The Meaning of Vis a Vis: What It Is and How To Use It

Vis a vis is a fairly rare word that not many people understand. This article will help you learn the meaning of vis a vis.

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The word vis a vis looks and sounds French, but what does it actually mean outside of the French translation? This article will cover what the word vis a vis means, how it can be used in a sentence, translations, synonyms, and antonyms.

What Does the Word Vis a Vis Mean?

According to Dictionary, the word vis a vis has a few meanings and parts of speech. First, this word can act as a preposition meaning in relation to, with regard to, or compared with. 

Next, the word vis a vis can be used as an adverb or an adjective meaning face-to-face. This can describe a coin in which two portraits are facing each other, an upholstered sofa, or a horse-drawn carriage. The pronunciation of vis a vis is vē′zə vē′, and this word is a loanword from the French language.

How Can Vis a Vis Be Used in a Sentence?

Take a look at these example sentences containing vis a vis:

The burly policeman at the Louisville office had a vis a vis meeting with his predecessors about his behavior. This face-to-face meeting set him on his way.

The hostess couldn’t help but overhear their conversation vis a vis the social affair at the Louvre. She offered the security guard a cigarette, and he let her in to see the famous painting and portraits.

The doctor talked to the patient vis a vis his urinary sediments, which were usually only seen in a type of horse.

She compared HarperCollins Publishers vis a vis the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company to see which she preferred to publish her book.

The occupants of the cabin stood vis a vis with a person of equal authority or rank as themselves.

The business people examined the income vis a vis expenditures and found that they had been losing money from their confiding creditors for the last five years.

The passengers on the train sat vis a vis and had a person face them. Being face-to- face with a member of your species in a similar predication makes you think about the profound attachment we have to human life.

What Is the Origin of Vis a Vis?

According to The Free Dictionary, the word vis a vis has been used since the 18th century in English. This loan word from French comes directly from the French vis, meaning face. Therefore, this word translates directly to face-to-face, though it is often used figuratively in the English language.

What Are Translations of Vis a Vis?

Vis a vis is a word that comes from French, but how can similar phrases be used in other languages? We’ve got you covered.

  • Romanian: în raport cu
  • Slovenian: v povezavi z
  • Hungarian: kapcsolatban
  • Danish: i forbindelse med
  • Dutch: in verhouding tot
  • Welsh: mewn perthynas â
  • Malayalam: ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട്
  • Gujarati: સંબંધમાં
  • German: im Verhältnis zu
  • Czech: ve vztahu k
  • Thai: เกี่ยวกับ
  • Greek: σε σχέση με
  • Telugu: సంబంధించి
  • Urdu: تعلق میں
  • Amharic: ጋር በተያያዘ
  • Chinese (PRC): 和—关联
  • Ukrainian: у зв’язку з, щодо
  • Icelandic: í tengslum við
  • Bulgarian: във връзка с
  • French: vis-à-vis
  • Spanish: En relación a
  • Hebrew: ביחס ל
  • Latvian: saistībā ar
  • Tamil: தொடர்பாக தொடர்பாக
  • Portuguese (Brazil): em relação a
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 和—關聯
  • Polish: w związku z
  • Swedish: visavi
  • Portuguese (Portugal): em relação a
  • Slovak: vo vzťahu k
  • Finnish: suhteessa
  • Serbian: у односу на
  • Estonian: seoses
  • Turkish: ile ilgili olarak
  • Arabic: المتعلق ب
  • Indonesian: berhubungan dengan
  • Korean: 관련
  • Catalan: en relació a
  • Filipino: Kaugnay sa
  • Basque: aldean
  • Russian: по отноше́нию к‎
  • Vietnamese: liên quan đến
  • Swahili: kuhusiana na
  • Bengali: সম্পর্কিত
  • Norwegian: i forhold til
  • Kannada: ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ
  • Japanese: に関して
  • Hindi: के संबंध में
  • Lithuanian: palyginti su
  • Croatian: u vezi sa
  • Italian: in relazione con
  • Malay: vis-à-vis
  • Marathi: संबंधात

What Are Synonyms of the Word Vis a Vis?

Not everyone knows the meaning of the word vis a vis. If you need to explain what vis a vis means to someone, it can be helpful to use a synonym. Power Thesaurus lists many different synonyms of vis a vis that can be used in its place:

  • antipodes
  • antipole
  • antithesis
  • antonym
  • at cross-purposes
  • athwart
  • carriage
  • concerning
  • contra
  • couch
  • counter
  • counterpart
  • escort
  • eyeball to eyeball
  • face to face
  • facing
  • inverse
  • love seat
  • loveseat
  • obverse
  • opposite
  • opposite number
  • over against
  • quoad
  • regarding
  • reverse
  • tete-a-tete
  • toward
  • towards

What Are Antonyms of the Word Vis a Vis?

Power Thesaurus also provides via a vis antonyms. If you are trying to describe something that is not vis a vis, you can use an antonym of vis a vis.

  • aforementioned
  • akin
  • alike
  • analogous
  • common
  • comparable
  • congruent
  • consistent
  • correspondent
  • corresponding
  • duplicate
  • equal
  • equally
  • equivalent
  • even
  • homogeneous
  • identic
  • identical
  • indistinguishable
  • interchangeable
  • like
  • like peas in a pod
  • matched
  • matching
  • much the same
  • one and the same
  • parallel
  • same
  • selfsame
  • similar
  • synonymous
  • tantamount
  • twin
  • undistinguishable
  • uniform
  • very
  • very same

Conclusion

Overall, vis a vis can be used to mean regarding, compared with, or face-to-face. This word comes from the French word vis, which means face. It can be literally translated to face-to-face.

Sources:

  1. Vis-a-vis synonyms – 84 Words and Phrases for Vis-a-vis | Power Thesaurus
  2. Identical synonyms – 699 Words and Phrases for Identical | Power Thesaurus  
  3. Vis-à-vis Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
  4. Vis-a-vis – definition of vis a vis | The Free Dictionary