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virtue

virtue

259 3.8
A good personal quality like honesty or kindness
  • noun
  • /ˈvɜr.tʃu/
translation icon : virtud
  • Honesty is a virtue that helps build trust in relationships.
  • a moral virtue
  • vices and virtues
  • virtue ethics

If you have to sacrifice health to virtue, virtue wins out.

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Examples

  • It's why Paul says that the highest virtues are faith, hope and love.

  • Well, one of the greatest of all human virtues is forgiveness.

  • We do not see any virtue in anybody being in pain.

  • I think that one of them is the virtue of simplicity.

  • Obama appealed to virtue, and I think he was right.

  • We teach that virtue lies in avoiding excess.

  • I thought I'd study one single virtue, trustworthiness.

  • Patience is not one of my virtues.

  • So we think about the virtues like honesty, courage.

  • Between these, says Aristotle, lies the virtue of friendliness.

Synonyms

honor
vsvirtue
  • US
2.2

Respect given to a person for good moral behavior

stresses the inner admirable quality rather than public reputation
good
vsvirtue
159 6.1

Actions or qualities that are right and help others

is the abstract admirable quality rather than specific moral acts
righteousness
vsvirtue
83 6.5

Being good and fair in how you act

is a general admirable quality not limited to strict moral rules
goodness
vsvirtue
82 1.0

Kind, honest, and fair behaviour in a person

is the single core admirable quality described more abstractly
nobility
vsvirtue
  • Formal
16 5.0

Being morally good and acting with kindness and honor

is the everyday admirable quality rather than noble or exalted conduct
rightness
vsvirtue
6 5.1

A state of being morally good and fair in actions

is the wider admirable quality beyond correctness or appropriateness
nobleness
vsvirtue
  • Formal
1 6.6

Being kind and honest in a way people respect

is the general admirable quality without stressing exalted dignity
virtuousness
vsvirtue
1 6.9

Being honest and doing what is right

is the general admirable quality rather than constant behaviour
moral excellence
vsvirtue
6.1

Being very good at doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong

is a broader admirable quality, not only the exact moral state
honorableness
vsvirtue
  • US
7.4

A quality of being honest and fair that earns respect

is the core admirable quality rather than the respect it brings
noble-mindedness
vsvirtue
7.9

A quality of thinking and acting with high moral standards and fairness

is the basic admirable quality without needing lofty ideals

Antonyms

731 6.2

A bad habit or behaviour that harms a person's character

23 6.3

Bad behavior that people see as wrong or evil

Idioms

by virtue of
  • Formal
25 4.5

Because of something

To find the good side in something you cannot avoid

in virtue of
  • Formal
1 7.5

Because of a quality, fact, or agreement

Compounds

1 8.9

One of the four main moral qualities: careful thinking, fairness, self-control, and courage

theological virtue
  • Specialized
1 9.9

God-given gifts of faith, hope, or love that help people be saved

9.9

A quality that makes someone or something fall asleep

9.9

A moral quality people can have by nature, not given by God, like justice

supernatural virtue
  • Specialized
9.9

A good moral quality given by God, for example faith or love

How Virtuous

perfection
97 3.7
excellence
150 3.2
virtue
259 3.8
goodness
82 1.0
vice
731 6.2

Surface Forms

virtue singular
virtues plural

Etymology

Virtue comes from the Latin root vir, which means 'man' and at first meant 'manly strength' or 'courage'. So the idea of strength grew into the idea of a 'good or admirable quality', and that is why we call honesty or kindness a virtue.