Vice is a practice or habit that is considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. Vice can also refer to conduct that is seen as depraved or degrading such as prostitution, incest, or pedophilia. The term can also be used to refer to a particular form of immoral conduct as in 'drug abuse is a vice'. In more minor usages, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synomyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness and corruption. The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice." In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latin word vitium, meaning "failing or defect". Vice is the opposite of virtue.
Vice is also a generic legal term for criminal offenses involving prostitution, lewdness, lasciviousness, and obscenity. Illegal forms of gambling are also often included as a vice in law enforcement departments that deal with vice as a crime.