virtuous circle
1
6.3
- noun
:
círculo virtuoso
- Thus the "virtuous circle" of innovation caused the Internet to explode and become the ever-changing and evolving tool we depend so much on.
- create a virtuous circle
And this is a virtuous circle that we have been constructing.
- And this is a virtuous circle that we have been constructing.
- And so it was kind of a virtuous circle of more and more stuff coming out that was really good for programmers.
- So, so that brings people out of talent to help you and, and so all together, it's a virtuous circle, I think.
- The thing is, right, one of these is a vicious circle, and one of them is a virtuous circle.
Examples
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In the "virtuous circle," an open Internet motivates edge providers to invest money, time, and resources in developing new content and applications.
Academic text (2016) -
By focusing on education and skill development, we can establish a virtuous circle that leads to economic growth and social improvement.
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The history of the United States can be read as one such virtuous circle.
Blog text (7) -
This virtuous circle may be the best news of all.
Academic text (1999) -
But as the story of Venice shows, virtuous circles can be broken.
Blog text (7) -
And this is a virtuous circle that we have been constructing.
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Careful ecological management of crop-livestock systems can create virtuous circles.
Academic text (2001) -
Similarly, early success in exams may lead to the same virtuous circle (at the expense of those who don't succeed at the exams).
Blog text (29) -
These recommendations certainly track with each other and, if implemented, might produce virtuous circles to strengthen state capacity, economic openness, and liberalization in a host of areas.
Academic text (2004) -
Etel Solingen effectively compares this to the virtuous circle in East Asia, where export-oriented economies have led to intra-regional trade, demilitarization, and regional peace.
Academic text (2014)
Antonyms
How Beneficial
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'virtuous' (good, beneficial) and 'circle' (a round shape or group) provide a cue to a positive relation, the phrase relies on the metaphorical sense of 'circle' as a recurrent cycle or feedback loop. A B1 learner who knows the words may guess it is something positive or a group of good people, but they are unlikely to fully derive the specific notion of a self-reinforcing beneficial cycle without prior exposure or knowledge of the idiomatic pattern (as in 'vicious circle').
Etymology
The noun virtuous circle paints a simple picture: one virtuous, or good, action leads to another, forming a circle that keeps turning and helping itself. So, it means 'a cycle of good events that strengthen each other'.