🇬🇧🇪🇸 vicarious - vicario : English Lesson

Meaning of "vicarious" ("vicario"), detailed definition, and a short video lesson below.

Vicarious describes the feeling of enjoying or experiencing something by watching, hearing, or imagining it rather than doing it yourself. For example, if you feel excited watching someone else ride a roller coaster, you're having a vicarious experience.

Watch and listen to this English flashcard to understand the word in more detail, with an easy example sentence.

Dad had a vicarious workout watching a weightlifting competition… while eating chips on the couch.

I got vicarious stress watching my friend try to parallel park.

Watching a cooking show gives me vicarious confidence, even though I once burned cereal.

Uncle Bob gets vicarious excitement watching football—his shouting is louder than the TV.

Mom felt vicarious pride when her son won the spelling bee, even though she couldn't spell "hippopotamus."

On the park bench, Tom took vicarious joy watching his sister climb the tall tree. He felt vicarious fear when her foot slipped, vicarious relief when she laughed, vicarious pride when she waved from the branch. His vicarious heart raced as if he had climbed too. He smiled, satisfied by his safe vicarious adventure.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.