Definition of "virtuous" []

• Having or showing virtue, especially moral excellence: led a virtuous life. (adjective)
• Possessing or characterized by chastity; pure: a virtuous woman. See Synonyms at moral. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "* The cardinal* (* 9*) * virtues* are the _hinge_-virtues, those on which the character _hinges_ or turns, those, the possession of all which, would constitute a virtuous character, while the absence of any one of them would justly forfeit for a man the epithet _virtuous_."
• "Bünger uses the phrase "recursive decontenting" to describe what he called a virtuous cycle in automobile manufacturing: cutting mass, retaining power and increasing efficiency."
• "I found the IMF chief's multiple usage of the word "virtuous" quite appropriate, if not targeted to tug at the hearts of the Chinese."