as in honorable
conforming to a high standard of morality or virtue
virtuous behavior is its own reward
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in virtue
conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong
once a cleric's virtuousness is seriously called into doubt, he loses his authority as a moral leader
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of virtuous
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2025
From this perspective, cutting off those who would limit us, family or otherwise, is cast as a virtuous act in the service of these aspirations.
—Joshua Coleman, Scientific American, 3 Mar. 2025
In my opinion, looking into the healthcare space, business leaders should nurture a virtuous cycle where their innovative product drives sales and the sales team provides the insights needed to refine and expand the product’s capabilities.
—Joao Mendes-Roter, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
In a November call, Iger also highlighted the virtuous cycle of Disney.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virtuous
Adjective
The results have been startling and that over-performance is described by the many players who have been part of it — who typically arrived unknown and undervalued, and departed for big sums that kept the virtuous cycle spinning forward.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2025
From this perspective, cutting off those who would limit us, family or otherwise, is cast as a virtuous act in the service of these aspirations.
—Joshua Coleman, Scientific American, 3 Mar. 2025
In my opinion, looking into the healthcare space, business leaders should nurture a virtuous cycle where their innovative product drives sales and the sales team provides the insights needed to refine and expand the product’s capabilities.
—Joao Mendes-Roter, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
In a November call, Iger also highlighted the virtuous cycle of Disney.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virtuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virtuous
Adjective
-
Court documents show Blankenship has been employed by the city since 2006 following his honorable discharge from the Coast Guard.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
11 Apr. 2025
-
White Painted Woman was a model of heroism and honorable womanhood: When evil monsters were hunting the Apache people, the White Painted Woman gave birth to a son who would destroy the creatures to help make Earth inhabitable for humanity.—
Alejandra Rubio,
NPR,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Moral exemplars are connected in a fundamental way to virtue ethics – a framework of behavior based in core virtues such as honesty, bravery and kindness.—
George Tsakiridis,
The Conversation,
29 Apr. 2025
-
The Panthers qualified for nationals by virtue of winning its third straight Conference USA title.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
His relationship evolved from setting firm boundaries to setting ethical guardrails, offering context, and supporting his autonomy with curiosity and love.—
Rebekah Bastian,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Despite all of that, as the legislature enters the final weeks of its spring session, strengthening the state’s ethical safeguards doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the top of the agenda in Springfield.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Elsewhere, an extra treat out of the showcase was this exclusive interview with Bullet Train Explosion director Shinji Higuchi, who talked casting singer-actor Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and the morality behind the film.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
25 Apr. 2025
-
There are great Star Wars projects and terrible Star Wars projects, but even the best ones, like Empire Strikes Back, are framed in relative black-and-white morality, designed to evoke the kid-friendly pulp and adventure stories that George Lucas loved so much as a child.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But only if leaders have the appetite for that kind of honest data.—
Aparna Rae,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
And, to be honest, her description of the breakup at that time sounded a lot more amicable than it’s been sounding lately.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Given influencer marketing's rise to a multi-billion-dollar industry, integrity is more important now than ever.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
-
Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.—
Grant Lancaster,
Arkansas Online,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Ice is not nice The ice at American Airlines Center was a huge problem in Game 2, with players on both teams falling down left and right.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2025
-
It’s made of a tarp-like material that feels pretty durable and the lid zippers, which is nice to contain smells.—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Lennox’s honesty sparked a wave of support from fellow artists then, including Kehlani and T-Pain, who empathized with her struggles and encouraged her to pursue independence.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
And increasingly, honesty is what consumers are willing to pay for.—
Zoe Bayliss Wong,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Virtuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virtuous. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share