+ for ] Her art became a vehicle for her political beliefs.

ve|hicu|lar /v I h I kjʊlə ^r / ADJ [usu ADJ n] Vehicular is used to describe something which relates to vehicles and traffic. [FORMAL ] □  …vehicular traffic. □  There is no vehicular access.

veil /ve I l/ (veils )

1 N‑COUNT A veil is a piece of thin soft cloth that women sometimes wear over their heads and which can also cover their face. □  She's got long fair hair, but she's got a veil over it.

2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can refer to something that hides or partly hides a situation or activity as a veil . □ [+ of ] The country is ridding itself of its disgraced prime minister in a veil of secrecy. □ [+ of ] The chilling facts behind this veil of silence were slow to emerge.

3 N‑COUNT You can refer to something that you can partly see through, for example a mist, as a veil . [LITERARY ] □ [+ of ] The eruption has left a thin veil of dust in the upper atmosphere.

4 PHRASE If you draw a veil over something, you stop talking about it because it is too unpleasant to talk about. □  The clamour to draw a veil over the minister's extra-marital activities reeks of hypocrisy.

veiled /ve I ld/