immoral conduct; depraved or degrading behavior: a life of vice.
sexual immorality, especially prostitution.
a particular form of depravity.
a fault, defect, or shortcoming: a minor vice in his literary style.
a bad habit, as in a horse.
(initial capital letter) a character in the English morality plays, a personification of general vice or of a particular vice, serving as the buffoon.
Archaic. a physical defect, flaw, or infirmity: In most cases, attempts to relieve the symptoms will be of little avail without at the same time relieving or removing the constitutional vice which has induced this condition.
Origin of vice
1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin vitium “a fault, defect, vice”
SYNONYMS FOR vice
1 fault, failing, foible, weakness.
2 depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, corruption.
3 wantonness, degeneracy, licentiousness.
5 flaw, blemish, imperfection, foible, weakness.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR vice ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR vice
1 virtue.
2 virtue, morality.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR vice ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for vice
See fault.
Words nearby vice
vicariously, vicarious menstruation, vicarly, Vicar of Bray, Vicar of Christ, vice, vice-admiral, vice-chairman, vice-chancellor, vice-consul, vice-county
Definition for vice (2 of 4)
vice2
[ vahys ]
/ vaɪs /
noun, verb (used with object),viced,vic·ing.
vise.
Definition for vice (3 of 4)
vice3
[ vahy-see, -suh, vahys ]
/ ˈvaɪ si, -sə, vaɪs /
preposition
instead of; in the place of.
Origin of vice
3
1760–70; <Latin: instead of, ablative of vicis (genitive; not attested in nominative) interchange, alternation
Definition for vice (4 of 4)
vice-
a combining form meaning “deputy,” used in the formation of compound words, usually titles of officials who serve in the absence of the official denoted by the base word: viceroy; vice-chancellor.
The vice president would sometimes dial her cellphone, Troye said.
Former Pence aide says she will vote for Biden because of Trump’s ‘flat out disregard for human life’ during pandemic|Josh Dawsey|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
“There was a lot of shifting around,” says Gary Davies, pro vice chancellor for student recruitment.
UK Universities Predicted a COVID-19 Crash. They Got the Opposite|Fiona Zublin|September 17, 2020|Ozy
If they can’t do it by January 20, then power goes to the vice president, who’s selected by a majority vote of senators.
Sunday Magazine: The Deciders|Daniel Malloy|September 13, 2020|Ozy
Last year, Apple tapped Sabih Khan, 54, as senior vice president of operations.
Apple’s leadership evolves ahead of a post-Tim Cook era|radmarya|September 12, 2020|Fortune
He named notorious homophobe Mike Pence as his vice president, who famously signed a bill as Indiana governor allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers.
Vote for Biden (duh)|Kevin Naff|September 10, 2020|Washington Blade
With Vice, that was an example of you keeping yourself interested too, right?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, summed up the Southern attitude in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Vice President Joe Biden spoke, followed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, then Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos|Michael Daly|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wilson famously said “what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”
The Left’s Answer to ALEC|Ben Jacobs|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In doing so, the vice president delighted the audience with a personal anecdote from his childhood as Joey Biden.
Joe Biden: ‘I’ll Kill Your Son’|Olivia Nuzzi|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sources of misery in life are many: vice is one of the surest.
The Life of Friedrich Schiller|Thomas Carlyle
The vice president in charge of programs dropped into the 205studio that afternoon and watched them work for over an hour.
Janet Hardy in Radio City|Ruthe S. Wheeler
Augustine was a wild youth, sunk in vice, and a violent opposer of religion.
A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females|Harvey Newcomb
Spending money on a farm is like other forms of vice,—hated, then tolerated, then embraced.
The Fat of the Land|John Williams Streeter
He was generous towards his aged parents; was deeply imbued with a sense of religion, and was the foe of vice in every form.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II.|Various
British Dictionary definitions for vice (1 of 5)
vice1
/ (vaɪs) /
noun
an immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait
habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices
a specific form of pernicious conduct, esp prostitution or sexual perversion
a failing or imperfection in character, conduct, etcsmoking is his only vice
patholobsoleteany physical defect or imperfection
a bad trick or disposition, as of horses, dogs, etc
Derived forms of vice
viceless, adjective
Word Origin for vice
C13: via Old French from Latin vitium a defect
British Dictionary definitions for vice (2 of 5)
vice2
oftenUSvise
/ (vaɪs) /
noun
an appliance for holding an object while work is done upon it, usually having a pair of jaws
verb
(tr)to grip (something) with or as if with a vice
Derived forms of vice
vicelikeorUSviselike, adjective
Word Origin for vice
C15: from Old French vis a screw, from Latin vītis vine, plant with spiralling tendrils (hence the later meaning)
British Dictionary definitions for vice (3 of 5)
vice3
/ (vaɪs) /
adjective
(prenominal)serving in the place of or as a deputy for
(in combination)viceroy
noun
informala person who serves as a deputy to another
Word Origin for vice
C18: from Latin vice, from vicis interchange
British Dictionary definitions for vice (4 of 5)
vice4
/ (ˈvaɪsɪ) /
preposition
instead of; as a substitute for
Word Origin for vice
C16: from Latin, ablative of vicis change
British Dictionary definitions for vice (5 of 5)
Vice
/ (vaɪs) /
noun
(in English morality plays) a character personifying a particular vice or vice in general