Vice Versa Meaning, Origin, Example Sentence, Definition, Synonym

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vice versaAugust 10, 2013 12:16 PM

V

vice versa

Meaning

• a reverse in position
• when something is true even in the opposite order
• expression meaning ‘the reverse is also true’

Synonyms

• contrariwise
• inversely
• the wrong way round

Example Sentences

1. I do not like my sister’s new husband, and vice versa.
2. I am tired of spending time with my family, and vice versa.
3. Mothers infected by dengue may have babies with higher risk of severe Zika, and vice versa.
4. “There are times when I’m really happy and I write something really sad, and vice versa.” — Juan Gabriel
5. The engineers have just discovered a new device by the help of which are able to transfer from VHS tapes to DVDs and vice versa.
6. She does not trust him, and vice versa.

Origin

The phrase comes from the 17th century Latin words “vicis” which means an alteration (but it can also mean a place or position), and “vertere” which means to turn. It is a loan word, meaning that it has been adopted from a foreign language with little to no modification.It is typically used as an adverb.

One of the earliest examples of the phrase can be found in Anthony Copley’s Ananswere to a letter of a Jesuited gentleman by his cousin, [1601]:

“… such a penance and the Arch-Priests vice-versa to be suspended and attained as Schismaticall.”

Share your opinions2 Opinions

“I’ll say a word and you say the first thing that comes to mind, okay?”“Okay.”“Glove?”“Muffin.”“What the hell?”“Muffin?”“Yup. Or VICE VERSA.”“Please leave.”😑

‒ Flash January 26, 2022

I thought vice versa was an adverbial phrase, not an idiom?

‒ Dean October 27, 2020

What's on your mind?

Important, Latin

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