as in distinctions
a quality that gives something special worth
the virtue of wool as a clothing material is that it can provide insulation from the cold even when wet
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Recent Examples of virtues
Of course, there’s nothing stopping individual families from resurrecting some of these virtues today.
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Caleb Harris, Austin American Statesman, 14 Jan. 2026
As investors watched closely, even Republicans who hesitated to condemn the probe were careful to extol the virtues of an independent central bank.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Acts like Children of the Day, Larry Norman, and Love Song would perform, but the event was organized by Billy Graham and Bill Bright’s Campus Crusade for Christ, which preached the virtues of conservative Christianity to college students across the nation.
—Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
During the hour, conversation glided seamlessly between topics like the late-bloomer-to-kink pipeline, the virtues of being selfish in bed and a spate of other sexy encounters.
—Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Larry, for one, had long argued for the virtues of consolidation, and Oracle earned a reputation for aggressively boxing out its competitors — Larry had orchestrated a hostile takeover of one of them when David was in college.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Carrying Mandarin-style wooden ducks (won-ang seteu) down the aisle symbolizes the groom's commitment to his partner and represents virtues like fidelity, harmony, and family in Korean culture.
—Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Protein, for all its many virtues, is just another thing to count.
—Rachel Sugar, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
Standing up for traditional virtues — compassion, courage, and commitment to something larger than our own self-interest — and asserting that no one, particularly the president of the United States, stands above the law.
—Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virtues
Noun
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Critics say those distinctions are arbitrary and unfair, being based on outdated assumptions and bad science.—
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To add to the complexity, smoke taint is inflected by subtle distinctions between grape varietals, too.—
Noun
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That flexibility is one of the biggest advantages travelers have today.—
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Those advantages will show up Sunday.—
Noun
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When Fresh Onion Is the Better Choice In spite of the many merits of onion powder, sometimes a fresh onion is irreplaceable.—
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Unlike presidential elections, statewide contests do not feature running mates; each candidate must be elected on their own merits.—
Noun
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The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values.—
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Sitting down with Fast Company executive editor Amy Farley for a one-on-one chat at the National Retail Federation convention, Laughton spoke about her efforts to strike a balance between moving the 87-year-old brand forward while upholding its heritage, culture and values.—
Cite this Entry
“Virtues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virtues. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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