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vice

1
[ vahys ]
/ vaɪs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR vice ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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Origin of vice

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin vitium “a fault, defect, vice”

synonym study for vice

See fault.

Words nearby vice

vicarious hypertrophy, vicarious menstruation, vicarly, Vicar of Bray, Vicar of Christ, vice, vice-admiral, vice-chairman, vice-chancellor, vice-consul, vice-county

Definition for vice (2 of 4)

vice2
[ vahys ]
/ vaɪs /

noun, verb (used with object), viced, vic·ing.

vise.

Definition for vice (3 of 4)

vice3
[ vahy-see, -suh, vahys ]
/ ˈvaɪ si, -sə, vaɪs /

preposition

instead of; in the place of.

Origin of vice

3
1760–70; <Latin: instead of, ablative of vicis (genitive; not attested in nominative) interchange, alternation

Definition for vice (4 of 4)

vice-

a combining form meaning “deputy,” used in the formation of compound words, usually titles of officials who serve in the absence of the official denoted by the base word: viceroy; vice-chancellor.

Origin of vice-

Middle English ≪ Latin vicevice3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to vice

indecency, sensuality, carnality, perversion, lust, trespass, lewdness, offense, rot, evildoing, decay, debauchery, wickedness, depravity, corruption, immorality, squalor, evil, wrong, licentiousness

Example sentences from the Web for vice

British Dictionary definitions for vice (1 of 5)

vice1
/ (vaɪs) /

noun

an immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait
habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices
a specific form of pernicious conduct, esp prostitution or sexual perversion
a failing or imperfection in character, conduct, etcsmoking is his only vice
pathol obsolete any physical defect or imperfection
a bad trick or disposition, as of horses, dogs, etc

Derived forms of vice

viceless, adjective

Word Origin for vice

C13: via Old French from Latin vitium a defect

British Dictionary definitions for vice (2 of 5)

vice2

often US vise

/ (vaɪs) /

noun

an appliance for holding an object while work is done upon it, usually having a pair of jaws

verb

(tr) to grip (something) with or as if with a vice

Derived forms of vice

vicelike or US viselike, adjective

Word Origin for vice

C15: from Old French vis a screw, from Latin vītis vine, plant with spiralling tendrils (hence the later meaning)

British Dictionary definitions for vice (3 of 5)

vice3
/ (vaɪs) /

adjective

  1. (prenominal) serving in the place of or as a deputy for
  2. (in combination)viceroy

noun

informal a person who serves as a deputy to another

Word Origin for vice

C18: from Latin vice, from vicis interchange

British Dictionary definitions for vice (4 of 5)

vice4
/ (ˈvaɪsɪ) /

preposition

instead of; as a substitute for

Word Origin for vice

C16: from Latin, ablative of vicis change

British Dictionary definitions for vice (5 of 5)

Vice
/ (vaɪs) /

noun

(in English morality plays) a character personifying a particular vice or vice in general
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012