adj

moral

MO-ruhl

adj

Concerned with right and wrong behaviour, or conforming to accepted standards of good conduct.

"She felt a moral obligation to tell the truth."

"He questioned the moral implications of the decision."

noun

The lesson about right and wrong conduct that a story or experience teaches.

"The moral of the fable is that patience pays off."

The principles of good behaviour that guide someone's conduct (usually plural: morals).

"He's a man of strong morals."

How to Use Moral

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo do with what is right and wrong, or the lesson a story teaches about that.

Common mistake

Don't confuse with "morale" — morale is confidence or spirit (e.g. "team morale"), moral is about ethics.

Easily confused with

morale →

Common pairings

moral obligation moral support the moral of the story

more moral comparative, moraled past tense, moralled past tense, morals plural, Morals plural, morals singular, most moral superlative

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She felt a _____ obligation to tell the truth.

From Old French moral, from Latin mōrālis, "relating to manners or morals," coined by Cicero to translate the Greek ēthikós.

immoral unethical corrupt unscrupulous amoral non-moral pseudomoral unmoral

abandoned amoral bad spoil Christian evil corrupt aggravate

oral coral amoral floral choral immoral mayoral femoral corporal pastoral temporal doctoral

immoral unethical corrupt unscrupulous amoral non-moral pseudomoral unmoral abandoned bad spoil Christian