vis|count|ess /va I kaʊnt I s/ (viscountesses ) N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A viscountess is the wife of a viscount or a woman who holds the same position as a viscount.
vis|cous /v I skəs/ ADJ A viscous liquid is thick and sticky. □ …dark, viscous blood.
vise /va I s/ → see vice 3
vis|ibil|ity /v I z I b I l I ti/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Visibility means how far or how clearly you can see in particular weather conditions. □ Visibility was poor.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If you refer to the visibility of something such as a situation or problem, you mean how much it is seen or noticed by other people. □ …the global visibility of the protests.
vis|ible ◆◇◇ /v I z I b ə l/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If something is visible , it can be seen. □ The warning lights were clearly visible. □ [+ to ] They found a bacterium visible to the human eye. [Also + from ]
2 ADJ You use visible to describe something or someone that people notice or recognize. □ The most visible sign of the intensity of the crisis is unemployment. □ He was making a visible effort to control himself. ● vis|ibly /v I z I bli/ ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] □ They emerged visibly distressed and weeping.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] In economics, visible earnings are the money that a country makes as a result of producing goods, rather than from services such as banking and tourism. [BUSINESS ] □ In the U.K. visible imports have traditionally been greater than visible exports. SYNONYMS visible ADJ 1
perceptible: Pasternak gave him a barely perceptible smile.
noticeable: It is noticeable that women do not have the rivalry that men have.
observable: Mars is too faint and too low in the sky to be observable.
vi|sion ◆◇◇ /v I ʒ ə n/ (visions )
1 N‑COUNT Your vision of a future situation or society is what you imagine or hope it would be like, if things were very different from the way they are now. □ [+ of ] I have a vision of a society that is free of exploitation and injustice. □ [+ of ] That's my vision of how the world could be.
2 N‑COUNT If you have a vision of someone in a particular situation, you imagine them in that situation, for example because you are worried that it might happen, or hope that it will happen. □ [+ of ] He had a vision of Cheryl, slumped on a plastic chair in the waiting-room. □ [+ of ] Maybe you had visions of being surrounded by happy, smiling children.
3 N‑COUNT A vision is the experience of seeing something that other people cannot see, for example in a religious experience or as a result of madness or taking drugs. □ It was on 24th June 1981 that young villagers first reported seeing the Virgin Mary in a vision.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Your vision is your ability to see clearly with your eyes. □ It causes blindness or serious loss of vision.
5 N‑UNCOUNT Your vision is everything that you can see from a particular place or position. □ Jane blocked Cross's vision and he could see nothing.
6 → see also tunnel vision SYNONYMS vision NOUN 1
idea: My idea of physical perfection is to be very slender.
dream: My dream is to have a house in the country.
fantasy: …fantasies of romance and true love.
vi|sion|ary /v I ʒənri, [AM ] -neri/ (visionaries )
1 N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a visionary , you mean that they have strong, original ideas about how things might be different in the future, especially about how things might be improved. □ An entrepreneur is more than just a risk taker. He is a visionary.
2 ADJ You use visionary to describe the strong, original ideas of a visionary. □ …the visionary architecture of Etienne Boulleé.
vis|it ◆◆◆ /v I z I t/ (visits , visiting , visited )
1 VERB If you visit someone, you go to see them and spend time with them. □ [V n] He wanted to visit his brother in Worcester. □ [V ] Bill would visit on weekends. ● N‑COUNT Visit is also a noun. □ Helen had recently paid him a visit.
2 VERB If you visit a place, you go there for a short time. □ [V n] He'll be visiting four cities including Cagliari in Sardinia. □ [V n] Caroline visited all the big stores. □ [V -ing] …a visiting truck driver. ● N‑COUNT Visit is also a noun. □ I paid a visit to my local print shop.
3 VERB If you visit a website, you look at it. [COMPUTING ] □ [V n] For details visit our website at www.cobuild.collins.co.uk.
4 VERB If you visit a professional person such as a doctor or lawyer, you go and see them in order to get professional advice. If they visit you, they come to see you in order to give you professional advice. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] If necessary, the patient can then visit his doctor for further advice. ● N‑COUNT Visit is also a noun. □ [+ from ] You may have regular home visits from a neonatal nurse.
▸ visit with PHRASAL VERB If you visit with someone, you go to see them and spend time with them. [AM ] □ [V P n] I visited with him in San Francisco. SYNONYMS visit VERB 1
call on: Sofia was intending to call on Miss Kitts.