virtuous
vir·tu·ous/ˈvɝt͡ʃuəs/adjective
virtuous is spelled V-I-R-T-U-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (vir·tu·ous). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, virtuous means “Full of virtue; having excellent moral character” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in virtuous?
| Letters | 8: V-I-R-T-U-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: vir·tu·ous |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is virtuous?
Virtuous appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce virtuous?
- UK /ˈvɜːt͡ʃʊəs/
- US /ˈvɝt͡ʃuəs/
Virtuous has 3 syllables, split vir·tu·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-virtuous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of virtuous
- more virtuous comparative
- most virtuous superlative
- more virtùous comparative
- most virtùous superlative
- virtù-ous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does virtuous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Full of virtue; having excellent moral character.
Successful communities need strong, selfless leaders and a virtuous people.
adjective
- 1
Involving the cleverness and understanding to accomplish one's goals.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Virtuous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense full of virtue; having excellent moral character:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vertueux |
| German | züchtig, tugendhaft, tugendsam |
| Portuguese | virtuoso, nobre, digno |
| Spanish | virtuoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does virtuous come from?
From Middle English vertuous, borrowed from Anglo-Norman vertuous, vertous, ultimately from Late Latin virtuōsus, from Latin virtūs. By surface analysis, virtue + -ous. Doublet of virtuoso and piecewise doublet of virtùous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).