virtue-signally

virtue-signally adjective: characterized by virtue signalling.

Adjective

virtue-signally (comparative more virtue-signally, superlative most virtue-signally)

(informal, rare) Characterized by virtue signalling.
- І know you’re not reading this column, Ted [Wheeler], because we don’t advertise for indie rock festivals or vegan grocery stores in our magazine (I mean, we will if asked, but I don’t think Whole Foods wants to be placed next to Top 5 Ways To Buy Sex With Bitcoin). So, it is a tad virtue-signally...2017 September, Ray McMillin, “Erotic City”, in Ray McMillin, editor, Exotic Magazine, volume 25, number 3 (291 overall), Portland, Ore.: XMAG LLC, →OCLC, page 28, column 3
- Next year, I firmly resolve, I am going to be brave and send a mass text message on 1 December that says, I am saving myself and you the bother of cards this year and have made a donation to charity instead. Maybe you think this is selfish, maybe you think it is virtue-signally. I don’t know, I’m...2021 October 14, Lucy Mangan, “Friday, 8 December”, in Are We Having Fun Yet?, London: Souvenir Press, →ISBN

So, it is a tad virtue-signally for me to say this, but for real: fuck you, Ted, and fuck the smart car you rode in on.2017 September, Ray McMillin, “Erotic City”, in Ray McMillin, editor, Exotic Magazine, volume 25, number 3 (291 overall), Portland, Ore....
Maybe you think this is selfish, maybe you think it is virtue-signally.2021 October 14, Lucy Mangan, “Friday, 8 December”, in Are We Having Fun Yet?, London: Souvenir Press, →ISBN:
“It’s trying to be pure and virtue-signally and making sure that [Justin] Trudeau and [Jagmeet] Singh are happy with what they’re doing.2024 August 28, David Staples, “Seething anger suggests change is coming”, in Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Alta., →ISSN, →OCLC, page A4...

comparative	more virtue-signally
superlative	most virtue-signally

From virtue signal + -y.

What does virtue-signally mean?: Virtue-signally means characterized by virtue signalling.
How do you use virtue-signally in a sentence?: So, it is a tad virtue-signally for me to say this, but for real: fuck you, Ted, and fuck the smart car you rode in on.
What part of speech is virtue-signally?: Virtue-signally is an adjective.

Adapted from Wiktionary: virtue-signally (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “virtue-signally.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/virtue-signally. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.