immoral

American  

[ih-mawr-uhl, ih-mor-] / ɪˈmɔr əl, ɪˈmɒr- /

adjective

1. violating moral principles; not conforming to the patterns of conduct usually accepted or established as consistent with principles of personal and social ethics.

2. licentious or lascivious.

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immoral British  

/ ɪˈmɒrəl /

adjective

1. transgressing accepted moral rules; corrupt

2. sexually dissolute; profligate or promiscuous

3. unscrupulous or unethical

   immoral trading

4. tending to corrupt or resulting from corruption

   an immoral film

   immoral earnings

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Related Words

Immoral, abandoned, depraved describe one who makes no attempt to curb self-indulgence. Immoral, referring to conduct, applies to one who acts contrary to or does not obey or conform to standards of morality; it may also mean licentious and perhaps dissipated. Abandoned, referring to condition, applies to one hopelessly, and usually passively, sunk in wickedness and unrestrained appetites. Depraved, referring to character, applies to one who voluntarily seeks evil and viciousness. Immoral, amoral, nonmoral, and unmoral are sometimes confused with one another. Immoral means not moral and connotes evil or licentious behavior. Amoral, nonmoral, and unmoral, virtually synonymous although the first is by far the most common form, mean utterly lacking in morals (either good or bad), neither moral nor immoral. However, since, in some contexts, there is a stigma implicit in a complete lack of morals, being amoral, nonmoral, or unmoral is sometimes considered just as reprehensible as being immoral.

Other Word Forms

• immorally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of immoral

First recorded in 1650–60; im- ² + moral

Compare meaning

How does immoral compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• amoral vs. immoral
• unethical vs. immoral

Explanation

Use the adjective immoral to describe a person, group, or situation that intentionally goes against accepted ideas of what is right, like a government that attacks its own people, or a friend who steals your favorite spatula. Morals are the principles we follow that help us know the difference between right and wrong. When someone is immoral, they make decisions that purposely violate a moral agreement. Immoral is sometimes confused with amoral, which describes someone who has no morals and doesn’t know what right or wrong means. Someone immoral, though, knows the difference and does bad stuff anyway, like that so-called friend who takes your utensils.

Example Sentences

“It is vital that the myth of Hamilton as ‘the Abolitionist Founding Father’ end,” Serfilippi writes in the paper, entitled, “‘As Odious and Immoral a Thing’: Alexander Hamilton’s Hidden History as an Enslaver.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 10, 2020

In The Immoral Majority, a deeply introspective book, Ben Howe explains why a “toxic mixture of resentment and desire for revenge” made the temptation to power so strong.

From The Guardian • Dec. 22, 2019

In 1873, Congress passed the “Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use.”

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2019

The recommended texts are “The Irony of American History” and “Moral Man and Immoral Society.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2016

We probably started painting our nails Immoral Coral after everybody sensible had already gone on to pink, but heck, at least we are all behind the times together.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• abandoned
• debauched
• lascivious
• libertine
• licentious
• promiscuous