Word meaning vice versa

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• vice-versa, v.v. (abbreviation), vicey versey, vice versâ (with marked ablative)

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ablative absolute vice versā (“the position having been reversed”), from feminine third declension noun vicis (“arrangement, order, position, etc.”) + feminine ablative singular of perfect passive participle versus, from vertō (“I turn, I reverse”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə/, /ˈvaɪsə-/, /vaɪs-/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪsi ˈvɝsə/, /ˈvaɪsə-/, /vaɪs-/, enPR: vīʹsē vûrʹsə, vīʹsə-, vīs-

Adverb[edit]

vice versa (not comparable)

1. (generally after or) The same but with the two items mentioned reversed.

   Since there are two contestants left in the race, either Bob will come first place and Alice second place, or vice versa.

Usage notes[edit]

• The adverb is the last element in the clause specifying the two elements whose roles can be switched, and is preceded by the conjunction and or or. Rarely, in English writing, and is replaced by the Latin conjunction et, similar to “et cetera”:

  • 1842, A. Taylor, “On the Curative Influence of the Climate of Pau, and the Mineral Waters of the Pyrénées, on Disease, &c.”, in The Lancet‎^[1], volume II, page 885:

    […] we are convinced, from considerable experience and observation, that the class of diseases described by Sir James as unsuited to the climate of Pau, et vice versâ […]

  • 1881, E. Abbe, Hon, “On the Conditions of Orthoscopic and Pseudoscopic Effects in the Binocular Microscope”, in Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society‎^[2], volume I, page 208:

    Therefore, any projection which affords right-eye perspective in regard to the solid image of the Microscope, will always afford right-eye perspective in regard to the object likewise, et vice versâ.

  • 1894, James Alwis, Terms of Address and modes of Salutation in use amongst the Singhalese‎^[3], volume III, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, page 222:

    […] terms of regard or attachment used frequently amongst the lower classes  : the first by husbands towards their wives et vice versa, and by ordained priests towards their Samanera pupils […]

Synonyms[edit]

• vicey versey, conversely, the other way round; See also Thesaurus:vice versa

Translations[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin vice versā (“the position having been reversed”).

Adverb[edit]

vice versa

1. vice versa

   Synonym: omvendt

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin vice versā.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈvisə ˈvɛrsɑ/

Adverb[edit]

vice versa

1. vice versa

   Als je het raam open doet, moet je de verwarming uit doen, en vice versa.

   If you open the window, you should turn off the heating, and vice versa.

   Synonyms: omgekeerd, andersom

Interlingua[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin vice versā.

Adverb[edit]

vice versa

1. vice versa

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from Latin vice versā.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈvi.t͡sɛ ˈvɛr.sa/
• Rhymes: -ɛrsa

Adverb[edit]

vice versa (not comparable)

1. vice versa

Further reading[edit]

• vice versa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• vice versa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Adverb[edit]

vice versa (not comparable)

1. Alternative spelling of vice-versa

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin vice versā.

Adverb[edit]

vice versa (not comparable)

1. vice versa

   Synonym: omvänt

Смотреть что такое «vice versa» в других словарях:

• vice versa — ● vice versa locution adverbiale (latin vice versa, la place étant tournée) Réciproquement, inversement : Il aime les enfants et vice versa. ● vice versa (difficultés) locution adverbiale (latin vice versa, la place étant tournée) Orthographe et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

• vice-versa — ou vice versa [ visevɛrsa; visvɛrsa ] loc. adv. • 1418; loc. lat., proprt « à tour (vice) renversé (versa) » ♦ Réciproquement, inversement. « passer du blanc au tricolore, et vice versa » (Hugo). ⇒VICE( )VERSA, (VICE VERSA, VICE VERSA), loc. adv …   Encyclopédie Universelle

• Vice versa — (лат. вице вэрса), латинское выражение, буквально «противоположным образом», также «наоборот», «обратно».[1] Может означать: Vice Versa (журнал)  старейший журнал США на лесбийскую тематику Vice Versa (альбом)  альбом немецкой… …   Википедия

• vice versa — ou vice versa [ visevɛrsa; visvɛrsa ] loc. adv. • 1418; loc. lat., proprt « à tour (vice) renversé (versa) » ♦ Réciproquement, inversement. « passer du blanc au tricolore, et vice versa » (Hugo) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

• vice versa — (izg. vȉce vȅrsa) čest. pril. DEFINICIJA recipročno, obrnuto [3 puta 2 je 6 i vice versa 2 puta 3 je opet 6] ETIMOLOGIJA lat …   Hrvatski jezični portal

• Vice Versa — (Париж,Франция) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: 213 rue de la Croix Nivert, 15 …   Каталог отелей

