morality
Americannoun
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the quality of being moral
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conformity, or degree of conformity, to conventional standards of moral conduct
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a system of moral principles
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an instruction or lesson in morals
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short for morality play
Usage
What is morality? Morality is a conformity to the rules of good or virtuous conduct, as in Because he was leading a life according to morality, the knight declined the reward for rescuing the princess. Morality is also an individual person’s goodness or virtuousness, as in Batman’s morality would not allow him to kill any evildoers. Morality is also a system of rules regarding goodness or virtue, as in The Bible is the source of Christian morality. Morality is a very complex concept that refers to the written or unwritten rules that society uses to determine what good behavior is. Good here means not evil and refers to behavior that people agree is honorable, just, or virtuous. If you are concerned with morality, you want to be a good person and don’t want to commit evil acts. The rules of goodness that define morality are called morals and can come from many different sources, such as religion or cultural norms. The opposite of morality is immorality. Example: I try to live my life according to morality, so I always tell the truth.
Synonym Usage
See goodness.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of morality
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English moralite, from Late Latin mōrālitās; see moral, -ity
Explanation
Morality is a concern with what’s right or wrong. Your sense of morality prevents you from cheating on your school exams, on your taxes, or on your spouse. You’ll notice the word moral is in morality. And you might remember reading fairy tales that ended with the phrase, “The moral of the story is…” That’s because stories for children are often intended to instruct kids as to what the good or right decision is in a situation. For example, Cinderella teaches kids that if their foot fits the glass slipper, they can end up marrying a prince. How's that for morality?
Vocabulary lists containing morality
Lyndon B. Johnson on "The Great Society" (1964)
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"American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer
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Black Like Me
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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.
See Examples For:
Anthropic employs one to teach Claude a sense of morality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Mann, 42, started making YouTube content in 2018 under the Dhar Mann Studios banner, centered around morality and motivational videos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"The medical profession and morality do not always walk hand-in-hand. If they did, this trial would be out of the question."
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
“When does morality compel advocacy?” he asks in reply.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2026
Reverend Van Gogh and Anna felt strongly about bringing up their children with a sense of duty, charity, and morality.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Lead poisoning is the single biggest threat to condors and responsible for around half of all moralities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025
In each case, she examines her life through the lens of fairy tales, demonstrating how we can draw on their moralities and imageries to make sense of ourselves and our relationship to others.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023
Migrants from southern Italy brought their own moralities and dialects, which Pasolini documented with ethnographic exactitude.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 22, 2013
They are not motivated by simple human moralities, by universalized appeals to the superego such as “good cat” or “bad cat,” by guilt culture or shame culture.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2012
The intensity had not abated after two years, nor had her awe at his self-assured eccentricities and his fierce moralities.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
