virtue
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
behavior that shows high moral standards and goodness.
conformity to a standard of right; moral excellence and integrity.
Simple“He was a man of great virtue who always helped those in need.”
In context“The philosopher argued that true virtue is not merely the absence of vice but the active pursuit of the common good.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a particular good quality or habit that a person has.
a specific commendable quality or trait of character.
Simple“Patience is a virtue when you are dealing with difficult customers.”
In context“Among her many virtues, her ability to remain calm under extreme pressure was perhaps the most valuable to the legal team.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
an advantage or a useful feature that something has.
an inherently advantageous or beneficial quality of an object, system, or idea.
Simple“The main virtue of this new software is that it is very easy to use.”
In context“The committee debated the virtues of the proposed high-speed rail link, weighing the environmental benefits against the projected construction costs.”
Antonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
traditional moral behavior regarding sex, especially for women.
moral excellence in sexual conduct; specifically, a woman's virginity or chastity.
Simple“In old stories, the hero often fights to protect a lady's virtue.”
In context“The nineteenth-century novel often centered on the social consequences of a protagonist's perceived loss of virtue.”
Antonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
because of something or by using something.
used in the fixed phrase 'by virtue of' to indicate a cause, reason, or means.
Simple“She got the job by virtue of her many years of experience in the field.”
In context“The court ruled that the defendant was entitled to a refund by virtue of the consumer protection laws enacted the previous year.”
UsageAlways used with the preposition 'of' followed by a noun phrase.
Synonymsbecause ofon account of
Usage virtue of
“Their power arises from the fact that games don’t just create worlds, but new visions of the good, telling players what to care about by virtue of what the game rewards through scores.”
“These promotional works, marked by flashy graphics and rapid-fire jump-cuts between short shots, influenced movies: The sense of energy increased, at the expense of old-fashioned virtues like continuity.”
From Middle English vertu, virtue, borrowed from Anglo-Norman vertu, virtu, from Latin virtus (“manliness, bravery, worth, moral excellence”), from vir (“man”). Doublet of vertu. See virile. In this sense, displaced Old English cræft, whence Modern English craft.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.