moral Hear it!

moral definition

moral (môr′əl, mär′-; for n. 4, mə ral′)

adjective

  1. relating to, dealing with, or capable of making the distinction between right and wrong in conduct
  2. relating to, serving to teach, or in accordance with the principles of right and wrong
  3. good or right in conduct or character; sometimes, specif., virtuous in sexual conduct
  4. designating support, etc. that involves approval and sympathy without action
  5. being virtually such because of its effect on thoughts, attitudes, etc., or because of its general results a moral victory
  6. based on strong probability a moral certainty
  7. based on the principle of right conduct rather than legality a moral obligation
  8. Law based on general observation of people, on analogy, etc. rather than on what is demonstrable moral evidence

Etymology: ME < L moralis, of manners or customs < mos (gen. moris), pl. mores, manners, morals (see mood): used by Cicero as transl. of Gr ēthikos

noun

  1. a moral implication or moral lesson taught by a fable, event, etc.
  2. the conclusion of a fable or story containing a moral lesson
  3. principles, standards, or habits with respect to right or wrong in conduct; ethics; sometimes, specif., standards of sexual behavior
  4. Rare morale

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

moral Synonyms

moral

modif.

  1. Good or right in conduct or character

    ethical, principled, virtuous, righteous, good, right, upright, honorable, trustworthy, conscientious, scrupulous, respectable, proper, truthful, decent, just, honest, right-minded, high-minded, saintly, pure, exemplary, laudable, worthy, correct, praiseworthy, showing integrity, incorruptible, noble, upstanding, seemly, aboveboard, dutiful, godly; see also noble 1, 2, reliable 1, righteous 1, upright 2.

    Antonyms immoral, unscrupulous, dishonest*.

  2. Conforming to approved standards of sexual conduct

    virtuous, chaste, pure, decent; see chaste 2, innocent 4.

  3. Moralizing

    didactic, moralizing, moralistic, preachy, sermonizing, monitory, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou.

moral implies conformity with generally accepted standards of goodness or rightness in conduct or character, sometimes, specif., in sexual conduct a moral person; ethical implies conformity with an elaborated, ideal code of moral principles, sometimes, specif., with the code of a particular profession an ethical lawyer; virtuous implies a morally excellent character, connoting integrity, self-discipline, or often, specif., chastity; righteous implies being morally blameless or justifiable righteous anger


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

moral Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • story: Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Converse of object

  • corrupt: First Corinthians 15:33 says, " Evil company corrupts good morals.

Adjective modifier

  • strict: Can you be true to yourself, while adhering to the strict Islamic morals the country prides itself on?

Modifies a noun

  • dilemma: Buying flowers for your girlfriend or spending the money to upgrade your RAM is a moral dilemma.

Modifying Another Word

  • purely: Looking at the thing from a purely moral point of view, what can be said?
moral usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

moral quotes

The flute is not an instrument that has a good moral effectöit is too exciting.

-Aristotle

Wordsworth says somewhere that wherever Virgil seems to have composed 'with his eye on the object', Dryden fails to render him. Homer invariably composes 'with his eye onthe object', whether the object be moral or a material one: Pope composes with his eye on his style, into which he translates his object, whatever it is.

-Arnold, Matthew

  Sentences which simply express moral judgements do not say anything. Theyare pure expressions of feeling and as such donot come under the categoryof truth and falsehood.

-Ayer, SirAlfred Jules

moral quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"moral." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/moral>

APA Style

moral. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/moral

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment