vapors

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va·por

(vā′pər)

1. The gaseous state of a substance that is liquid or solid at room temperature.

2. A faintly visible suspension of fine particles of matter in the air, as mist, fumes, or smoke.

3. A mixture of fine droplets of a substance and air, as the fuel mixture of an internal-combustion engine.

4. Archaic

a. Something insubstantial, worthless, or fleeting.

b. A fantastic or foolish idea.

5. vapors Archaic

a. Exhalations within a bodily organ, especially the stomach, supposed to affect the mental or physical condition. Used with the.

b. A nervous disorder such as depression or hysteria. Used with the.

v. va·pored, va·por·ing, va·pors

v.tr.

1. To fill or cover with vapor: Perfume vapored the room.

2. To vaporize: "You wished you'd seen one of the monster shots that vapored an atoll way back when" (Don DeLillo).

v.intr.

1. To give off vapor.

2. To evaporate: The fog vapored away.

3. To engage in idle, boastful talk: vapored on about his accomplishments.

[Middle English vapour, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin vapor.]

va′por·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

vapors - a state of depression; "he had a bad case of the blues"

blue devils, megrims, vapours, blues

depression - a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity

References in classic literature ?

No, it was man alone who had produced these reddish vapors, these gigantic flames worthy of a volcano itself, these tremendous vibrations resembling the shock of an earthquake, these reverberations rivaling those of hurricanes and storms; and it was his hand which precipitated into an abyss, dug by himself, a whole Niagara of molten metal!

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He never took all the straw away, and the smell from what lay underneath was very bad; while the strong vapors that rose made my eyes smart and inflame, and I did not feel the same appetite for my food.

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D.), it should still remain a problem, whether these spoutings are, after all, really water, or nothing but vapor --this is surely a noteworthy thing.

And how nobly it raises our conceit of the mighty, misty monster, to behold him solemnly sailing through a calm tropical sea; his vast, mild head overhung by a canopy of vapor, engendered by his incommunicable contemplations, and that vapor --as you will sometimes see it --glorified by a rainbow, as if Heaven itself had put its seal upon his thoughts.

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Some moments passed, during which the thick vapor came from his mouth in quick and constant puffs, which blew back again into his face.

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By his directions, the girl was placed in a sort of rude vapor bath, much used by the Nez Perces, where she was kept until near fainting.

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And, in fact, a thick bank of vapor, now quite distinct, could be seen slowly emerging above the horizon.

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*In these Russian (vapor) baths the person extends himself on a bank or form, and as he gets accustomed to the heat, moves to another higher up towards the ceiling, where, of course, the vapor is warmest.

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"And but little time to do it in," added Heyward, glancing his eyes upwards, toward the bank of vapor that concealed the setting moon.

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What we had been mistaking for fleeting glimpses of sky away aloft there, were really patches of the Blumis's snowy crest caught through shredded rents in the drifting pall of vapor.

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When the blaze shot up and burned clearly old Mombi scattered a handful of magical powder over the fire, which straightway gave off a rich violet vapor, filling all the tent with its fragrance and forcing the Saw-Horse to sneeze -- although he had been warned to keep quiet.

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Consequently I affirm that, if our projectile had struck the meteor, its speed thus suddenly checked would have raised a heat great enough to turn it into vapor instantaneously."