What does virtue mean?

Definitions for virtue
ˈvɜr tʃuvirtue

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word virtue.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. virtue, virtuousness, moral excellencenoun

    the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong

  2. merit, virtuenoun

    any admirable quality or attribute

    "work of great merit"

  3. virtue, chastity, sexual moralitynoun

    morality with respect to sexual relations

  4. virtuenoun

    a particular moral excellence

Wiktionary

  1. virtuenoun

    The inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being.

  2. virtuenoun

    The inherent power or efficacy of something .

  3. virtuenoun

    Accordance with moral principles; conformity of behaviour or thought with the strictures of morality; good moral conduct.

  4. virtuenoun

    A particular manifestation of moral excellence in a person; an admirable quality.

  5. virtuenoun

    Specifically, each of several qualities held to be particularly important, including the four cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly sins.

  6. virtuenoun

    An inherently advantageous or excellent quality of something or someone; a favourable point, an advantage.

  7. virtuenoun

    A creature embodying divine power, specifically one of the orders of heavenly beings, traditionally ranked above angels and below archangels.

  8. virtuenoun

    Specifically, moral conduct in sexual behaviour, especially of women; chastity.

  9. Etymology: vertu, from vertu, vertu, from virtus, from vir; see virile.

Wikipedia

  1. Virtue

    Virtue (Latin: virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards: doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The opposite of virtue is vice. Other examples of this notion include the concept of merit in Asian traditions as well as De (Chinese 德). Buddhism's four brahmavihara ("Divine States") can be regarded as virtues in the European sense.

ChatGPT

  1. virtue

    Virtue is a moral or ethical quality characterized by goodness or righteousness, seen as a standard of conduct. It is considered desirable and valued as a foundation of principle and ethical excellence. Virtues guide individual's actions and behaviors towards moral excellence, promoting collective and individual greatness.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Virtuenoun

    manly strength or courage; bravery; daring; spirit; valor

  2. Virtuenoun

    active quality or power; capacity or power adequate to the production of a given effect; energy; strength; potency; efficacy; as, the virtue of a medicine

  3. Virtuenoun

    energy or influence operating without contact of the material or sensible substance

  4. Virtuenoun

    excellence; value; merit; meritoriousness; worth

  5. Virtuenoun

    specifically, moral excellence; integrity of character; purity of soul; performance of duty

  6. Virtuenoun

    a particular moral excellence; as, the virtue of temperance, of charity, etc

  7. Virtuenoun

    specifically: Chastity; purity; especially, the chastity of women; virginity

  8. Virtuenoun

    one of the orders of the celestial hierarchy

  9. Etymology: [OE. vertu, F. vertu, L. virtus strength, courage, excellence, virtue, fr. vir a man. See Virile, and cf. Virtu.]

Wikidata

  1. Virtue

    Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness. The opposite of virtue is vice.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Virtue

    vėr′tu, n. excellence: worth: moral excellence: the practice of duty: a moral excellence: sexual purity, esp. female chastity: purity: (B.) strength: force: inherent power, efficacy: one of the orders of the celestial hierarchy.—adj. Vir′tual, having virtue or efficacy: having the efficacy without the material part: in effect though not in fact: (mech.) possible and infinitesimal.—adv. Vir′tually.—adjs. Vir′tueless, wanting virtue: without efficacy; Vir′tue-proof (Milt.), impregnable in virtue; Vir′tuous, having virtue or moral goodness: blameless: righteous: practising duty: being according to the moral law: chaste (of a woman).—adv. Vir′tuously.—n. Vir′tuousness.—By, In, virtue of, through the power, force, or efficacy of; Make a virtue of necessity, to do as if from inclination or sense of duty something one must needs do; Seven principal Virtues, faith, hope, charity, justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude—the first three the theological, the last four the moral virtues; The cardinal virtues (see Cardinal). [O. Fr.,—L. virtus, bravery, moral excellence—vir, a man; cf. Gr. hērōs, Sans. vira, a hero.]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. VIRTUE

    A quality oftentimes associated with intelligence, but rarely with beauty.

Suggested Resources

  1. virtue

    Song lyrics by virtue -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by virtue on the Lyrics.com website.

Mythology

  1. Virtue

    A goddess worshiped by most of the ancients under various names. The way to the temple of honor was through the temple of virtue.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. VIRTUE

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Virtue is ranked #21862 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Virtue surname appeared 1,189 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Virtue.

    88.9% or 1,058 total occurrences were White.
    5.1% or 61 total occurrences were Black.
    2.5% or 30 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 19 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.3% or 16 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.4% or 5 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'virtue' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4666

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'virtue' in Nouns Frequency: #1538

How to pronounce virtue?

How to say virtue in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of virtue in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of virtue in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of virtue in a Sentence

  1. Mike Golub:

    In our case theres some real inherent advantages having one organization run both clubs, we have a staff of 160 people, all of whom are charged with running both the Timbers and the Thorns. ... Teams that dont have more than one club dont necessarily have that scale, those resources that expertise. We also have by virtue of our men a great facility that we can control, a great practice facility.

  2. James Buchanan:

    Public virtue is the vital spirit of republics, and history proves that when this has decayed and the love of money has usurped its place, although the forms of free government may remain for a season, the substance has departed forever.

  3. Toshifumi Suzuki:

    It is my lack of virtue and I am unbearably ashamed, i was supposed to attend an analyst meeting tomorrow. But I cannot go there and explain this year's prospects anymore after I decided to quite.

  4. Sir Winston Churchill:

    The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings, while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.

  5. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus:

    The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts, therefore guard accordingly and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue, and reasonable nature.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

virtue#1#9875#10000

Translations for virtue

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for virtue »

Translation

Find a translation for the virtue definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"virtue." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/virtue>.

Discuss these virtue definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for virtue? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    virtue

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
    A famish
    B abhor
    C abase
    D abash

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for virtue: