virtuous

[ vur-choo-uh s ]

/ ˈvɜr tʃu əs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR virtuous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright: Lead a virtuous life.

chaste: a virtuous young person.

Nearby words

virtue signaling, virtues, virtuosa, virtuosity, virtuoso, virtuous, virtuous circle, virtuously, virtute et armis, virucidal, virucide

Origin of virtuous

1300–50; alteration (with i < Latin) of Middle English vertuous < Anglo-French < Late Latin virtuōsus, equivalent to Latin virtu(s) virtue + -ōsus -ous

Related forms

vir·tu·ous·ly, adverbvir·tu·ous·ness, nounnon·vir·tu·ous, adjectivenon·vir·tu·ous·ly, adverb

non·vir·tu·ous·ness, nounqua·si-vir·tu·ous, adjectivequa·si-vir·tu·ous·ly, adverbun·vir·tu·ous, adjectiveun·vir·tu·ous·ly, adverbun·vir·tu·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for virtuous

In other words, the free speech exhibited by the folks at Charlie Hebdo was not virtuous—until there was a body count.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A May 2014 Slate article by Sam Kean details the tragic changes he suffered “from a virtuous foreman to a sociopathic drifter.”
Understanding Tracy Morgan’s Traumatic Brain Injury|Jean Kim|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some look at the Aspen museum and wonder whether Ban will be able to continue creating his humanitarian “virtuous” architecture.
Shigeru Ban: Triumph From Disaster|Nate Berg|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At times it can seem too proud of its virtuous noncommerciality; its slowness can seem shallow, its artiness willful.
‘The Leftovers’ Review: A Fever Dream You Can’t Wake Up From|Andrew Romano|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Halt and Catch Fire seems like it could be that sort of series: virtuous but minor.
‘Halt and Catch Fire’ and AMC’s Push to Reset Dramas|Andrew Romano|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is not the persons who sin the least, but those who overcome the strongest temptations, who are the most virtuous.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 75, January, 1864|Various
Then, O great king, Kapila was pleased with Ansuman, and that saint of a virtuous soul told him to ask for a favour from him.
Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1|Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
Even the virtuous fall sometimes to variance, when their virtues are of different kinds and tending to extremes.
Rasselas|Samuel Johnson
Cheers were raised here for the old “Sociables,” who never felt so virtuous in all their lives.
Follow My leader|Talbot Baines Reed
But he had not the virtuous courage to give way to his feelings.
Coelebs In Search of a Wife|Hannah More

British Dictionary definitions for virtuous

virtuous

/ (ˈvɜːtʃʊəs) /

adjective

characterized by or possessing virtue or moral excellence; righteous; upright

(of women) chaste or virginal

Derived Forms

virtuously, adverbvirtuousness, noun

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