Verisimilitude -
Noun.
The appearance of being true or real.
"This new demand for verisimilitude in animal toys led to different methods of manufacture."
Definition from Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>.
Berger, John. "Why Look at Animals?" The Animals Reader. eds. Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print.
Vestige -
Noun.
1) A mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence. 2) A surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc. 3) A very slight trace or amount of something. 4) A degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.
The Animated Bestiary, Wells. P
Vicissitudes -
Noun.
A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
"When they are rounded up at night they are protected from the vicissitudes of the more abstract, ambiguous, and ambivalent predicament of the natural world." Wells p138
Definition Source: Merriam-Webster
Virtual Simulacra -
Noun.
Visual representation of something.
“Currency is a simulacra of labor.”
Wells, Paul. The Animated Bestiary. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009. Print.
Vociferous -
Adj.
crying out noisily; clamorous.
“In typical tiger areas her vociferous announcements will attract several adult male tigers…” Boomgaard p21
Definition Source: dictionary.com