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verve

[ vurv ]
/ vɜrv /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR verve ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

enthusiasm or vigor, as in literary or artistic work; spirit: Her latest novel lacks verve.
vivaciousness; liveliness; animation: I like a teacher with plenty of verve.
Archaic. talent.

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RELATED WORDS

vigor, stamina, spunk, gumption, zest, zeal, pep, gusto, vitality, liveliness, sparkle, intensity, passion, moxie, toughness, pizzazz, get-up-and-go, vim, dash, juice

Nearby words

  1. vertu,
  2. vertumnus,
  3. verulamian,
  4. verulamium,
  5. vervain,
  6. vervelle,
  7. vervet,
  8. verwoerd,
  9. verwoerd, hendrik frensch,
  10. very

Origin of verve

1690–1700; < French: enthusiasm, whim, chatter, apparently < Latin verba words, talk, plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of verbum word; see verb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for verve

British Dictionary definitions for verve

verve

/ (vɜːv) /

noun

great vitality, enthusiasm, and liveliness; sparkle
a rare word for talent

Word Origin for verve

C17: from Old French: garrulity, from Latin verba words, chatter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for verve

verve

n.

1690s, "special talent in writing," from French verve "enthusiasm" (especially pertaining to the arts), in Old French "caprice, odd humor, proverb" (12c.), probably from Gallo-Romance *verva, from Latin verba "(whimsical) words," plural of verbum "word" (see verb). Meaning "mental vigor" is first recorded 1803.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper