virtue

[vur-choo]

noun

1. moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.

   Antonyms: vice

2. conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.

   Synonyms: integrity, probity

3. chastity; virginity.

   to lose one's virtue.

4. a particular moral excellence.

5. a good or admirable quality or property.

   the virtue of knowing one's weaknesses.

6. effective force; power or potency.

   a charm with the virtue of removing warts.

7. virtues, an order of angels.

8. manly excellence; valor.

virtue

/ -tʃuː, ˈvɜːtjuː /

noun

1. the quality or practice of moral excellence or righteousness

2. a particular moral excellence

   the virtue of tolerance

3. any of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) or theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity)

4. any admirable quality, feature, or trait

5. chastity, esp in women

6. archaic,  an effective, active, or inherent power or force

7. on account of or by reason of

8. to acquiesce in doing something unpleasant with a show of grace because one must do it in any case

Other Word Forms

• virtueless adjective
• virtuelessness noun
• nonvirtue noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of virtue¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; alteration (with i from Latin ) of Middle English vertu, from Anglo-French, Old French from Latin virtūt-, stem of virtūs “maleness, worth, virtue,” equivalent to vir “man” + -tūs, abstract noun suffix; virile

Word History and Origins

Origin of virtue¹

C13: vertu, from Old French, from Latin virtūs manliness, courage, from vir man

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make a virtue of necessity, to make the best of a difficult or unsatisfactory situation.

2. by / in virtue of, by reason of; because of.

   to act by virtue of one's legitimate authority.

see by virtue of; make a virtue of necessity.

Synonym Study

See goodness.

Example Sentences

I realized that while hosting is an action, hospitality is a virtue.

Read more on Salon

As Louisiana argues, “race-based redistricting rests on an invidious stereotype: that all minorities, by virtue of their membership in their racial class, think alike and share the same interests and voting preferences.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rather than root around for scandal, “John Candy: I Like Me” goes all-in on its feel-good mission, stressing that virtue is a quality so timeless that it can stretch far beyond mortal bounds.

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Lawns have a way of turning our sense of pride and order into a to-do list disguised as virtue.

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Sacks, a libertarian who extols the virtues of a Darwinian free market, is riding high off the AI world’s embrace of the president’s policies.

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Related Words

• advantage 
• character 
• ethic 
• excellence 
• faith 
• generosity 
• goodness 
• ideal 
• kindness 
• love 
• merit 
• morality 
• purity 
• quality 
• rectitude 
• righteousness 
• value