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:
Research by professor Na Kyong Hyun found that hearing a voice that sounds like one’s own triggers perceptions of competence, morality and integrity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 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
About 20 aid workers were arrested in June near the Iran border in Herat province by Afghanistan's morality police, because their beards were not long enough.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
On every football metric - and, some would say, morality too - this was the right result.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
We made an indifferent and unconcerned nation rise from lethargy and subpoenaed its conscience to appear before the judgment seat of morality on the whole question of civil rights.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
More to the point, Hardy and Easton wrote, “pleasure is a complete and worthwhile goal” that needs neither validation nor antiquated moralities.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
This postmodern feminist horror film reimagines an era that objectified women, but as the stakes escalate, the film’s moralities, and loyalties, start to waver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
There is a real debate to be had – one that involves politics, ideologies, perhaps even moralities.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 4, 2012
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
Having grown separately for millennia, the Americas were a boundless sea of novel ideas, dreams, stories, philosophies, religions, moralities, discoveries, and all the other products of the mind.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
