Experiencing something through someone’s senses, thoughts, or emotions. A vicarious emotion is that you feel not by yourself but by experiencing the feelings of someone else. You can refer to it as empathy. Psychologists have found that more empathetic people feel the vicarious emotions of those around them better than people who do not have this trait.

Noun – Vicariousness

Adverb/Verb – Vicariously

Etymology: The term comes from the Latin word vicar, which means “to represent.” The Latin word vicar comes from the verb vicare, meaning “to cover” and means “to be an agent for someone else.” In other words, vicarious refers to an action or a state in which someone takes on the responsibility of another person concerning an event.

In a Sentence

Even though much of his work was vicarious, he had to admit that an author’s best qualities were the ones that you could not experience vicariously.

Harry had never felt the nervousness of space travel before, but he knew that it was at least a vicarious experience.

The company’s approach to advertising has been vicarious.