virtue
Americannoun
-
moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.
- Antonyms:
- vice
-
conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.
-
chastity; virginity.
to lose one's virtue.
-
a particular moral excellence.
-
a good or admirable quality or property.
the virtue of knowing one's weaknesses.
-
effective force; power or potency.
a charm with the virtue of removing warts.
-
virtues, an order of angels.
-
manly excellence; valor.
idioms
-
make a virtue of necessity, to make the best of a difficult or unsatisfactory situation.
-
by / in virtue of, by reason of; because of.
to act by virtue of one's legitimate authority.
noun
-
the quality or practice of moral excellence or righteousness
-
a particular moral excellence
the virtue of tolerance
-
any of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) or theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity)
-
any admirable quality, feature, or trait
-
chastity, esp in women
-
archaic an effective, active, or inherent power or force
-
on account of or by reason of
-
to acquiesce in doing something unpleasant with a show of grace because one must do it in any case
Related Words
See goodness.
Other Word Forms
- nonvirtue noun
- virtueless adjective
- virtuelessness noun
Etymology
Origin of virtue
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By virtue of the Indianapolis Colts losing to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, the Chargers secured a playoff berth, and the division title and top seed in the AFC are still in play.
From Los Angeles Times
A nation that teaches fear as a civic virtue hollows itself out from within.
From Salon
Eichmann distanced himself not only from ordinary decency but empirical reality, “that is, against the claim on our thinking attention that all events and facts make by virtue of their existence.”
From Salon
He explains that white is "not about inspiration but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "austerity, moral minimalism and the idea that neutrality signifies virtue".
From BBC
Are the Rams really about to entrust star wide receiver Puka Nacua with the responsibility of projecting their virtues after the controversial week he just had?
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
