moralize

American  

[mawr-uh-lahyz, mor-] / ˈmɔr əˌlaɪz, ˈmɒr- /

especially British, moralise

verb (used without object)

moralized, moralizing

1. to reflect on or express opinions about something in terms of right and wrong, especially in a self-righteous or tiresome way.

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verb (used with object)

moralized, moralizing

1. to explain in a moral sense, or draw a moral from.

2. to improve the morals of.

moralize British  

/ ˈmɒrəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make moral pronouncements

2. (tr) to interpret or explain in a moral sense

3. (tr) to improve the morals of

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Other Word Forms

• moralization noun
• moralizer noun
• moralizingly adverb
• overmoralize verb
• overmoralizingly adverb
• unmoralizing adjective

Etymology

Origin of moralize

1350–1400; Middle English moralisen < Medieval Latin mōrālizāre. See moral, -ize

Example Sentences

I came here to moralize, not to hear things that make me skip to think of.”

From Literature

You can sit here and moralize all day, but the European crisis has nothing to do with it, really.

From Economist

Usually it attaches to some less endearing quality, such as a tendency to preach and moralize.

From The New Yorker

Ms. Heller and the screenwriters, Jeff Whitty and the great Nicole Holofcener, resist the impulse to moralize about Lee’s misdeeds or to sand down her rough edges.”

From Los Angeles Times

As one reader put it on my Facebook page: “Those who moralize most, sin most.”

From New York Times