Definition of vicarious
1 : experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another a vicarious thrill
2a : serving instead of someone or something elseb : that has been delegated vicarious authority
3 : performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another : substitutionary a vicarious sacrifice
4 : occurring in an unexpected or abnormal part of the body instead of the usual one vicarious menstruation manifested by bleeding from the nose
vicariously
adverbvicariousness
nounFrom the M-W Editors
vicarious was our Word of the Day on 08/02/2010. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of vicarious in a Sentence
I am a vicarious eater, often preferring a description of a meal to eating it. I hoard the Wednesday food section of the New York Times, savoring it as my late-night reading, finishing always with the restaurant review. —Anne-Marie Slaughter, Commonweal, 14 June 2002
Most people caged in the humdrum routines of modern life are eager for vicarious glimpses of pain, joy, and especially vitality. —Robert Jackall et al., Image Makers, 2000
There is an immense sub-middle class with enough money to preserve it from rancorous envy of the rich, but not enough to preserve it from boredom; it needs vicarious compensations and manages to find them in the gossip columns. —Aldous Huxley, The Olive Tree, 1937
To give himself the vicarious illusion of companionship, he fell back on letters. —Amy Lowell, John Keats, 1925
By means of ferocious jokes … he could vent his hatred of pioneer life and all its conditions, those conditions that were thwarting his creative life; he could, in this vicarious manner, appease the artist in him … —Van Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal of Mark Twain, 1920
Recent Examples of vicarious from the Web
-
The vicarious thrill of veering into the unreasonable, of making a scene.
-
Third, the right to bring a defamation case should be limited to the person who claims injury; suits should not be available to anyone who takes vicarious offence.
-
That’s great news for the debate club — and a vicarious thrill for Ned — in one literally-high-wire scene, but less good for the Washington Monument, among other large immovable objects.
-
Watching Antonio play for the Steelers gives Eddie a vicarious NFL experience, as their father-son relationship grows.
-
Ensuring that his account provides all the lush vistas and vicarious exhaustion expected in such a travelogue, Schrunk is less successful in making Rebecca Rusch's personal motives seem movie-worthy.
-
To see them, get ye to the Satsuma Cafe at 3218 Dauphine St. Have the green eggs and ham sandwich, a glass of beet lemonade, and the vicarious rush of Martino's extra-legal exhibit.
-
It might be best understood as vicarious experience.
-
Chrissie Lightfoot, CEO of Robot Lawyer LISA and a leading figure in the robot law debate, sees vicarious responsibility as a huge issue.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vicarious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
vicarious Has Latin Roots
If you act in someone’s stead, you take his or her place, at least temporarily. The oldest meaning of "vicarious," which was first recorded in 1637, is "serving in someone or something’s stead." The word vicarious derives from the Latin noun vicis, which means "change," "alternation," or "stead." "Vicis" is also the source of the English prefix vice- (as in "vice president"), meaning "one that takes the place of."
Origin and Etymology of vicarious
Latin vicarius, from vicis change, alternation, stead — more at week
VICARIOUS Defined for English Language Learners
vicarious
playDefinition of vicarious for English Language Learners
-
: experienced or felt by watching, hearing about, or reading about someone else rather than by doing something yourself
VICARIOUS Defined for Kids
vicarious
playDefinition of vicarious for Students
: sharing in someone else's experiences through the use of imagination or sympathetic feelings She got vicarious enjoyment from her sister's travels.
vicariously
adverbvicariousness
nounMedical Dictionary
vicarious
playMedical Definition of vicarious
: occurring in an unexpected or abnormal part of the body instead of the usual one bleeding from the gums sometimes occurs in the absence of the normal discharge from the uterus in vicarious menstruation
Law Dictionary
vicarious
playLegal Definition of vicarious
: imposed on one person in place of another — see also vicarious liability at liability 2b
vicariously
adverbvicariousness
nounLearn More about vicarious
-
See words that rhyme with vicarious Spanish Central: Translation of vicarious Nglish: Translation of vicarious for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of vicarious for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up vicarious? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!