amoral

American  

[ey-mawr-uhl, a-mawr-, ey-mor-, a-mor-] / eɪˈmɔr əl, æˈmɔr-, eɪˈmɒr-, æˈmɒr- /

adjective

1. not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.

2. having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong.

   a completely amoral person.

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amoral British  

/ eɪˈmɒrəl, ˌeɪmɒˈrælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. having no moral quality; nonmoral

2. without moral standards or principles

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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

Related Words

See immoral.

Other Word Forms

• amoralism noun
• amorality noun
• amorally adverb

Etymology

Origin of amoral

First recorded in 1880–85; a- ⁶ + moral

Compare meaning

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

• amoral vs. immoral

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.

Example Sentences

So an amoral but rational actor would avoid charging too much, and would avoid shutting down the strait altogether.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

There are plenty of people who care enough to put the time and effort into uncovering the extent of the amoral world we’ve found ourselves in.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

Mao and his Communists, he argues, embraced this celebration of the amoral.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Even amoral or timorous lawyers will hesitate to misbehave if it becomes clear that doing so endangers their livelihood.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2025

“That is need expressed in all its amoral simplicity. But any re­grets now?”

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• barbarous
• excessive
• outrageous
• preposterous
• uncivilized
• unethical
• unfair
• unjust
• unreasonable
• wanton