Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Answers to yesterday's Bee

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The official answers for today's puzzle are:

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Number of Pangrams: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 212

Number of Answers: 49

Points Needed for Genius: 148

Genius requires between 21 and 43 words. You need at least an 8-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 76% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 67% of the remaining points to reach genius.

Other days with this pangram:

The button below will reveal a chart with the number of words by each letter. Red bars indicate that there is a pangram(s) starting with that letter.


How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today's score of 212 was in the 72nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on July 22, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 49 possible answers rank it in the 76th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on July 20, 2024.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 8, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes an 8-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on July 17, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.4.
For all Bees, the average word length has been 5.3.



Haven't I seen these letters before?

Hover over a letter to see its first and most recent appearance in the Bee!



Haven't I seen these words before?

The most common words in the Bee are:

  • noon 176
  • loll 170
  • toot 159
  • naan 158
  • nana 158
  • lilt 128
  • till 128
  • tilt 128
  • tint 118
  • mama 112
  • mamma 112
  • nene 107
  • acacia 106
  • acai 106
  • anal 105
  • onto 103
  • toon 103
  • anon 101
  • boob 101
  • booboo 101
  • onion 100
  • lull 99
  • lulu 99
  • olio 99
  • papa 97
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • poop 94
  • allay 93
  • ally 93
  • dodo 93
  • mitt 93
  • tatty 93
  • baba 92
  • ratatat 91
  • tact 91
  • tart 91
  • tartar 91
  • attar 90
  • nanny 90
  • cocci 89
  • mono 89
  • moon 89
  • radar 89
  • tutu 89
  • loon 88
  • array 87
  • epee 87
  • peep 87
  • tattoo 87


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 88,333 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,167 unique words.
Below are the distributions of the lengths of these words.



Valid dictionary words not in today's official answers

You may be wondering why these words aren't here*:

  • aalii
  • akee
  • akela
  • akvavit
  • alae
  • alate
  • alee
  • alkie
  • allee
  • alliak
  • atlatl
  • ekka
  • elative
  • ikat
  • ilea
  • ileal
  • ilia
  • ilial
  • ilka
  • illative
  • kaiak
  • kail
  • kaka
  • kaki
  • kakivak
  • kata
  • kava
  • kavakava
  • keta
  • kiva
  • lakelike
  • lall
  • latakia
  • lati
  • latilla
  • lavalava
  • lavalike
  • leal
  • leva
  • litai
  • tael
  • taille
  • taillike
  • taka
  • tala
  • tate
  • tattie
  • tealike
  • tela
  • telae
  • telia
  • telial
  • tilak
  • titillative
  • tittivate
  • vail
  • vakeel
  • vakil
  • vallate
  • valval
  • valvate
  • valvelet
  • valvelike
  • vela
  • velate
  • villae
  • vita
  • vitae
  • vitta
  • vittae
  • vittate
  • viva
  • vivat

*Because the New York Times considers them obscure or offensive.

alike

adjective
  1. Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference.
adverb
  1. In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally.

alit

No Definition Found.

alive

adjective
  1. Having life; living; not dead
  2. In a state of action; in force or operation; existent
  3. Busy with activity of many living beings; swarming; thronged; busy.
  4. Sprightly; lively; brisk.
  5. Susceptible; easy to impress; having keen feelings, as opposed to apathy
  6. (as an intensifier) out of all living creatures.
adjective
  1. (only used attributively) Having life; that is alive.
  2. Being in existence; actual
  3. Having active properties; being energized.
  4. Operational; in actual use rather than in testing etc.
  5. Taken from a living animal.
  6. Imparting power; having motion.
  7. Still in active play.
  8. Seen or heard from a broadcast, as it happens.
  9. (of a performance or speech) In person.
  10. (entertainment, performing) Recorded in front of an audience and not having been edited after recording.
  11. Of firearms or explosives, capable of causing harm.
  12. (circuitry) Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched.
  13. Being a bet which can be raised by the bettor, usually in reference to a blind or straddle.
  14. Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”.
  15. Being in a state of ignition; burning.
  16. Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing.
  17. Vivid; bright.

