Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

3 PHRASE If you say that someone is no shrinking violet , you mean that they are not at all shy. □  When it comes to expressing himself he is no shrinking violet.

vio|lin /va I əl I n/ (violins ) N‑VAR A violin is a musical instrument. Violins are made of wood and have four strings. You play the violin by holding it under your chin and moving a bow across the strings. □  Lizzie used to play the violin.

vio|lin|ist /va I əl I n I st/ (violinists ) N‑COUNT A violinist is someone who plays the violin.

VIP /viː a I piː / (VIPs ) N‑COUNT A VIP is someone who is given better treatment than ordinary people because they are famous, influential, or important. VIP is an abbreviation for 'very important person'.

vi|per /va I pə ^r / (vipers ) N‑COUNT A viper is a small poisonous snake found mainly in Europe.

vi|ral /va I ə rəl/

1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A viral disease or infection is caused by a virus. □  …a 65-year-old patient suffering from severe viral pneumonia.

2 ADJ A viral film clip, story, or message is one that spreads quickly because people share it on social media and send it to each other. □ [go +ADJ ] The Facebook post soon went viral. □  …viral videos.

vir|gin /vɜː ^r dʒ I n/ (virgins )

1 N‑COUNT A virgin is someone who has never had sex. □  I was a virgin until I was thirty years old.

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use virgin to describe something such as land that has never been used or spoiled. □  Within 40 years there will be no virgin forest left.

3 PHRASE If you say that a situation is virgin territory , you mean that you have no experience of it and it is completely new for you.

4 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] You can use virgin to describe someone who has never done or used a particular thing before. □  Until he appeared in 'In the Line of Fire', the actor had been an action-movie virgin.

vir|gin|al /vɜː ^r dʒ I n ^ə l/

1 ADJ If you describe someone as virginal , you mean that they look young and innocent, as if they have had no experience of sex. □  Somehow she'd always been a child in his mind, pure and virginal.

2 ADJ Something that is virginal looks new and clean, as if it has not been used or spoiled. □  …abandoning worn-out land to cultivate virginal pasture.

vir|gin|ity /və ^r dʒ I n I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT Virginity is the state of never having had sex. □  She lost her virginity when she was 20. ● PHRASE When you lose your virginity , you have sex for the first time.

Vir|go /vɜː ^r goʊ/ (Virgos )

1 N‑UNCOUNT Virgo is one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Its symbol is a young woman. People who are born approximately between the 23rd of August and the 22nd of September come under this sign.

2 N‑COUNT A Virgo is a person whose sign of the zodiac is Virgo.

vir|ile /v I ra I l, [AM ] -r ^ə l/

1 ADJ If you describe a man as virile , you mean that he has the qualities that a man is traditionally expected to have, such as strength and sexual power. □  He wanted his sons to become strong, virile, and athletic like himself. ●  vi|ril|ity /v I r I l I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □  Children are also considered proof of a man's virility.

2 ADJ Something that is described as virile is considered to be very strong and forceful. [LITERARY ] □  …Prokofiev's most virile, aggressive music.

vir|tual /vɜː ^r tʃuəl/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use virtual to indicate that something is so nearly true that for most purposes it can be regarded as true. □  Argentina came to a virtual standstill while the game was being played. □  …conditions of virtual slavery.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] Virtual objects and activities are generated by a computer to simulate real objects and activities. [COMPUTING ] □  The site provided a virtual meeting place for activists. ●  vir|tu|al|ity N‑UNCOUNT □  People speculate about virtuality systems, but we're already working on it.