virtue
/ˈvəːtʃuː
/ /ˈvəːtjuː /noun
1 [mass noun] Behaviour showing high moral standards: paragons of virtue...
- He notes that vice is punished and virtue rewarded in most of the director's many babelicious films.
- There is no vice and virtue, no moral framework to locate the individual within the cosmic infinity of the universe.
- Some hold that what makes any person fundamentally deserving of good or bad fortune is her level of virtue or moral merit.
Synonyms
goodness, virtuousness, righteousness, morality, ethicalness, uprightness, upstandingness, integrity, dignity, rectitude, honesty, honourableness, honourability, honour, incorruptibility, probity, propriety, decency, respectability, nobility, nobility of soul/spirit, nobleness, worthiness, worth, good, trustworthiness, meritoriousness, irreproachableness, blamelessness, purity, pureness, lack of corruption, merit;
principles, high principles, ethics
1.1 [count noun] A quality considered morally good or desirable in a person: patience is a virtue...
- This is not a morality based on obedience as a primary virtue, but rather a moral law about how to govern ourselves recognising that we are social individuals.
- For virtue ethics, the problem concerns the question of which character traits are the virtues.
- It emphasizes that patience really is a virtue worth cultivating.
Synonyms
good point, good quality, strong point, strong suit, long suit, asset, forte, attribute, advantage, benefit, strength, talent
informal plus
1.2 [count noun] A good or useful quality of a thing: Mike was extolling the virtues of the car [mass noun]: there’s no virtue in suffering in silence...
- That sparked the Herald writer to extol the virtues of the car.
- For many years now my bargain-hungry brethren have been extolling the virtues of car boot sales.
- The priest was summoned to give Paddy a dressing down about some mischief he had been getting into and to extol the virtues and benefits of living a good life.
Synonyms
merit, advantage, benefit, usefulness, efficacy, efficaciousness, power, potency, force, strength
1.3 [mass noun] archaic Virginity or chastity, especially of a woman.
2 (virtues) (In traditional Christian angelology) the seventh-highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy.It is said that 2 virtues midwived for Eve as she gave birth to Cain.
Phrases
by (or in) virtue of
make a virtue of
Derivatives
virtueless
- Unfortunate and virtueless people are unable to hear even the name of the Three Treasures, let alone take refuge in them.
- The power of the heart, already grown virtueless and thin, distills poisonous clammy vapours which emerge from the head.
- The architecture of Palladio is wholly virtueless and despicable.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French vertu, from Latin virtus 'valour, merit, moral perfection', from vir 'man'.