Virtue Definition
vûrcho͝o
virtues
noun
virtues
General moral excellence; right action and thinking; goodness or morality.
Webster's New World
Excellence in general; merit.
The virtue in planning ahead.
Webster's New World
A specific moral quality regarded as good or meritorious.
Webster's New World
Chastity, esp. in a woman.
Webster's New World
A good quality or feature.
The virtues of teaching as a profession.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- perfection
- merit
- excellence
- distinction
- beauty
- moral excellence
- virtuousness
- sexual-morality
- chastity
- valor
- sanctity
- purity
- power
- piety
- integrity
idiom
by
- On the grounds or basis of; by reason of:
well-off by virtue of a large inheritance.
American Heritage
by virtue of
- because of; on the grounds of
Webster's New World
make a virtue of necessity
- to accept with an agreeable or positive attitude that which must be accepted anyway
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Virtue
Noun
Singular:
virtue
Plural:
virtuesIdioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Virtue
Origin of Virtue
-
Middle English vertu, from Anglo-Norman vertu, Middle French vertu, from Latin virtus (“manliness, bravery, worth, moral excellence"), from vir (“man"); see virile.
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English vertu from Old French from Latin virtūs manliness, excellence, goodness from vir man wī-ro- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Virtue Is Also Mentioned In
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to virtue using the buttons below.