virtue
/ˈvɝt͡ʃu/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.94 in modern English
Meaning
noun
The idea of all that is good or excellent (in every sense of those terms) in a human being, collectively instantiated by a varying number of human traits known as "the virtues", the enumeration of which vary by the many virtue systems which have developed within different cultures, religions, and historical periods.
Uncountable
noun
Accordance with moral principles; conformity of behaviour or thought with the strictures of morality; good moral conduct.
Uncountable
noun
An attribute of a personality (a "personality trait") which predisposes a person to behaviors resulting in human goodness; an admirable quality.
Countable
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An inherently advantageous or excellent quality of something or someone; a favourable point, an advantage.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Without virtue, there is no freedom."
- "There are a set of religious, or rather moral, writers, who teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery, in this world."
- "“Virtue is an inner light that can prevail in every soul.”"
- "The commission of acts by a person which he or she believes to be wrong can cause a diminishment of one or more of the virtues which subsist in the person's personality; in this way such actions may be viewed as significant life events."
- "Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide their virtues; and, from a natural distance and reserve in their tempers, scarce suffer their good qualities to be known […]."
- "Better to be excluded from society than to deny the virtue of citizenship."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈvɝt͡ʃu/