virtuous

1 of 2

adjective

vir·​tu·​ous ˈvər-chə-wəs 

ˈvərch-wəs

1

a

: having or exhibiting virtue

b

: morally excellent : righteous

a virtuous decision

2

: chaste

3

: potent, efficacious

virtuously adverb

virtuousness noun

virtuousness

2 of 2

noun

vir·​tu·​ous·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being virtuous

Synonyms of virtuous

Adjective

• honorable
• ethical
• honest
• nice
• true
• good
• moral

Choose the Right Synonym for virtuous

moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good.

moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong.

the basic moral values of a community

ethical may suggest the involvement of more difficult or subtle questions of rightness, fairness, or equity.

committed to the highest ethical principles

virtuous implies moral excellence in character.

not a religious person, but virtuous nevertheless

righteous stresses guiltlessness or blamelessness and often suggests the sanctimonious.

wished to be righteous before God and the world

noble implies moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean, or dubious in conduct and character.

had the noblest of reasons for seeking office

Examples of virtuous in a Sentence

Adjective

In a kind of virtuous circle, the "second tier" schools got better as applications rose and they could become choosier in assembling a class—which in turn raised the quality of the whole experience on campus and made the school more attractive to both topflight professors and the next wave of applicants. —Nancy Gibbs et al., Time, 21 Aug. 2006

In its quest to create ice cream as voluptuous as butter and as virtuous as broccoli, the ice cream industry has probed the depths of the Arctic Ocean, studied the intimate structures of algae and foisted numerous failures on the American public. —Julia Moskin, New York Times, 26 July 2006

Children born into high-income households become part of a virtuous circle of success. Parents with university degrees tend to earn more, set higher educational goals for their children, and invest more time in the children's schooling than parents who have a high-school education or less. —Laura D'Andrea Tyson, BusinessWeek, 7 July 2003

We redefined virtue as health. And considering the probable state of our souls, this was not a bad move. By relocating the seat of virtue from the soul to the pecs, the abs and the coronary arteries, we may not have become the most virtuous people on earth, but we surely became the most desperate for grace. We spend $5 billion a year on our health-club memberships, $2 billion on vitamins, nearly $1 billion on home exercise equipment, and $6 billion on sneakers to wear out on our treadmills and StairMasters. —Barbara Ehrenreich, Utne Reader, May/June 1992

She felt that she had made a virtuous decision by donating the money to charity.

virtuous behavior is its own reward

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Medieval women who repaired church vestments and poor people’s clothes were considered virtuous. — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

This creates a virtuous loop where those better decisions then generate the data that improves models further. — Campbell Brown, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

In our post-religious era—in which, beneath the cloak of secular humanitarianism, righteous religiosity and virtuous crusading remain as potent as ever—history has attained the authority, authenticity and prestige that religion and its prelates once possessed. — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026

Certainly, many of these organizations are virtuous, tapping different constituencies, and forming alliances to reinforce common interests. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see virtue

Noun

Middle English virtuousnesse, vertuousnesse, from virtuous, vertuous + -nesse -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing virtuous

• virtuous circle
• virtuous cycle

Kids Definition

virtuous

adjective

vir·​tu·​ous ˈvərch-(ə-)wəs 

: having or showing moral virtue

virtuously adverb

virtuousness noun