Vicarious describes a feeling you get from watching or reading about somebody else's experience, instead of having it yourself.

Vicarious describes a feeling you get from watching or reading about somebody else's experience這個字是在形容你透過看別人或讀到別人的經驗而得到的一種感覺, instead of having it yourself而不是自己親身經歷。

A father who never became a football player watches his son score and feels vicarious pride. Someone stuck at home reads travel blogs and gets vicarious pleasure from other people's trips.

A father who never became a football player一個從沒當過足球選手的爸爸 watches his son score看兒子踢進球 and feels vicarious pride就感受到一種間接的驕傲。Someone stuck at home一個被困在家裡的人 reads travel blogs看旅遊部落格 and gets vicarious pleasure from other people's trips從別人的旅行裡得到一種間接的樂趣。

The key idea is that the feeling is real — it is really your joy, your fear, your excitement — but the event is not yours.

The key idea is that the feeling is real關鍵是這種感覺是真的 —— it is really your joy, your fear, your excitement真的是你自己的喜悅、恐懼、興奮 —— but the event is not yours只是那件事本身不是發生在你身上。

It almost always goes in front of a noun about a feeling: vicarious pleasure, vicarious excitement, vicarious thrill, vicarious satisfaction, and very often 'live vicariously through someone'. That last phrase is the one you will meet most, and it usually carries a light criticism: a mother who pushes her daughter into the career she herself wanted is living vicariously through her. It suggests the person should be building their own life.

It almost always goes in front of a noun about a feeling它幾乎都放在跟感覺有關的名詞前面: vicarious pleasure, vicarious excitement, vicarious thrill, vicarious satisfaction像vicarious pleasure、vicarious excitement、vicarious thrill、vicarious satisfaction這些, and very often 'live vicariously through someone'而且很常出現在'live vicariously through someone'這個片語裡。That last phrase is the one you will meet most最後這個片語是你最常遇到的, and it usually carries a light criticism而且通常帶一點輕微的批評意味: a mother who pushes her daughter into the career she herself wanted一個把女兒推去做自己當年想做的職業的媽媽 is living vicariously through her就是在透過女兒間接活出自己的人生。It suggests the person should be building their own life這暗示這個人應該去建立自己的人生。

Not always negative though — 'we all enjoyed her success vicariously' is warm. The word is a little formal or literary; in casual speech people just say 'it felt like I was there'.

Not always negative though不過也不是每次都是負面的 —— 'we all enjoyed her success vicariously''we all enjoyed her success vicariously' is warm是一句很溫暖的話。The word is a little formal or literary這個字有點正式或文學性; in casual speech people just say 'it felt like I was there'口語裡大家就直接說'it felt like I was there'。

There is also a separate, technical legal use — vicarious liability, meaning a company is responsible for what its worker did — where the sense of 'standing in the place of another' shows clearly.

There is also a separate, technical legal use另外還有一個獨立的法律專業用法 —— vicarious liability就是vicarious liability(代負責任), meaning a company is responsible for what its worker did意思是公司要為員工做的事負責 —— where the sense of 'standing in the place of another' shows clearly這裡'代替另一個人站在那個位置'的意思就看得很清楚。