Vice Meaning
/vaɪs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounBad or immoral behaviour.
nounBad or immoral behaviour. (Especially often, a habit that harms oneself or others)
Sentence Examples
Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue.
The journalist was too upset to distinguish vice from virtue.
At the door were two plain-clothes detectives from the vice squad.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
According to his family, his worst ____ is gambling too much money.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ president was appointed to assist the chief executive with several important matters related to the company budget today.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Shepard: I wear a lot of hats, Mr. Vargas. Some days I shut down criminals. Some days I defuse nukes. Some days I like to enjoy private vices. You understand me?"
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria:
"It's a rush you can't deny / A little violence is the ultimate drug / Let's get high / You've been powerless to your vices / Self-control defies you"
— 2015, “Vices”, in Repentless, performed by Slayer:
"I should not be left to my own devices / they come with prices and vices / I end up in crisis / Tale as old as time"
— 2022 October 21, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, “Anti-Hero”, in Midnights, performed by Taylor Swift:
"So a horse with say, navicular disease, making him suitable only for light hacking, would probably be unsound, whereas rearing would be a vice, being a "defect in the temper... making it dangerous". A vice can however render a horse unsound - possibly a crib biter will damage its wind."
— 1839, Scholefield v. Robb; cited in Gilligan, Brenda, Practical Horse Law, 2002, →ISBN:
"Fang. If I but fiſt him once: if he come but within my Vice."
— c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 79, line 22:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
According to his family, his worst ____ is gambling too much money.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ president was appointed to assist the chief executive with several important matters related to the company budget today.