Vis-à-vis Definition & Meaning

American

British

Cultural

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms vis-à-vis American [vee-zuh-vee, vee-za-vee] / ˌvi zəˈvi, vi zaˈvi /

preposition

1. compared with.

   The graph shows income vis-à-vis expenditures.

2. in relation to or toward.

   The report is an examination of Japan’s foreign policy vis-à-vis its Asian neighbors.

3. with regard to; concerning; about.

   I’ve read his comments vis-à-vis the role of the media in international conflicts.

4. facing; opposite.

   We are now vis-à-vis the most famous painting in the Louvre.

adverb

1. face to face.

   They sat vis-à-vis at the table.

adjective

1. face-to-face.

   a vis-à-vis encounter.

2. Numismatics. (of a coin) having two portraits facing each other.

noun

plural

vis-à-vis

1. a person face to face with or situated opposite to another.

   He offered a cigarette to his vis-à-vis.

2. a date at a social affair.

   She introduced her vis-à-vis to the hostess.

3. a person of equal authority, rank, or the like.

   my vis-à-vis in the Louisville office.

4. a carriage in which the occupants sit face to face.

5. Furniture. tête-à-tête.

vis-à-vis British / ˌviːzɑːˈviː /

preposition

1. in relation to; regarding

2. face to face with; opposite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

1. face to face; opposite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. a person or thing that is situated opposite to another

2. a person who corresponds to another in office, capacity, etc; counterpart

3. an upholstered sofa; tête-à-tête

4. a type of horse-drawn carriage in which the passengers sit opposite one another

5. a coin having an obverse upon which two portraits appear facing each other

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 vis-à-vis Cultural

1. Relative to; compared with: “She performed well vis-à-vis the rest of the competitors.”

Etymology

Origin of vis-à-vis

First recorded in 1745–55; from French: literally, “face to face”; visage

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Associate Justice Amy Lazaro Javier further noted that Article 148 must not be limited to heterosexual couples "given the prevailing values in modern society as well as the glaring yet unjustified difference in the treatment of heterosexual couples vis-à-vis their homosexual counterparts".

From BBC

Gold, meanwhile, can also be used as a liquidity hedge but is more of a “core portfolio holding vis-à-vis silver,” and the rise of central-bank gold demand lifts the gold price floor and dampens downside volatility for the yellow metal, Doshi said.

From MarketWatch

“Without central banks as structural dip buyers as in gold, we are still a bit apprehensive of a potentially deeper shakeout in silver vis-à-vis gold in the near-term,” they wrote.

From Barron's

Europe is doing the same vis-a-vis the United States.

From Barron's

Europe is doing the same vis-a-vis the US.

From Barron's

Related Words

• eye to eye

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.