Definition of: vicarious

(vī·kâr′ē·əs, vi-) adjective
1. Made or performed by substitution; suffered or done in place of another; substitutionary: a vicarious sacrifice; also, enjoyed or felt by a person as a result of his imagined participation in an experience that is not his own: vicarious gratification.
2. Filling the office of or acting for another.
3. Of, pertaining to, or belonging to a vicar or deputy; deputed; delegated.
4. Med. Performing, as an organ, the functions of another; substitutive; also, occurring in an abnormal situation: vicarious menstruation. [<L vicarius. See VICAR.]
—vi·car′i·ous·ly adverb
—vi·car′i·ous·ness noun