virtue

vir·tue

noun \ˈvər-(ˌ)chü\

Definition of VIRTUE

1

a : conformity to a standard of right : morality

b : a particular moral excellence

2

plural : an order of angels — see celestial hierarchy

3

: a beneficial quality or power of a thing

4

: manly strength or courage : valor

5

: a commendable quality or trait : merit

6

: a capacity to act : potency

7

: chastity especially in a woman

— vir·tue·less \-(ˌ)chü-ləs\ adjective

— by virtue of or in virtue of

: through the force of : by authority of

Examples of VIRTUE

1. <the virtue of wool as a clothing material is that it can provide insulation from the cold even when wet>
2. <a lady of honor and virtue>
3. He led me across the concrete floor, through a concrete warehouse, and to the concrete screening room, where he began to extol the virtue and beauty of his eleven-mile-long sewage interceptor. —Frederick Kaufman, Harper's, February 2008
4. Disinterestedness was the most common term the founders used as a synonym for the classical conception of virtue or self-sacrifice; it better conveyed the threats from interests that virtue seemed increasingly to face in the rapidly commercializing eighteenth century. —Gordon S. Wood, Revolutionary Characters, 2006
5. It was not only his title that made Poor Richard—and by extension [Benjamin] Franklin—an honorary Frenchman. He may well have devoted a great amount of ink to virtue and order, but he checked those concepts at the door of the beau monde; he made it clear that he was not too good for that world … —Stacy Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 2005
6. Nerviness is considered a virtue, a good machine, an energy that builds nations, businesses and dynasties. Handed down from generation to generation, like a caustic strand of DNA, it infects the unhappy, the unfortunate and the unlucky, and turns them into desperate strivers, prepared to do anything to realize their ridiculous ambitions. —David Byrne, The New Sins/Los Nuevos Pecados, 2001
7. Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall … —William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, 1605

Origin of VIRTUE

Middle English vertu, virtu, from Anglo-French, from Latin virtut-, virtus strength, manliness, virtue, from vir man — more at virile

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to VIRTUE

Synonyms

cardinal virtue, distinction, excellency, grace, merit, value, excellence

Antonyms

deficiency, demerit, disvalue

Related Words

advantage, edge, plus, superiority

Near Antonyms

blemish, defect, failing, fault, flaw; drawback, minus, negative

virtue

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Practical dispositions in conformity with standards of excellence or with principles of practical reason. The seven cardinal virtues of the Christian tradition include the four “natural,” or cardinal, virtues, those inculcated in the old pagan world that spring from the common endowment of humanity, and the three “theological” virtues, those specifically prescribed in Christianity and arising as special gifts from God. The natural virtues are prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice; this enumeration, said to go back to Socrates, is found in Plato and Aristotle. To these St. Paul added the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love—virtues which, in Christian teaching, do not originate naturally in humanity but are instead imparted by God through Christ and then practiced by the believer.