noun
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the quality, character, or state of being immoral
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immoral behaviour, esp in sexual matters; licentiousness; profligacy or promiscuity
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an immoral act
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immorality
Explanation
Immorality is evil, sinful, or otherwise wrong behavior. Immorality is often called wickedness and is a state avoided by good people. Since morality refers to things that are right, immorality has to do with things that are wrong — like stealing, lying, and murdering. This is a tricky word, because people have their own idea of what's immoral. We can all agree killing is an example of immorality, but people disagree on whether things such as bad language are truly signs of immorality. Different religions have their own ideas of immorality too, but the word is always associated with wrongness and offensiveness.
Vocabulary lists containing immorality
Kindred
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Class Matters
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Speeches 2A
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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.
This debut novel follows a mixed-race South African family in the 1920s blown apart by the Immorality Act, which essentially criminalized interracial relationships.
From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2022
In 1988, I produced “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act,” which is about a white librarian and a Black schoolteacher falling in love.
From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2021
Her 1963 work, “Occasion for Loving,” is about a white woman who has a relationship with a black man, something that was illegal at the time, banned by the Immorality Act.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2014
As a deterrent, the Immorality Act has worked none too well over the years.
From Time Magazine Archive
View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the Stage, p.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Scott, Walter, Sir
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.
