What does vicarious mean?
Word: Vicarious
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Vicarious means felt or enjoyed through someone else's experience, by watching, reading or hearing about it, rather than by doing it yourself.
Synonyms: indirect, second-hand
Antonyms: direct
How do you spell vicarious?
Syllables: vi - car - i - ous
Tricky part: The ending is ious, with an i before ous; vicarous and vicarius are the usual slips.
Watch out for: vicarous, vicarius, vicareous
Memory tip: End it the way curious ends: a curious reader enjoys vicarious adventures in books.
Vicarious in a sentence
Example 1: Reading travel blogs gives me a vicarious taste of the mountains of Ladakh.
Example 2: Parents often feel vicarious pride when their children win a prize.
Example 3: Grandpa gets vicarious excitement from watching us play video games.
Fun Fact
Vicarious shares its Latin root with the vice in vice-captain and vice-principal: both carry the idea of standing in for someone else.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
vic___ious
a) ar
b) arr
c) air
d) er
Show answer
a) ar. The middle is ar, as in car; vicerious, vicairious and vicarrious are not words.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Tara has never been to space, but reading an astronaut's diary gives her a ___ thrill.
a) various
b) vigorous
c) vicarious
d) victorious
Show answer
c) vicarious. Tara feels the thrill through the astronaut's adventure, not her own, so it is vicarious; various, victorious and vigorous do not fit.
Word Puzzle
Match the words in the first list with the words in the second list:
1. vicarious 2. fragile 3. timid a. bold b. first-hand c. sturdy
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. A first-hand thrill is the reverse of a vicarious one, sturdy things do not break easily, and bold people are not timid.
Word Tally
Give 2 marks for every correctly spelt word. What is the total for the list?
vicarious, adventure, excitment, imagination, thrilling, explorer
a) 6
b) 12
c) 10
d) 8
Show answer
c) 10. Only excitement is wrong, as it keeps the e of excite; five right words make 5 x 2 = 10.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Neha enjoys a vicarious adventure when she ___.
a) swims in the school pool
b) reads about a sailor crossing the ocean
c) sails across the lake herself
d) climbs a tree in her garden
Show answer
b) reads about a sailor crossing the ocean
2. Which of these is a vicarious pleasure?
a) riding your own new bicycle
b) swimming in the sea yourself
c) eating your own birthday cake
d) enjoying a friend's holiday stories
Show answer
d) enjoying a friend's holiday stories
