what is the word...

Let's have a thesaurus thread.  

I'm thinking of a word.  I'm pretty certain it's a real word, but google can't find it for me.  Maybe you are in the same situation.

It is my firm belief that the community of permies is smarter, faster and better than google.  This thread is for posting the definition of that word you can't quite remember and maybe someone else can help you find that word.

The word I am looking for is like excitement, but it's also vicious and catty.  Like vitriol or poison described as excitement.  I'm pretty certain it starts with the letter 'v'

The sentence "I was told with great ..... that I must have ..."

I was told with great vehemence?

Dan Boone wrote:I was told with great vehemence?

brilliant!