amoral

[ ey-mawr-uhl, a-mawr-, ey-mor-, a-mor- ]

adjective

1. not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.
2. having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong:

   a completely amoral person.

amoral

/ ˌeɪmɒˈrælɪtɪ; eɪˈmɒrəl /

adjective

1. having no moral quality; nonmoral
2. without moral standards or principles

Usage

Amoral is often wrongly used where immoral is meant. Immoral is properly used to talk about the breaking of moral rules, amoral about people who have no moral code or about places or situations where moral considerations do not apply

Derived Forms

• aˈmorally, adverb
• amorality, noun

Other Words From

• a·moral·ism noun
• a·mo·ral·i·ty [ey-m, uh, -, ral, -i-tee, am-, uh, -], noun
• a·moral·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of amoral¹

First recorded in 1880–85; a- ⁶ + moral

Synonym Study

See immoral.

Example Sentences

Blame the African countries and the amoral people who go into the savannahs and the forests and slaughter the animals.

From The Daily Beast

And if both women are more amoral and avaricious than Ma Joad and Mama Younger, well, so are we.

From The Daily Beast

If I were an ambitious, amoral politician looking for higher office, I'd sign up with the GOP.

From The Daily Beast

I think he's better understood as a scientist who is simply amoral.

From The Daily Beast

Beastie John Avlon put it well: He's "a deeply moral man who happens to be amoral when it comes to politics."

From The Daily Beast

A hum of understanding and approval ran through the court; the intellect is profoundly amoral.

From Project Gutenberg

Iago has been described as immoral; he does not seem to me to be immoral, but amoral, as the intellect always is.

From Project Gutenberg

Without a grounding in praxis, the content and activity of nursing science becomes amoral and meaningless.

From Project Gutenberg

At one end were the amoral characters whose excesses became steadily worse as the situation blackened.

From Project Gutenberg

In all these encounters, Krishna shows himself completely amoral, achieving his ends by the very audacity of his means.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• barbarous
• excessive
• outrageous
• preposterous
• uncivilized
• unethical
• unfair
• unjust
• unreasonable
• wanton