alkali

noun
  1. One of a class of caustic bases, such as soda, soda ash, caustic soda, potash, ammonia, and lithia, whose distinguishing peculiarities are solubility in alcohol and water, uniting with oils and fats to form soap, neutralizing and forming salts with acids, turning to brown several vegetable yellows, and changing reddened litmus to blue.
  2. (Western United States) Soluble mineral matter, other than common salt, contained in soils of natural waters.

allele

noun
  1. One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.

alleviate

verb
  1. To make less severe, as a pain or difficulty.

atilt

adjective
  1. At an angle from the vertical or horizontal.
adverb
  1. At an angle from the vertical or horizontal; at the point of falling over.
  2. Tilting or as if tilting (charging with a lance, like a knight on horseback in a joust).
preposition
  1. Diagonally over or across.

avail

noun
  1. Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions).
  2. Proceeds; profits from business transactions.
  3. An advertising slot or package.
  4. A press avail.
  5. Non-binding notice of availability for work.
  6. A readily available stock of oil.
  7. Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success.
  8. Effort; striving.
verb
  1. To turn to the advantage of.
  2. To be of service to.
  3. To promote; to assist.
  4. To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
  5. To provide; to make available.

aviate

verb
  1. To operate an aircraft.

eave

noun
  1. Eaves: the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building.

elate

verb
  1. To make joyful or proud.
  2. To lift up; raise; elevate.
adjective
  1. Elated; exultant
  2. Lifted up; raised; elevated.

elevate

verb
  1. To raise (something) to a higher position.
  2. To promote (someone) to a higher rank.
  3. To confer honor or nobility on (someone).
  4. To make (something or someone) more worthy or of greater value.
  5. To direct (the mind, thoughts, etc.) toward more worthy things.
  6. To increase the intensity or degree of (something).
  7. To lift the spirits of (someone)
  8. To intoxicate in a slight degree; to make (someone) tipsy.
  9. (Latinism) To attempt to make (something) seem less important, remarkable, etc.
adjective
  1. Elevated; raised aloft.

kale

noun
  1. An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
  2. Any of several cabbage-like food plants that are kinds of Brassica oleracea.
  3. Broth containing kale as a chief ingredient.
  4. Money.

lake

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small stream of running water; a channel for water; a drain.
  2. A large, landlocked stretch of water.
  3. A large amount of liquid; as, a wine lake.
  4. A pit, or ditch

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An offering, sacrifice, gift.
  2. Play; sport; game; fun; glee.
verb
  1. To present an offering.
  2. To leap, jump, exert oneself, play.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A kind of fine, white linen.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. In dyeing and painting, an often fugitive crimson or vermillion pigment derived from an organic colorant (cochineal or madder, for example) and an inorganic, generally metallic mordant.
  2. In the composition of colors for use in products intended for human consumption, made by extending on a substratum of alumina, a salt prepared from one of the certified water-soluble straight colors.
verb
  1. To make lake-red.

late

noun
  1. A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night.
adjective
  1. Near the end of a period of time.
  2. Specifically, near the end of the day.
  3. (usually not comparable) Associated with the end of a period.
  4. Not arriving until after an expected time.
  5. Not having had an expected menstrual period.
  6. Deceased, dead: used particularly when speaking of the dead person's actions while alive. (Often used with "the"; see usage notes.)
  7. Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; departed, or gone out of office.
  8. Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.
  9. Of a star or class of stars, cooler than the sun.
adverb
  1. After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.
  2. Formerly, especially in the context of service in a military unit.
  3. Not long ago; just now.

latke

noun
  1. A pancake fried in oil, usually made from potatoes and sometimes also onions, traditionally served on Hanukkah.

latte

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A drink of coffee made from espresso and steamed milk, generally topped with foam.
  2. A similar drink, where the espresso is replaced with some other flavoring ingredient such as chai, maté or matcha (green tea).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A pillar capped by a hemispherical stone capital with the flat side facing up, used as building supports by the ancient Chamorro people and now used as a sign of Chamorro identity.

lava

noun
  1. The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.
  2. Magma.
  3. A shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.

lave

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To pour or throw out, as water; lade out; bail; bail out.
  2. To draw, as water; drink in.
  3. To give bountifully; lavish.
  4. To run down or gutter, as a candle.
  5. To hang or flap down.
  6. To wash.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (archaic or dialectal) The remainder, rest; that which is left, remnant; others.
  2. (dialectal) A crowd

leak

noun
  1. A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
  2. The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.
  3. A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret.
  4. The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs.
  5. A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs.
  6. The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.
  7. (especially with the verb "take") An act of urination.
verb
  1. To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed.
  2. (of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed.
  3. To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.
adjective
  1. Leaky.

leave

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To have a consequence or remnant.
  2. To depart; to separate from.
  3. To transfer something.
  4. To remain (behind); to stay.
  5. To stop, desist from; to "leave off" (+ noun / gerund).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.
  2. The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.
  2. Permission.
  3. Farewell, departure.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.

