amoral
Americanadjective
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not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.
-
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
-
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
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
So an amoral but rational actor would avoid charging too much, and would avoid shutting down the strait altogether.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026
It’s not amoral to exercise exceptional prudence when considering an attack on another country, no matter how odious you may find its government.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
It is human nature to project our phobias, prejudices and obsessions onto what is simply a biological contest between our immune system and the amoral pathogens trying to replicate themselves within us.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
“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.
