vicariously

American  

[vahy-kair-ee-uhs-lee, vi-] / vaɪˈkɛər i əs li, vɪ- /

adverb

1. through the experience of another person.

   Adventure novels transport us to strange lands, fraught with perilous situations and terrifying monsters we can vicariously vanquish.

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Other Word Forms

• nonvicariously
  adverb
• unvicariously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of vicariously

vicarious ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

If you’re living vicariously, stop it. Get out and live life for yourself. Vicariously means that you’re experiencing something indirectly, like when your friend's adventure feels like your own. Vicariously is the adverb form of the word vicarious, which also involves experiencing something through another person. The Latin influence is the word vicarius, which means “substitute.” If you experience something vicariously, in a sense you’re a substitute who’s getting something secondhand.

Example Sentences

Vicariously enjoying their ridiculously posh meals and ridiculous parties helps too, mostly because they're distracting and fertile with possibilities for verbal and situational misadventure.

From Salon • Oct. 17, 2021

Vicariously Priscilla learned the manners of a "real lady" under the most trying circumstances.

From The Place Beyond the Winds by Potter, Harry Spafford

Vicariously he knew something of the life of the trenches, for Cecil like many another C. Man* had managed to get to France.

From Gilbert Keith Chesterton by Ward, Maisie

Vicariously I hope to offer by his hands, since mine are now too stained to offer to my own satisfaction.

From Cinderella in the South Twenty-Five South African Tales by Cripps, Arthur Shearly