Etymology 5

verb
  1. To produce leaves or foliage.

Etymology 6

verb
  1. To raise; to levy.

levitate

verb
  1. To cause to rise in the air and float, as if in defiance of gravity.
  2. To be suspended in the air, as if in defiance of gravity.

tail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.
  2. An object or part of an object resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails.
  3. The back, last, lower, or inferior part of anything.
  4. The feathers attached to the pygostyle of a bird.
  5. The tail-end of an object, e.g. the rear of an aircraft's fuselage, containing the tailfin.
  6. The rear structure of an aircraft, the empennage.
  7. The visible stream of dust and gases blown from a comet by the solar wind.
  8. The latter part of a time period or event, or (collectively) persons or objects represented in this part.
  9. The part of a distribution most distant from the mode; as, a long tail.
  10. One who surreptitiously follows another.
  11. The lower order of batsmen in the batting order, usually specialist bowlers.
  12. The lower loop of the letters in the Roman alphabet, as in g, q or y.
  13. (chiefly in the plural) The side of a coin not bearing the head; normally the side on which the monetary value of the coin is indicated; the reverse.
  14. All the last terms of a sequence, from some term on.
  15. The buttocks or backside.
  16. The penis of a person or animal.
  17. Sexual intercourse.
  18. (kayaking) The stern; the back of the kayak.
  19. A train or company of attendants; a retinue.
  20. The distal tendon of a muscle.
  21. A filamentous projection on the tornal section of each hind wing of certain butterflies.
  22. A downy or feathery appendage of certain achens, formed of the permanent elongated style.
  23. A portion of an incision, at its beginning or end, which does not go through the whole thickness of the skin, and is more painful than a complete incision; called also tailing.
  24. One of the strips at the end of a bandage formed by splitting the bandage one or more times.
  25. A rope spliced to the strap of a block, by which it may be lashed to anything.
  26. The part of a note which runs perpendicularly upward or downward from the head; the stem.
  27. A tailing.
  28. The bottom or lower portion of a member or part such as a slate or tile.
  29. A tailcoat.
verb
  1. To follow and observe surreptitiously.
  2. To hold by the end; said of a timber when it rests upon a wall or other support; with in or into
  3. To swing with the stern in a certain direction; said of a vessel at anchor.
  4. To follow or hang to, like a tail; to be attached closely to, as that which can not be evaded.
  5. To pull or draw by the tail.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Limitation of inheritance to certain heirs.
adjective
  1. Limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed.

