ethically
Americanadverb
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in a way that relates to morals, the principles of morality, or right and wrong conduct.
It is ethically unjustifiable to provide a lower standard of care to patients with lower income.
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in a way that accords with moral principles or the rules or norms for right conduct, often specific to a profession.
Teachers have an obligation to act ethically, promoting positive values and maintaining professional standards of behavior.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ethically
Explanation
When you do something ethically, you do it in an honest and principled way. Investing your money ethically requires you to carefully consider the way it will be used, and whether it will cause any harm. If a coffee grower pledges to act ethically, it means they promise to pay farmers fairly, and cosmetic companies run their businesses ethically when they use sustainable ingredients and refuse to test their products on animals. In both examples, there is thought given not just to making money, but to the way workers, animals, and the planet might be affected. The adverb ethically has a Greek root, ethos, "moral character."
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.
Ethically, though, do I have an obligation to share the wealth, particularly if the payout ends up being at the high end?
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
“We said, at the time, the number of plaintiffs would not change. Ethically, my view was that’s who we represent and who we’re going to negotiate for.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025
"Ethically there is no way I would give up treating children," he said, adding he wants high and low need areas taken into account and children to be prioritised in contract negotiations.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2025
Ethically dabbling in conscious software would quickly become a large computational and energy burden without any clear end.
From Scientific American • May 18, 2022
Ethically two wrongs do not make a right; but it is human nature to see the direct way to the end and wish for it, not always regarding ethical considerations.
From How Janice Day Won by Long, Helen Beecher
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.