• vice versa — index contra, contrary Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 vice versa …   Law dictionary

• vice versa — c.1600, Latin, from vice, ablative of vicis a turn, change (see VICARIOUS (Cf. vicarious)) + versa, feminine ablative singular of versus, pp. of vertere to turn, turn about (see VERSUS (Cf. versus)) …   Etymology dictionary

• vice versa — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. wice wersa] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}przysł. {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} na odwrót : {{/stl 7}}{{stl 10}}Kiedy pracuję, ty chcesz się bawić i vice versa. <łac.> {{/stl 10}} …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

• vice versa — vice ver|sa [ˌvaıs ˈvə:sə, ˌvaısi US ə:r ] adv [Date: 1600 1700; : Latin; Origin: position turned ] used to say that the opposite of a situation you have just described is also true ▪ The boys may refuse to play with the girls, and vice versa …   Dictionary of contemporary English

• Vice versa — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Rock Gründung 2006 Website www.viceversatheband.com …   Deutsch Wikipedia

What does the term vice versa mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the term vice versa is an adverb or adverbial phrase that means in the opposite order, alternate order or reverse order. This device is commonly used with the conjunctions “and” and “or” following the main items which will be put the wrong way from the preceding statement. The pronunciation of vice versa is ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə. 

There are many different languages that have their own translations of vice versa. You may notice that many of these translations of vice versa look and sound similar to the phrase vice versa. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that retain a similar look, sound and meaning. These are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the phrase vice versa is provided by Word Sense.

•  Galician: viceversa‎
•  German: umgekehrt‎, andersherum‎, andersrum‎, und umgekehrt‎, und umgedreht‎, vice versa‎
•  Swedish: vice versa‎
•  Vietnamese: ngược lại‎
•  Finnish: päinvastoin‎, toisinpäin‎, toistepäin‎
•  Romanian: vice versa‎
•  Dutch: vice versa‎, omgekeerd‎
•  French: vice versa‎
•  Turkish: tam tersi‎
•  Belarusian: наадварот‎ (naadvarot)
•  Spanish: viceversa‎, contrariamente‎
•  Italian: viceversa‎
•  Indonesian: juga sebaliknya‎
•  Portuguese: vice versa‎, vice-versa‎
•  Tamil: முற்றிலும் எதிர்த்திசையில்‎ (முற்றிலும் எதிர்த்திசையில்)
•  Estonian: vastupidi‎, ümberpöördult‎
•  Interlingua: vice versa‎
•  Russian: наоборо́т‎
•  Lojban: (“and viceversa”) soi vo’a‎
•  Mandarin: 反之亦然‎ (fǎnzhīyìrán)
•  Japanese: 逆‎, 反対‎
•  Catalan: viceversa‎
•  Persian: برعکس‎ (bar’aks), بالعکس‎ (bel’aks)
•  Arabic: الْعَكْس بِالْعَكْس‎, الْعَكْس صَحِيح‎
•  Bashkir: киреһенсә‎

What is the origin of the phrase vice versa?

According to Etymonline, such phrase has been used since c17. This Latin phrase comes from vice, the ablative alteration/ablative of vicis change. This is the affixed to versā, the feminine perfect passive participle of versus, which is the past participle of vertere. These come from the PIE root weik and wer. Related words include virtue.

How can the term vice versa be used in a sentence?

There are many different ways that the term vice versa can be used in the English language to talk about various different topics. Creating and reading example sentences is a great way to incorporate new words and phrases into your vocabulary. You can also try to make flashcards or quizzes in order to test your knowledge of the definitions of various different words. Try using this new phrase of the day in a sentence today! Below are several different examples of the phrase vice versa to help get you started. 

Mankind saw the evil behind the prince’s notions and vice versa – he could tell that they were after his own crown and wished to overthrow his right to the throne. They wanted to teach the evil, snobby prince a lesson. 

He traded DVDs for his cousin’s VHS tapes and vice versa. He only had a VHS player and his cousin only had a DVD player, so now they were both able to watch content.

The arch-priests received penance and the letter of a jesuited gentleman and vice versa. 

What are synonyms and antonyms of vice versa?

There are many different words and phrases that are synonyms of vice. Synonyms are words and phrases that have the same meaning or definition as another given word or phrase. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your English language vocabulary and avoid repeating yourself in written and spoken English. This list of synonyms for the phrase vice versa is provided by Power Thesaurus.