take

noun
  1. The or an act of taking.
  2. Something that is taken; a haul.
  3. An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment; perspective.
  4. An approach, a (distinct) treatment.
  5. A scene recorded (filmed) at one time, without an interruption or break; a recording of such a scene.
  6. A recording of a musical performance made during an uninterrupted single recording period.
  7. A visible (facial) response to something, especially something unexpected; a facial gesture in response to an event.
  8. An instance of successful inoculation/vaccination.
  9. A catch of the ball (in cricket, especially one by the wicket-keeper).
  10. The quantity of copy given to a compositor at one time.
verb
  1. To get into one's hands, possession or control, with or without force.
  2. To receive or accept (something) (especially something given or bestowed, awarded, etc).
  3. To remove.
  4. To have sex with.
  5. To defeat (someone or something) in a fight.
  6. To grasp or grip.
  7. To select or choose; to pick.
  8. To adopt (select) as one's own.
  9. To carry or lead (something or someone).
  10. To use as a means of transportation.
  11. To visit; to include in a course of travel.
  12. To obtain for use by payment or lease.
  13. To consume.
  14. To experience, undergo, or endure.
  15. To cause to change to a specified state or condition.
  16. To regard in a specified way.
  17. To conclude or form (a decision or an opinion) in the mind.
  18. To understand (especially in a specified way).
  19. To accept or be given (rightly or wrongly); assume (especially as if by right).
  20. To believe, to accept the statements of.
  21. To assume or suppose; to reckon; to regard or consider.
  22. To draw, derive, or deduce (a meaning from something).
  23. To derive (as a title); to obtain from a source.
  24. To catch or contract (an illness, etc).
  25. To come upon or catch (in a particular state or situation).
  26. To captivate or charm; to gain or secure the interest or affection of.
  27. (of a material) To absorb or be impregnated by (dye, ink, etc); to be susceptible to being treated by (polish, etc).
  28. (of a ship) To let in (water).
  29. To require.
  30. To proceed to fill.
  31. To fill, to use up (time or space).
  32. To avail oneself of.
  33. To practice; perform; execute; carry out; do.
  34. To assume or perform (a form or role).
  35. To bind oneself by.
  36. To move into.
  37. To go into, through, or along.
  38. To have and use one's recourse to.
  39. To ascertain or determine by measurement, examination or inquiry.
  40. To write down; to get in, or as if in, writing.
  41. To make (a photograph, film, or other reproduction of something).
  42. To take a picture, photograph, etc of (a person, scene, etc).
  43. To obtain money from, especially by swindling.
  44. (now chiefly by enrolling in a class or course) To apply oneself to the study of.
  45. To deal with.
  46. To consider in a particular way, or to consider as an example.
  47. To decline to swing at (a pitched ball); to refrain from hitting at, and allow to pass.
  48. To accept as an input to a relation.
  49. To get or accept (something) into one's possession.
  50. To engage, take hold or have effect.
  51. To become; to be affected in a specified way.
  52. (possibly obsolete) To be able to be accurately or beautifully photographed.
  53. An intensifier.
  54. To deliver, bring, give (something) to (someone).
  55. (obsolete outside dialectal and slang) To give or deliver (a blow, to someone); to strike or hit.

tale

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An account of an asserted fact or circumstance; a rumour; a report, especially an idle or malicious story; a piece of gossip or slander; a lie.
  2. A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.
  3. A number told or counted off; a reckoning by count; an enumeration.
  4. The fraudulent opportunity presented by a confidence man to the mark or victim.
  5. Number; tally; quota.
  6. Account; estimation; regard; heed.
  7. Speech; language.
  8. A speech; a statement; talk; conversation; discourse.
  9. A count; declaration.
  10. A number of things considered as an aggregate; sum.
  11. A report of any matter; a relation; a version.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To speak; discourse; tell tales.
  2. To reckon; consider (someone) to have something.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Any of several units of measure used in China and elsewhere in eastern Asia, approximately 40 grams.
  2. Any of several monetary units equal to the equivalent weight in silver.
  3. Leung, a traditional unit of weight, in modern usage legally defined as 1/16 of a catty or kan (斤) or 0.0377993638 kilograms

tali

noun
  1. The bone of the ankle.

talk

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To communicate, usually by means of speech.
  2. To discuss; to talk about.
  3. To speak (a certain language).
  4. (chiefly used in progressive tenses) Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
  5. To confess, especially implicating others.
  6. To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
  7. To gossip; to create scandal.
  8. (chiefly used in progressive tenses) To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.
  2. A lecture.
  3. Gossip; rumour.
  4. (preceded by the; often qualified by a following of) A major topic of social discussion.
  5. (preceded by the) A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenaged) child about a reality of life; in particular:
  6. (not preceded by an article) Empty boasting, promises or claims.
  7. (usually plural) Meeting to discuss a particular matter.

talkative

adjective
  1. Tending to talk a lot.
  2. Speaking openly and honestly, neglecting privacy and consequences.

talkie

noun
  1. A movie with sound, as opposed to a silent film.

tall

noun
  1. (possibly nonstandard) Someone or something that is tall.
adjective
  1. (of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
  2. (of a building, etc.) Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent; high.
  3. (of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
  4. (of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.
  5. Obsequious; obedient.
  6. Seemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
  7. Bold; brave; courageous; valiant.
  8. Fine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.

tallit

No Definition Found.

tattle

noun
  1. A tattletale.
  2. Often said of children: a piece of incriminating information or an account of wrongdoing that is said about another person.
  3. Idle talk; gossip; an instance of such talk or gossip.
verb
  1. To chatter; to gossip.
  2. Often said of children: to report incriminating information about another person, or a person's wrongdoing; to tell on somebody.
  3. To speak like a baby or young child; to babble, to prattle; to speak haltingly; to stutter.

