Meaning & use
virtuous person
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
Someone who consistently behaves in a morally good and principled way.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a virtuous person' or 'virtuous people'.
Patterns
- a virtuous person
- be a virtuous person
- become a virtuous person
She was widely admired as a virtuous person who always kept her promises.
In the story, the king is shown as a virtuous person who puts his people before himself.
It is not easy to remain a virtuous person when everyone around you is cheating.
Word forms
| plural | virtuous people |
|---|
Common combinations
- a truly virtuous person
- Her colleagues described her as a truly virtuous person.
- live as a virtuous person
- He tried to live as a virtuous person, helping anyone in need.
- regarded as a virtuous person
- The teacher was regarded as a virtuous person by generations of students.
- the opposite of a virtuous person
- Someone who lies for profit is the opposite of a virtuous person.
Synonyms and how they differ
- good person
- Much more general and informal; it can mean kind or helpful rather than morally principled.
- moral person
- Focuses on following rules of right and wrong, while 'virtuous' suggests a settled good character.
- saint
- Stronger and often exaggerated or humorous; a saint is exceptionally good, not just consistently decent.
Opposites
Word family
- virtue noun
- A good moral quality, or the quality of being morally good.
- virtuously adverb
- In a morally good and principled way.
- virtuousness noun
- The state or quality of being morally good.
Commonly confused: virtuous person or virtual person?
virtuous person vs virtual person
Sounds almost the same but means a person who exists online or in a computer simulation, not a morally good one.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'virtuous person' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Virtuous person' describes someone with good moral character, so sentence 1 fits. Sentence 2 needs 'virtuoso' (a highly skilled musician), sentence 3 confuses it with 'branch office', and sentence 4 needs an adjective like 'virtuous' without 'person'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “virtuous person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.