Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: vicarius 'acting in place of another', from vicis 'change, alternation, position'

vicarious

 adjective
     
vi‧car‧i‧ous [only before noun]
experienced by watching or reading about someone else doing something, rather than by doing it yourself
vicarious pleasure/satisfaction/excitement etc
the vicarious pleasure that parents get from their children's success
—vicariously adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary