virtue
noun
vir·tue
ˈvər-(ˌ)chü 
1
a
: conformity to a standard of right : morality
b
: a particular moral excellence
2
: a beneficial quality or power of a thing
3
: manly strength or courage : valor
4
: a commendable quality or trait : merit
5
: a capacity to act : potency
6
: chastity especially in a woman
7
Examples of virtue in a Sentence
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
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
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
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
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall …
—William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, 1605
the virtue of wool as a clothing material is that it can provide insulation from the cold even when wet
a lady of honor and virtue
Frederick Kaufman, Harper's, February 2008
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
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
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
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall …
—William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, 1605
the virtue of wool as a clothing material is that it can provide insulation from the cold even when wet
a lady of honor and virtue
Recent Examples on the Web
In the name of liberal virtue signaling and pandering to his progressive base, Senator Wiener has introduced a bill that endangers the very men and women who've committed their lives to keeping us safe.
—Billal Rahman
dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
Seattle Sounders One of three MLS clubs in this tournament, the Sounders are here by virtue of their 2022 Concacaf Champions League triumph.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 11 June 2025
Ritual bronze vessels also gave the living an opportunity to acknowledge their debt to their ancestors, as well as the deeds and virtues of the deceased.
—Jane Levere, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
With movie adaptations of books, the essential virtue is audacity, the readiness to transform the source material.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for virtue
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Billal Rahman
dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
Seattle Sounders One of three MLS clubs in this tournament, the Sounders are here by virtue of their 2022 Concacaf Champions League triumph.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 11 June 2025
Ritual bronze vessels also gave the living an opportunity to acknowledge their debt to their ancestors, as well as the deeds and virtues of the deceased.
—Jane Levere, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
With movie adaptations of books, the essential virtue is audacity, the readiness to transform the source material.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for virtue
Cite this Entry
“Virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtue. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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Etymology
Middle English vertu, virtu "behavior that fits with what is right or moral," from early French virtu (same meaning), from Latin virtus "strength, virtue, manly quality," from vir "man, male" — related to virile
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