amoral
Americanadjective
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not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.
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having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong.
a completely amoral person.
adjective
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having no moral quality; nonmoral
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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
Synonym Usage
See immoral.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of amoral
Compare meaning
How does amoral compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When a person is amoral, they couldn't care less if something is right or wrong. An amoral CEO fires employees so he can make more money, unconcerned about how losing their jobs might affect them. The adjective amoral adds the prefix a-, "not," to moral, "concerned with the principles of right and wrong." Amoral people don't have a moral code — the morality or ethics of what they do doesn't matter to them, whether or not they're aware of the concept of right and wrong. Strictly speaking, you can even describe a newborn baby as amoral, since she doesn't yet have the experience to understand morality.
Vocabulary lists containing amoral
Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 9
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List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, as the season goes on, "even Rue can't quite make you care about this sorry group of amoral ghouls, who seem to loathe themselves as much as each other", Halls concluded.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
To understand what the Iranians are likely to do with this newfound power, try to imagine what an amoral but rational actor would do in their shoes.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026
There are plenty of people who care enough to put the time and effort into uncovering the extent of the amoral world we’ve found ourselves in.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
If Pericles’ funeral oration is a landmark of democratic virtue, the amoral facts of pure force become explicit in the “Melian dialogue” following the Athenian conquest of the neutral island of Melos in 415 B.C.:
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
“That is need expressed in all its amoral simplicity. But any regrets now?”
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
