vicarious.

1. Experienced indirectly through observing, imagining, or identifying with another person.

2. Performed, borne, or undertaken in place of or on behalf of another.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• vicarious pleasure
• vicarious embarrassment

On the page

Her vicarious embarrassment grew as the speech continued.

The letters offered him vicarious pleasure in journeys he could no longer make.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more vicarious; superlative most vicarious where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.