virtue

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++vir·tue /ˈvɜːtʃuː $ ˈvɜːr-/ ●●○ W3 noun  1  [uncountable] formal moral goodness of character and behaviour 善；美德 OPP vice Women have often been used as symbols of virtue. 女性常被用作美德的象征。2  [countable]GOOD POINT OR CHARACTERISTIC a particular good quality in someone’s character 〔某人的〕美德，优秀品质 OPP vice Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness. 她有许多美德，诸如忠诚、勇敢和诚实。3  [countable, uncountable]ADVANTAGE an advantage that makes something better or more useful than something else 〔某物的〕优点，长处virtue of Adam Smith believed in the virtues of free trade. 亚当·斯密相信自由贸易的好处。 Wilkins is now extolling (=praising very much) the virtues of organic farming. 威尔金斯现在盛赞有机耕作的好处。► see thesaurus at advantage4  by virtue of something formal by means of, or as a result of something 凭借；由于，因为 She became a British resident by virtue of her marriage. 她借着婚姻成了英国公民。5  make a virtue of something to get an advantage from a situation that you cannot change, usually a bad one 利用某事物，将某事物化为优势〔常指无法改变的不利条件〕 She made a virtue of her acting limitations by joking about them. 她拿表演上的不足自嘲，化不利为有利。6. make a virtue of necessity ADVANTAGEto get an advantage from doing something that you have to do, or to pretend that you are doing it willingly (假装)把必须要做的事情当作好事来做；不得已而力争有所得n7. [uncountable] old use the state of not having with someone, or not having sex with anyone except your husband

Examples from the Corpus

virtue• heroic virtues• Such a conclusion to a hunting trip is evidence that the man is endowed with proper male virtue.• Among their many virtues, they are always direct and honest.• Women have often been used as symbols of virtue and nobility.• They forget all the old virtues, which weren't real virtues anyway.• They believed in the virtues of culture, civilization and reason.• Yet she could see by their shocked and altered faces that even their virtues were being burned away.extolling ... the virtues of• But now is not the time to be extolling the virtues of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism.• The extreme western edge of the square has the now compulsory big city billboards extolling the virtues of consumerism.• This man drinks alone, perhaps because he has driven away all his companions by extolling the virtues of his bank.• From the street, the yodel of a sulphur blender could be heard, extolling the virtues of his ointments.• We have had several letters from readers extolling the virtues of ponies, and how many are having enormous fun with them.• There is a habit of running down the competition rather than extolling the virtues of their own ranges.• The appraiser went on for some time, extolling the virtues of the scholarship.• For the next few weeks she ploughed on, doing her normal writing, extolling the virtues of the firm's products.Origin virtue (1100-1200) Old French virtu, from Latin virtus “strength, virtue”, from vir “man”

vir·tue nounLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable  

of behaviour character and goodness Corpus moral

virtue
vir‧tue W3 /ˈvɜːtʃuː $ ˈvɜːr-/ noun1. [uncountable] formal moral goodness of character and behaviour
   OPP  vice:
    Women have often been used as symbols of virtue.
2. [countable] a particular good quality in someone’s character
   OPP  vice:
    Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness.
3. [uncountable and countable] an advantage that makes something better or more useful than something else
    virtue of
    Adam Smith believed in the virtues of free trade.
    Wilkins is now extolling (=praising very much) the virtues of organic farming.
4. by virtue of something formal by means of, or as a result of something:
    She became a British resident by virtue of her marriage.
5. make a virtue of something to get an advantage from a situation that you cannot change, usually a bad one:
    She made a virtue of her acting limitations by joking about them.
6. make a virtue of necessity to get an advantage from doing something that you have to do, or to pretend that you are doing it willingly
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ advantage a good feature that something has, which makes it better, more useful etc than other things: The great advantage of digital cameras is that there is no film to process.
   ▪ benefit a feature of something that has a good effect on people’s lives: Regular exercise has many benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease.
   ▪ merit a good feature that something has, which you consider when you are deciding whether it is the best choice: The committee will consider the merits of the proposals. | The merits and demerits of (=the good and bad features of)alternative funding systems were widely discussed in the newspapers. | The chairman saw no great merit in this suggestion (=he did not think that it was a good idea).
   ▪ virtue an advantage that makes you believe that something is a good thing: They believed in the virtues of culture, civilization, and reason. | He’s always extolling the virtues of hard work (=saying that hard work is a good thing).
   ▪ the good/great/best thing about something especially spoken used when mentioning a good feature of something. This phrase is rather informal and you should not use it in formal essays: The good thing about cycling is that you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in a traffic jam.
   ▪ the beauty of something is that used when you want to emphasize that something has a very good or useful feature: The beauty of the plan is that it is so simple.

vir·tueBrE /ˈvɜːtʃuː/ 🔊NAmE /ˈvɜːrtʃuː/ 🔊 noun [uncountable] (formal) behaviour or attitudes that show high moral standards 高尚的道德；正直的品性；德行◆He led a life of virtue. 他过着高尚的生活。🔊🔊◆She was certainly no paragon of virtue! 她绝不是道德高尚的典范！🔊🔊 [countable] a particular good quality or habit 美德；优秀品质；良好习惯◆Patience is not one of her virtues, I'm afraid. 恐怕她没有耐心。🔊🔊 [countable, uncountable] an attractive or useful quality 优点；长处；用处 SYN advantage ◆The plan has the virtue of simplicity. 这项计划的优点是简单。🔊🔊◆He was extolling the virtues of the Internet. 他赞扬了互联网的长处。🔊🔊◆They could see no virtue in discussing it further. 他们看不到再讨论下去有什么用处。🔊🔊●by/in virtue of sth(formal) by means of or because of sth 凭借；依靠；由于；因为◆She got the job by virtue of her greater experience. 她由于经验较为丰富而得到了那份工作。🔊🔊●make a ˌvirtue of neˈcessityto manage to gain an advantage from sth that you have to do and cannot avoid 不得已而力争有所得●ˌvirtue is its own reˈward(saying) the reward for acting in a moral or correct way is the knowledge that you have done so, and you should not expect more than this, for example praise from other people or payment 施恩无他图，有德便是报；美德本身就是报偿●of easy ˈvirtue(old-fashioned) (of a woman 女人) willing to have sex with anyone 水性杨花；轻浮；放荡