virtuous
Americanadjective
-
conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright.
Lead a virtuous life.
-
a virtuous young person.
adjective
-
characterized by or possessing virtue or moral excellence; righteous; upright
-
(of women) chaste or virginal
Other Word Forms
- nonvirtuous adjective
- nonvirtuously adverb
- nonvirtuousness noun
- quasi-virtuous adjective
- quasi-virtuously adverb
- unvirtuous adjective
- unvirtuously adverb
- unvirtuousness noun
- virtuously adverb
- virtuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of virtuous
First recorded in 1300–50; alteration (with i from Latin ) of Middle English vertuous, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin virtuōsus, equivalent to Latin virtu(s) virtue + -ōsus -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For me, it’s rarely in a virtuous bowl.
From Salon
The Basque Coast hospital praises what it calls a "virtuous" financing model that "diversifies" its funding sources and lets people invest their savings in a product that is "useful, transparent and local".
From Barron's
“We are looking to fully capitalize on this virtuous cycle.”
From Los Angeles Times
"Our ancestors built the cities. They produced the art and architecture. They built the industry. We stand for what is good, what is virtuous and what is noble."
From BBC
By buying so much bitcoin, it helps push up the price of the cryptocurrency, and Strategy’s stock—a virtuous cycle, so long as bitcoin is rising.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
