moralistic

[ mawr-uh-lis-tik, mor- ]
See synonyms for moralistic on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. explaining or interpreting something in terms of right and wrong, especially in a self-righteous or tiresome way: They reject both the moralistic view of addiction as willful evil and the medical model of addiction as a disease.

  2. emphasizing morality, especially unduly; moralizing: She frowns on moralistic preaching that focuses on ethical duty divorced from the gospel of grace and gratitude.

  1. concerned with regulating the morals of others, as by imposing censorship or other restrictions: By trying to protect people from their own mistakes, moralistic laws prevent them from learning responsibility.

  2. relating to or being a philosopher or philosophy chiefly concerned with principles of morality: During this period of antiquity, a number of moralistic philosophies emerged at the same time in different parts of the world.

Origin of moralistic

1
First recorded in 1840–45; moralist + -ic

Other words from moralistic

  • mor·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·mor·al·is·tic, adjective
  • o·ver·mor·al·is·tic, adjective
  • pseu·do·mor·al·is·tic, adjective
  • qua·si-mor·al·is·tic, adjective
  • qua·si-mor·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·mor·al·is·tic, adjective
  • un·mor·al·is·tic, adjective

Words Nearby moralistic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use moralistic in a sentence

  • Carlyle remained a Puritan, without any dogmatic beliefs except a kind of moralistic pantheism.

    The Victorian Age | William Ralph Inge
  • It is tragic that some would-be Christians, like Mrs. Strait, become so moralistic that they condemn rather than help people.

    Herein is Love | Reuel L. Howe
  • How tight-shut, how moralistic, how overbearing these intellectuals with a mission!

    Soliloquies in England | George Santayana
  • The latter then loses its peculiar flavor of the didactic and pedantic; its ultra-moralistic and hortatory tone.

  • That is the reason why Mrs. Strait holds to the moralistic concept of the Christian life.

    Herein is Love | Reuel L. Howe