vicarious
Experienced by proxy
Vicarious describes experience gained through another person rather than directly.
You feel vicarious thrill watching someone skydive, vicarious embarrassment when a stranger stumbles.
Parents live vicariously through their children's achievements.
The word often carries a hint of insufficiency—vicarious experience as a substitute for the real thing.
Having had prior ownership
- indirectNot straight or immediate
- surrogateOne acting for another
- proxyAuthorized substitute
- mediatedFacilitated dispute resolution
transferred · borrowed · derived · substituted · delegated · removed · displaced · representative
State of eager enthusiasm
- adrenalineEmergency response hormone
- rushQuick sudden movement
- exhilarationIntense joyful excitement
- escapismHabitual mental retreat
adventure · fantasy · entertainment · spectator · voyeurism · enjoyment · stimulation · euphoria
Concern for others' distress
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- emotionalShowing strong feelings
- connectionA joining or relation
rapport · identification · resonance · fellow-feeling · mirroring · attunement · sensitivity · relating
Based on direct perception
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
- imitationCopy of the original
- apprenticeshipLearning trade through employment
- observationAttentive watching or remark
socialization · cognitive · instructional · mentorship · demonstration · acquired · absorbed · gleaned
Permitted by statute
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- employerOne who employs others
- principalChief school administrator
agency · negligence · tort · imputed · attributed · corporate · institutional · organizational
secondhand
Having had prior ownership
mediated · transferred · borrowed · derived · substituted · delegated · removed · displaced · representative · intermediate
excitement
State of eager enthusiasm
- adrenalineEmergency response hormone
- rushQuick sudden movement
- exhilarationIntense joyful excitement
escapism · adventure · fantasy · entertainment · spectator · voyeurism · enjoyment · stimulation · euphoria · intensity
compassion
Concern for others' distress
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- emotionalShowing strong feelings
connection · rapport · identification · resonance · fellow-feeling · mirroring · attunement · sensitivity · relating · bonding
observational
Based on direct perception
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
- imitationCopy of the original
- apprenticeshipLearning trade through employment
observation · socialization · cognitive · instructional · mentorship · demonstration · acquired · absorbed · gleaned
legal
Permitted by statute
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- employerOne who employs others
principal · agency · negligence · tort · imputed · attributed · corporate · institutional · organizational · supervisory
- indirecthint, detour, roundabout, evasive, veiled
- vicarious embarrassmentDiscomfort from others' awkwardness
- vicarious traumaDistress from exposure to others' suffering