•  contra
•  au contraire
•  nay rather
•  opposingly
•  other hand
•  inverted
•  contrastingly
•  inversely
•  as a substitute
•  inverse
•  contrastively
•  in a different manner
•  then again
•  conflictingly
•  unorthodoxly
•  as well
•  poles apart
•  additionally
•  acrimoniously
•  hostilely
•  opposite way
•  discordantly
•  reverse
•  abnormally
•  about-face
•  upside down
•  across
•  nonconformably
•  inside out
•  mutatis mutandis
•  differently
•  counter
•  dissimilarly
•  tout au contraire
•  asymmetrically
•  at the same time
•  antagonistically
•  other side of coin
•  opposite
•  backward
•  against
•  all backwards
•  variously
•  reciprocally
•  negatively
•  contradictorily
•  reversed
•  in reverse
•  alternately
•  antipole
•  contrariwise
•  oppositely
•  vise versa
•  the contrary
•  visa versa
•  other way around
•  no such thing
•  topsy-turvy
•  diversely
•  incompatibly
•  again
•  unequally
•  rather
•  in addition
•  in contrast
•  conversely
•  disparately
•  another adverse
•  backwards
•  other way round
•  fro
•  bottom up
•  without order
•  just the opposite
•  upside-down
•  contrary
•  by contrast
•  all the same
•  antipodally
•  contrarily
•  far from it
•  on contrary
•  quite the contrary
•  mutually
•  interchangeably
•  in reverse order
•  in turn
•  other side
•  antilogy
•  divergently
•  antithetically
•  on the contrary
•  reversely
•  per contra
•  adversely
•  on the other hand
•  contraria
•  other extreme

There are also numerous different words that mean the opposite of vice versa. These opposite words are called antonyms, which are also a great way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms of vice versa is also provided by Power Thesaurus.

•  in like manner
•  together
•  analogously
•  equally
•  corresponding
•  same way
•  as demonstrated
•  similarly
•  as noted
•  equally true
•  in a similar way
•  in common
•  closely
•  in accordance with
•  equivalent
•  equal
•  indistinguishably
•  as illustrated
•  equivalently
•  consonantly
•  equally likely
•  uniformly
•  in the same way
•  comparably
•  likewise
•  by the same token
•  mutually
•  as indicated
•  evenly
•  accordingly
•  in line
•  in similar fashion
•  identically
•  akin
•  as evidenced
•  alike
•  same
•  consistent
•  in parallel
•  homogeneously
•  as shown
•  also
•  consistently
•  in the same manner
•  like
•  similar
•  in conjunction
•  equally valid
•  correspondingly
•  as mentioned

Overall, the word vice versa means the reverse of or the opposite of. This phrase originally comes from the Latin vice versa. 

Sources:

1. Vice versa definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
2. vice versa | Origin and meaning of phrase vice versa | Online Etymology Dictionary 
3. Vice Versa synonyms – 310 Words and Phrases for Vice Versa | Power Thesaurus 
4. Vice Versa antonyms – 176 Opposites of Vice Versa | Power Thesaurus 
5. vice versa: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 

Click below to listen to a recording of this passage about “vice versa.”

Like many English phrases, “vice versa” is borrowed from another language. Other examples of this in English include, “wanderlust”, originally a German word, and “karaoke”, borrowed from the Japanese language. 

Despite being a pretty common term, it is often misused, mispronounced, and misunderstood in English. This is partly due to the fact that “versa” on its own is generally not considered an English word. 

As a result, many English speakers confuse its meaning and usage. 

So, what does ‘vice versa’ mean? What are the origins of the phrase? And finally, how are you supposed to use it in English? We will answer all of these questions and more, but first, let’s look at how the phrase is supposed to sound:

(Prefer to watch this lesson on video? Here’s our full length tutorial on how to use the phrase ‘Vice Versa: its meaning & how to use it):

‘Vice Versa: its meaning & how to use it’:

Vice Versa Pronunciation

Click below to listen to a recording of this passage.

The correct pronunciation of vice versa is a common point of contention (argument or issue), even among native English speakers. There are two common ways that people say the term, but only one of them is correct:

• CORRECT: Vice verse-uh
• INCORRECT: Vice-uh verse-uh

You’ll find some sources that claim both options are legitimate ways to say the phrase, but the official pronunciation makes more sense anyway. “Vice” is an existing word in English meaning “sin” or “immoral behavior” (though this meaning does not apply when it is combined with “versa”). It is pronounced the same no matter how it is used; vice simply sounds like “ice” with the letter “V” at the beginning.

Ironically, versa is not an official English word, yet most people pronounce it correctly anyway. Much like the first two syllables in “versatile,” versa sounds like verse + uh. In both cases, the first syllable is stressed.

Alternatively, many people choose to use another pronunciation. As you can see in the INCORRECT pronunciation above, versa does not change, while vice gets an additional syllable. 

