moralize

American  

[mawr-uh-lahyz, mor-] / ˈmɔr əˌlaɪz, ˈmɒr- /

especially British, moralise

verb (used without object)

moralized, moralizing

1. to reflect on or express opinions about something in terms of right and wrong, especially in a self-righteous or tiresome way.

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verb (used with object)

moralized, moralizing

1. to explain in a moral sense, or draw a moral from.

2. to improve the morals of.

moralize British  

/ ˈmɒrəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make moral pronouncements

2. (tr) to interpret or explain in a moral sense

3. (tr) to improve the morals of

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Other Word Forms

• moralization noun
• moralizer noun
• moralizingly adverb
• overmoralize verb
• overmoralizingly adverb
• unmoralizing adjective

Etymology

Origin of moralize

1350–1400; Middle English moralisen < Medieval Latin mōrālizāre. See moral, -ize

Explanation

When you moralize, you lecture someone about right and wrong, judging their decisions and actions. It’s just plain wrong for people to moralize! Oops. If you know someone who complains about "kids today" and pontificates about how things were in the past, adding an opinion of the proper way to act, you're familiar with the verb moralize. At the heart of moralize is moral, from the Latin root moralis, "proper behavior of a person in society," and someone who moralizes simply wants to share their own idea of what's moral — unfortunately, they tend to do it in an overly superior way.

Example Sentences

If Brasher sometimes tends to moralize when he writes about birds, it isn’t Aesopian.

From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2023

I wouldn’t moralize and say that’s bad — I think people create arrangements that work for them.

From The Verge • May 23, 2022

Review: Plenty of novels moralize about books saving your life.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2022

Right, you try to not moralize, just saying, "Hey, here's what you're dealing with. The choice is up to you."

From Salon • Aug. 3, 2021

I came here to moralize, not to hear things that make me skip to think of.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott