Author: Charles Frank

Vice Definition & Meaning

It leads to a general sense of dissatisfaction with one’s own situation and a desire to have or take what belongs to others. While people should take pride in their work and feel proud of their accomplishments, pride taken to the extreme can become arrogance. People who are arrogant tend to have an elevated sense of self-worth, leading them to believe they are better than other people. As a result, their behavior tends to come across as conceited; other people sometimes describe arrogant individuals as stuck-up. While not all anger is an example of vice, the type of anger that leads to hatred, a deeply-held desire for revenge, or extreme resentment against others falls into the category of vice.

Christian theologians have reasoned that the most destructive vice equates to a certain type of pride or the complete idolatry of the self. It is argued that through this vice, which is essentially competitive, all the worst evils come into being. In Christian theology, it originally led to the Fall of Man, and, as a purely diabolical spiritual vice, it outweighs anything else often condemned by the Church. Vice can be a general term for any imperfection or weakness, but it often suggests violation of a moral code or the giving of offense to the moral sensibilities of others. The word is Latin in origin, tracing back to the word vitium, meaning “fault, vice.” It entered English by way of Anglo-French during the 14th century. Morality refers to the ability to differentiate between what is right and wrong.

Someone who is a glutton takes more than his or her share, even if it means there is not enough to meet the basic needs of other people. Gluttony can also include the habitual excessive consumption of alcohol, to the point of extreme drunkenness or even passing out. A person whose behavior is characterized by envy is an individual who wants what other people have, or even what they perceive other people have regardless of whether they really do. Rather than being happy for the achievements of others, envious individuals feel slighted and jealous when they believe that others have gained something that they feel is lacking in their own life.

While the words sloth is sometimes used to describe inactivity, that approach doesn’t really explain what sloth means in the context of vice. Taking a break to recover from a busy schedule can be good for a person. Sloth is more of a complete lack of effort paired with a habit of laziness. A person is exhibiting sloth when the individual doesn’t engage in things that really matter.

Anger rises to the level of vice when it is so strong or deeply held that a person comes to despise or feel rage toward specific individuals or groups of people to such a degree that they want to exact revenge or otherwise bring harm to others. Depending on the country or jurisdiction, vice crimes may or may not be treated as a separate category in the criminal codes. Even in jurisdictions where vice is not explicitly delineated in the legal code, the term vice is often used in law enforcement and judicial systems as an umbrella for crimes involving activities that are considered inherently immoral, regardless of the legality or objective harm involved. A vice is a behavior that is considered to be bad by other people, society or the person committing the behavior. People who are motivated by greed seek to add to their material wealth, even at the expense of the well-being of others.

Greed leads to people seeking to gain more and more money and goods, often compulsively and without regard to who may be harmed by their laser-like focus on continuing to accumulate wealth or material possessions. In its extreme, when a person can never be satisfied no matter how much they accumulate, greed becomes avarice. Before we leave this topic entirely, however, we’ll take a moment to address vice in two other incarnations. The familiar vice- in vice-president and vice-chancellor is a prefix—hence the hyphen attached to it. It comes from a hyphenless vice we have not as yet mentioned.

British Dictionary definitions for vice (3 of

Learn about morals and defining morality, and then learn about some characteristics of morality. Offense, sin, vice, crime, scandal mean a transgression of law. Fault, failing, frailty, foible, vice mean an imperfection or weakness of character. Morality is a set of rules and guidelines that people live by. But in most Western societies, morality has become largely secular. Crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state.

It’s more extreme and self-centered, being more of a drive to gratify one’s own needs and desires without regard to impact on other people. The vice of lust isn’t about romantic interest or love, but rather self-gratification. Lust isn’t always sexual in nature; this term can also refer to an overwhelming drive or desire to own or possess material possessions. For example, a person can lust after a luxury vehicle, diamonds, riches, etc.

Law enforcement

The Qur’an and many other Islamic religious writings provide prohibitions against acts that are seen as immoral. Offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code. Fault implies a failure, not necessarily culpable, to reach some standard of perfection in disposition, action, or habit. Vise is a little younger; it dates to the early 16th century. It too traces back to Latin (to the word vitis, meaning “vine”), and entered the language by way of Anglo-French. Vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts.

1. Fault implies a failure, not necessarily culpable, to reach some standard of perfection in disposition, action, or habit.
2. This term does not refer to a simple act of overeating on occasion, but rather to a behavioral pattern of over-consuming to the extreme.
3. Vice can be a general term for any imperfection or weakness, but it often suggests violation of a moral code or the giving of offense to the moral sensibilities of others.

The word vice can be defined as a bad habit or ongoing pattern of behavior that represents moral weakness or depravity. Some vices are actions often considered to be evil or wicked, while others are more self-indulgent in nature. Review this list of vices to better understand what kinds of behaviors and emotions represent vice. A vice squad, also called a vice unit or a morality squad, is generally, though not always, a police division, whose focus is to restrain or suppress moral crimes. Often contrasted with virtue, vice is used to refer to a variety of inadvisable acts and behaviors, from the merely blush-inducing to the truly scandalous. Minor foibles and bad habits can be described as vices, as can actions of such moral depravity that even regular readers of the most salacious tabloids are shocked, yes, shocked.

The tool has an s, the moral fault has a c; keeping them straight isn’t so very onerous a task. A vise is handy, for example, when you’ve glued something together and need to keep it still while the glue dries. The word vise is also used figuratively to refer to something that is like a vise in the strength of its hold, such as “a vise of debt.”

For example, failing to put effort into personal relationships is an example of sloth, resulting in taking the other person for granted instead of engaging appropriately. Gluttony refers to eating or drinking to excess on a habitual basis. This term does not refer to a simple act of overeating on occasion, but rather to a behavioral pattern of over-consuming to the extreme. Gluttony represents an extravagant form of overindulgence as a matter of habit.

Derived forms of vice

The first three terraces of purgatory expiate the sins which can be considered to arise from love perverted, that is, sins which arise from the heart of the sinner being set upon something which is wrong in the eyes of God. Those being purged here must have their love set upon the right path. The fourth terrace of purgatory expiates the sins which can be considered to arise from love defective, that is, love which, although directed towards the correct subjects is too weak to drive the sinner to act as they should. Those being purged here must have their love strengthened so as to drive them correctly. The first kind of vice, though sinful, is believed less serious than the second. Vices recognized as spiritual by Christians include blasphemy (holiness betrayed), apostasy (faith betrayed), despair (hope betrayed), hatred (love betrayed), and indifference (scripturally, a “hardened heart”).

Exploring Human Behavior

This list represents just a few basic examples of the many ways vice can show up in the actions of people. Learning about common vices and bad habits can be a great way to expand your understanding of human behavior. Now that you have basic knowledge of some of the most frequently occurring human vices, you’re on your way to unlocking the mystery of what motivates the actions of some people in some situations. For additional insights, spend some time exploring examples of unethical behavior and further improve your ability to communicate about human behavior by exploring a list of words that describe behavior. Lust can be defined as an overwhelming craving to satisfy a desire. Most commonly used to describe a strong sense of sexual need, lust is not simply feeling physically attracted to another person.

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Frailty implies a general or chronic proneness to yield to temptation.