# virtue vs virus

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### virtue
*noun · IPA /ˈvɜːt͡ʃuː/ · frequency rank #7,872*
(uncountable) The idea of all that is good or excellent (in every sense of those terms) in a human being, collectively instantiated by a varying number of human traits known as "the virtues", the enumeration of which vary by the many virtue systems which have developed within different cultures, religions, and historical periods.

### virus
*noun · IPA /ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/ · frequency rank #3,537*
A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure that consists of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and that sometimes causes disease in the host organism (such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/virtue-vs-virus