tattletale

noun
  1. One who tattles (reports others' wrongdoings), often a child seeking attention.
  2. One who gossips, often for the sake of attention.
verb
  1. To act as a tattletale; to tell on; to give away, reveal, or expose.
adjective
  1. Telltale; giveaway

teak

noun
  1. An extremely durable timber highly valued for shipbuilding and other purposes, yielded by Tectona grandis (and Tectona spp.).
  2. A tree of the species in the genus Tectona
  3. A yellowish brown colour, like that of teak wood.
adjective
  1. Of a yellowish brown colour, like that of teak wood.

teakettle

noun
  1. (obsolete outside United States) A vessel for boiling water for tea.

teal

noun
  1. Any of various small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas that are brightly coloured and have short necks.
  2. A dark, somewhat bluish-green colour; a dark cyan.
adjective
  1. Having a bluish-green colour

teat

noun
  1. The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted.
  2. Something resembling a teat, such as a small protuberance or nozzle.
  3. An artificial nipple used for bottle-feeding infants.

telltale

noun
  1. One who divulges private information with intent to hurt others.
  2. Tattletale; squealer.
  3. An indicator, such as a warning light, that serves to warn of a hazard or problem.
  4. Something that serves to reveal something else.
  5. A movable piece of ivory, lead, or other material, connected to the bellows of an organ, whose position indicates when the wind is exhausted.
  6. A length of yarn or ribbon attached to a sail or shroud etc to indicate the direction of the flow of the air relative to the boat.
  7. A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm.
  8. A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.
  9. A machine or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees (factory hands, watchmen, drivers, etc.) by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.
  10. A bird, the tattler.
  11. A story or fable that has a moral or message.
adjective
  1. Revealing something, especially something not intended to be known.

tikka

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A marinade made from various aromatic spices usually with a yoghurt base; often used in Indian cuisine prior to grilling in a tandoor.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A tilak.

titillate

verb
  1. To stimulate or excite sensually

titivate

verb
  1. To make small improvements or alterations to (one's appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to.

vale

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A valley.

Etymology 2

interjection
  1. (usually seen in obituaries) Farewell.

valet

noun
  1. A man's personal male attendant, responsible for his clothes and appearance.
  2. A hotel employee performing such duties for guests.
  3. (professional wrestling) A female performer in professional wrestling, acting as either a manager or personal chaperone; often used to attract and titillate male members of the audience.
  4. A female chaperone who accompanies a man, and is usually not married to him.
  5. A person employed to clean or park cars.
  6. A person employed to assist the jockey and trainer at a racecourse.
  7. A wooden stand on which to hold clothes and accessories in preparation for dressing.
  8. A kind of goad or stick with an iron point.
verb
  1. To serve (someone) as a valet.
  2. To clean and service (a car), as a valet does.
  3. To leave (a car) with a valet to park it.

valve

noun
  1. A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a pipe.
  2. A device that admits fuel and air into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, or one that allows combustion gases to exit.
  3. One or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or control the flow in the opposite direction
  4. One of the leaves of a folding-door, or a window-sash.
  5. A vacuum tube.
  6. One of the pieces into which certain fruits naturally separate when they dehisce.
  7. A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, such as in the barberry.
  8. One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.
  9. One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom.
verb
  1. To control (flow) by means of a valve.

veal

noun
  1. The flesh of a calf (i.e. a young bovine) used for food.

vial

noun
  1. A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemical.
verb
  1. To put or keep in, or as in, a vial.

villa

noun
  1. (plural "villas") A house, often larger and more expensive than average, in the countryside or on the coast, often used as a retreat.
  2. (plural "villas") A family house, often semi-detached, in a middle class street.
  3. (plural "villae") A country house, with farm buildings around a courtyard.

vital

adjective
  1. Relating to, or characteristic of life.
  2. Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends.
  3. Invigorating or life-giving.
  4. Necessary to continued existence.
  5. Relating to the recording of life events.
  6. Very important.
  7. Containing life; living.
  8. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable.

vitiate

verb
  1. To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something
  2. To debase or morally corrupt
  3. To violate, to rape
  4. To make something ineffective, to invalidate