moral authority
Americannoun
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moral authorities
plural
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authority that comes from the principles of what is right and wrong rather than just from laws.
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the quality of being considered trustworthy and influential regarding what is right and is wrong.
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a person or institution considered trustworthy and influential regarding what is right and is wrong.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
"Europe's position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation."
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
More than that, allies add legitimacy and moral authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
We could still claim some moral authority as the leader of what we then referred to as the “free world,” however compromised or imperfect our actions were.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2025
They have sought to use their presence to comfort migrants and lend a sense of moral authority to the proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025
She was considered the moral authority of the community.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
