verve

noun

ˈvərv 

1

a

: the spirit and enthusiasm animating artistic composition or performance : vivacity

b

: energy, vitality

2

archaic : special ability or talent

Synonyms

• beans
• bounce
• brio
• dash
• drive
• dynamism
• energy
• esprit
• gas
• get-up-and-go
• ginger
• go
• gusto
• hardihood
• juice
• life
• moxie
• oomph
• pep
• punch
• sap
• snap
• starch
• vigor
• vim
• vinegar
• vitality
• zing
• zip

Examples of verve in a Sentence

She played with skill and verve.

Recent Examples on the Web

Their songs collage freaky noises, catchy melodies, guitar outbursts, and electronic beats — all played and produced with polymathic verve by Amos — while Brown adds deadpan vocals on top. —Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025

Luster brims with dark humor, poignant human insight, and sentences that shine with stylistic verve. —Literary Hub, 10 June 2025

Then the second half makes the case that actually, all that stuff is just set dressing, and the Wicks live and die on the very particular mix of verve and humor that has made their action sequences so distinctive. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 June 2025

Available in a two and three seater configuration and countless upholstery options (like this Kindercore yellow), this versatile 78-inch sectional would feel right at home in a basement or a reading corner in need of some verve. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 30 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, caprice, from Old French, word, gossip, from Vulgar Latin *verva, from Latin verba, plural of verbum word — more at word

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for verve

• curve
• mirv
• nerve
• serve
• swerve
• conserve
• deserve
• manoeuvre
• observe
• preserve
• reserve
• subserve

Kids Definition

verve

noun

ˈvərv 

: lively enthusiasm