Where did the phrase originate?

It’s possible that the alternative pronunciation came about because some people wanted to bring the phrase closer to the Latin phrase from which it was derived. In Latin, the phrase did feature a two-syllable “vice.” However, the original pronunciation was closer to vice-ee verse-uh. 

Moreover, most Latin words with a non-silent “e” on the end are adapted to match English pronunciation rules. For example, the original Latin word rationale has a non-silent “e” on the end, but in English, it is spelled and pronounced “rational” (rash-uhn-uhl). In English, you drop the “ee” sound from the original Latin word entirely.

In short, you can use both pronunciations for vice versa and it won’t make a difference to most people. However, if you want to use the most correct and formal version of the term, it should be vice (one syllable) followed by versa (two syllables). 

What does vice versa mean?

Click below to listen to a recording of this passage.

From its original Latin definition, vice versa means “the other way around.” As a result, it typically goes at the end of a statement and refers back to the statement. When this happens, the term indicates a rearrangement of the main elements in the preceding statement so that they are in the opposite or reverse position. In essence, the term allows you to save time, rather than restating many of the same words in a different order. 

This may sound a little confusing, so let’s look at a few examples to better understand the meaning:

• I would be there for any of my family members, and vice versa.
  • I would be there for any of my family members and any of my family members would be there for me.
• My daughter doesn’t like her teacher, and vice versa.
  • My daughter doesn’t like her teacher and her teacher doesn’t like my daughter.
• There are times when I’m happy even when work isn’t going well and vice versa.
  • There are times when I’m happy even when work isn’t going well and there are times when I’m sad even when work is going well.

As you can see, vice versa requires a preceding statement that allows for two elements to be switched or turned into their opposite form. In writing, you can use a comma after the statement, though it is not a requirement. People often put a slight pause before saying “and vice versa,” so the comma allows you to indicate this pause in writing.

Synonyms for Vice Versa

Since the term is taken from Latin, you might be wondering if modern English has any synonyms for vice versa. Fortunately, it does! In fact, there are a few different ways to express the term in English:

• The other way around
  • Usually, I cook and my husband handles the cleanup, but sometimes it’s the other way around.
• Conversely
  • He changed a flat tire for me once. Conversely, I changed a flat tire for him once.
• Inversely
  • When unemployment goes up, inflation goes down. Inversely, when unemployment goes down, inflation goes up.
• The opposite is also true
  • My sister helps me pick out clothes; the opposite is also true.
• The feeling is mutual
  • My boss doesn’t like me and the feeling is mutual.

None of these words or phrases work as well as vice versa. Though they all have similar meanings, they are not as easy to use. Both “conversely” and “inversely” are not very common in everyday conversation and they usually require two independent clauses. 

“The other way around” and “the opposite is also true” are cumbersome to say and don’t always convey the exact meaning of vice versa accurately. Finally, the feeling is mutual is one of the best vice versa synonyms, but it only applies when discussing emotions or feelings between two or more people. This is why it is such a popular phrase!

When to Use Vice Versa

Click below to listen to a recording of this passage.

Now that we’ve covered the pronunciation, origin, meaning, and even synonyms, it’s time to look at when you should use the phrase. While this is not a complete list, it will provide you with some common situations in which the term could be useful:

• Parallel emotions or feelings between two or more people
  • I like him and vice versa. (He likes me)
  • They don’t get along with us and vice versa. (We don’t get along with them)
  • Her mother will always love her and vice versa. (She will always love her mother)

• Parallel actions taken by two people, things, or groups
  • The government works with our business to combat fraud and vice versa. (our business works with the government to combat fraud)
  • Different countries send aid to the United Nations, and vice versa. (the United Nations sends aid to different countries)
  • My dog bit my neighbor’s cat and vice versa. (my neighbor’s cat bit my dog)

• Parallel capabilities
  • The software allows you to transfer files from your computer to the cloud, and vice versa. (the software allows you to transfer files from the cloud to your computer)
  • The car can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds, and vice versa. (the car goes from 60 to 0 miles per hour in 3 seconds.
  • The robot is capable of interacting with animals, and vice versa. (animals are capable of interacting with the robot)

Conclusion

Vice versa is a very useful phrase in English. It might be borrowed from Latin, but it is one of the easiest ways to express the feelings, actions, or ideas of a statement in the reverse order. Additionally, the term is always used in the same way (grammatically), so once you learn how to use it, you’re all set!

We hope you found this guide on how to use vice versa useful! As always, for all things English conversation, grammar, or job-related, visit Magoosh Speaking today!

Last Updated:
11 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences