moralize
verb (used without object)
to reflect on or express opinions about something in terms of right and wrong, especially in a self-righteous or tiresome way.
moralizing
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present participleof moralize.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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.
At any rate, moralizing about this tendency won’t change how people really feel.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
Mary is a somewhat obscure character, one whom Austen rendered as a less-than-radiant, moralizing afterthought who sang badly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Subsequent moralizing about nuclear weapons, often by the scientists developing them, pales before Roosevelt’s willingness to act on his gut instinct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
“The Expert of Subtle Revisions” isn’t a political book, per se, nor is it moralizing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025
There is another possible precedent: moralizing portraits, the descendants of pictures of St. Jerome, that show their subjects holding or pointing to skulls, much as Revere has the teapot in his hand.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
