moral
[mawr-uh l, mor-]
- of, relating to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.
- expressing or conveying truths or counsel as to right conduct, as a speaker or a literary work.
- founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom: moral obligations.
- capable of conforming to the rules of right conduct: a moral being.
- conforming to the rules of right conduct (opposed to immoral): a moral man.
- virtuous in sexual matters; chaste.
- of, relating to, or acting on the mind, feelings, will, or character: moral support.
- resting upon convincing grounds of probability; virtual: a moral certainty.
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- the moral teaching or practical lesson contained in a fable, tale, experience, etc.
- the embodiment or type of something.
- morals, principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct.
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Origin of moral
1300–50; Middle English < Latin mōrālis, equivalent to mōr- (stem of mōs) usage, custom + -ālis -al1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for moral on Thesaurus.com5. upright, honest, straightforward, open, virtuous, honorable. 11. integrity, standards, morality. Morals, ethics refer to rules and standards of conduct and practice. Morals refers to generally accepted customs of conduct and right living in a society, and to the individual's practice in relation to these: the morals of our civilization. Ethics now implies high standards of honest and honorable dealing, and of methods used, especially in the professions or in business: ethics of the medical profession.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for morals
Contemporary Examples
Formerly to impair the morals was a minor was a punishable offense.
Some believe you need to be taught to disapprove of her morals and ethics.
Morals are more important and more valuable than democracy.
The entire episode was characters waxing poetic about their morals, which is just about as insufferable as it sounds.
But when we finally cracked some links in the Great Chain of Being, the morals reversed.
Historical Examples
They wanted me to be shackled: for early did they doubt my morals, as to the sex.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
Between righteousness and morals the difference is important.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Morals stand for a code of observances; righteousness for a direction of the life.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
You might say that a standard of morals is entirely a matter of opinion.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
With morals in this accepted American sense righteousness has little to do.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
moral
- concerned with or relating to human behaviour, esp the distinction between good and bad or right and wrong behaviourmoral sense
- adhering to conventionally accepted standards of conduct
- based on a sense of right and wrong according to consciencemoral courage; moral law
- having psychological rather than tangible effectsmoral support
- having the effects but not the appearance of (victory or defeat)a moral victory; a moral defeat
- having a strong probabilitya moral certainty
- law (of evidence, etc) based on a knowledge of the tendencies of human nature
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- the lesson to be obtained from a fable or eventpoint the moral
- a concise truth; maxim
- (plural) principles of behaviour in accordance with standards of right and wrong
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin mōrālis relating to morals or customs, from mōs custom
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for morals
n.
"a person's moral qualities," 1610s, plural of moral (n.).
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moral
adj.
mid-14c., "pertaining to character or temperament" (good or bad), from Old French moral (14c.) and directly from Latin moralis "proper behavior of a person in society," literally "pertaining to manners," coined by Cicero ("De Fato," II.i) to translate Greek ethikos (see ethics) from Latin mos (genitive moris) "one's disposition," in plural, "mores, customs, manners, morals," of uncertain origin. Perhaps sharing a PIE root with English mood (1).
Meaning "morally good, conforming to moral rules," is first recorded late 14c. of stories, 1630s of persons. Original value-neutral sense preserved in moral support, moral victory (with sense of "pertaining to character as opposed to physical action"). Related: Morally.
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moral
n.
"moral exposition of a story," c.1500, from moral (adj.) and from French moral and Late Latin morale.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper