heroic virtue
Saintly moral excellence
Heroic virtue describes moral excellence practiced to an extraordinary degree—beyond what ordinary goodness requires.
The term appears most often in Catholic theology, where it designates saints who demonstrated faith, hope, charity, and other virtues with exceptional consistency and intensity.
More broadly, it suggests virtue tested by extreme circumstances: Her heroic virtue in sheltering refugees inspired the whole village.
- holinessSacred spiritual purity
- gritDetermination or abrasive particles
- magnanimityGenerous, noble spirit
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
- martyrdomSuffering for conviction
noble sacrifice · courage · moral courage · selflessness · integrity · altruism · greater good · moral reasoning · perseverance · strength of character · temperance · going above and beyond · sanctity · humility · Aquinas · saintliness · steadfast faith · sacrifice
heroic virtuedepravity
Profound moral corruption
moral turpitude · vice · wickedness · villainy · evil
heroic virtuemortal sin
Grace-destroying spiritual offense
grave sin · damnation · perdition · spiritual death · reprobation