verve

[ vurv ]

/ vɜrv /

SEE 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.

Words nearby verve

vertu, vertumnus, verulamian, verulamium, vervain, verve, vervelle, vervet, verwoerd, very, very high frequency

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

A new history tells their remarkable story with sensitivity and verve writes Wendy Smith.
Women Without Race: ‘Miss Anne in Harlem’|Wendy Smith|September 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And so the question now is not only whether Ryan can reenergize the Romney campaign with his vision and verve.
Will Paul Ryan Help Romney With Blue-Collar Whites?|Andrew Romano|August 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And a candidate with some verve— Michele Bachmann comes to mind—is catnip for the cameras.
All the Also-Rans for President|Jack W. Germond|March 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Where the Austin building is nuanced and almost spectral, Bakersfield is all verve and gesture.
Obama's Building Boom: Will His Architecture Legacy Be as Lasting as FDR's?|Ian Volner|January 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST

What is more, she writes with verve, tongue-in-cheek humor, and elegance.
All Hail Cleopatra!|Michael Korda|November 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The toast was drunk with indescribable enthusiasm and verve.
The Socialist|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
It pictured native life with verve, skill, keenness of insight, and fine pictorial view.
A Text-Book of the History of Painting|John C. Van Dyke
His voluminous correspondence, mostly in MS., is remarkable for its verve and picturesque quality.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 7|Various
He drew what he deserved—a sullen, scared old tomcat with none of the verve of Captain Wow.
The Game of Rat and Dragon|Cordwainer Smith
Verve, verv, n. the enthusiasm which animates a poet or artist: animation: energy.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various

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

verve

noun

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Origin of verve

Examples from the Web for verve

British Dictionary definitions for verve

noun

Word Origin for verve