moral

MOR-uhl/ˈmoɹəl/UKMO-ruhl/ˈmɒɹəl/

Noun pluralmorals

Often confused with morale

11 meanings of moral

Practice

1
of ethicsadjective
Concerned with principles of right and wrong behavior, especially as a means of teaching good conduct.
The fable closes with a moral lesson about honesty.
Religious schools weave moral instruction into nearly every subject.
UsageDon't confuse it with morale (confidence): team morale (not ~~incorrect: team moral~~).
Similarethical
Note
The root sense of the family has a telling history. Cicero coined Latin mōrālis to translate Greek ēthikós, building it from mos, 'custom' or 'manner.' A word for habits became a word for right and wrong. Before a noun it classifies rather than praises: a moral question, a moral poem, or the 'moral wilderness' of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
Cicero coined Latin mōrālis to translate Greek ēthikós. en.wiktionary.org
Latin mōrālis was formed from mos, meaning custom or manner. en.wiktionary.org
The word's etymology connects customs and habits with morals. en.wiktionary.org
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. gutenberg.org
The phrase “moral wilderness” occurs in the novel's narration. gutenberg.org
The Scarlet Letter was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
2
values heldnouncountableplural
Standards of right conduct and the practices that put them into action.
Whatever the cost, he never let money come before his morals.
Public morals shifted sharply over the course of the century.
UsageA person's principles are their morals; a moral usually means the lesson of a story.
Similarprinciple, value, standard, ethic
3
goodadjective
Acting in line with accepted standards of right behavior; approved by one's conscience or ethical judgment.
Returning the lost wallet was the moral thing to do.
She is widely respected as a deeply moral leader.
UsageThis sense takes degree words: deeply moral, more moral.
Similarethical, principled, upright, virtuous, honorable
Oppositeimmoral, unethical, wrong
Note
Here the word praises instead of classifying. A moral action is a good one, while a moral obligation, in the 'concerning right and wrong' sense, is simply one of the ethical kind.
4
story lessonnouncountable
The practical lesson or ethical point that a story or event teaches.
The moral of the fable is that kindness is never wasted.
Listeners debated the moral of the strange tale long after it ended.
UsageUsually the moral of a story or fable.
Similarlesson, message, point
Note
It can also stand alone as something a work has or lacks. Thomas Macaulay, writing in 1841, protested against the idea that pure comedy is a world 'into which no moral enters.'
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Macaulay's essay containing the quotation appeared in 1841. gutenberg.org
Macaulay protested against the idea that pure comedy is a world 'into which no moral enters'; the quoted wording is exact. gutenberg.org
5
in spiritadjective
Acting on the mind, feelings, or will rather than through physical means, especially by giving encouragement or confidence.
Volunteers offered moral support to the families waiting at the hospital.
Losing by a single vote still felt like a moral victory for the campaign.
UsageMostly in moral support and moral victory.
Similaremotional, psychological
Note
A word for the mind's side of a contest. Moral support supplies encouragement rather than money or muscle, and a moral victory is a defeat that still feels like a win in spirit.
6
able to judgeadjective
Able to act with awareness of right and wrong; capable of ethical choice.
Humans are moral creatures, able to weigh right against wrong.
Philosophers debate whether a machine could ever be a moral being.
Oppositeamoral
Note
The capacity, not the conduct: a moral agent is anyone who can be judged for choosing right or wrong, including someone who chooses badly. That is where it parts from the 'good behavior' meaning. A cruel person is still moral in this sense, because only a moral agent can be blamed for cruelty.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Moral agency concerns capacities that make someone eligible for moral blame. plato.stanford.edu
Choosing badly does not itself remove moral agency or responsibility. plato.stanford.edu

Less common meanings

7
certain without proofadjective
Strongly likely on the basis of reason or probability, though not formally proven.
Nothing was proven in court, but the lawyers treated it as a moral certainty that the company knew the risks.
The detective spoke with moral certainty, though he had no hard proof.
UsageMostly in the phrase moral certainty.
Note
An older use of the adjective survives almost entirely in one phrase, moral certainty. It means confidence strong enough to act on, without the proof that would make it logically certain. Nothing ethical is involved, so a moral certainty is not a certainty about morals. The phrase later shrank to a bare noun in the slang 'sure thing'.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Moral certainty means a degree of confidence sufficient for action but short of absolute certainty. en.wikipedia.org
In this sense, moral concerns probability rather than ethical rightness. en.wiktionary.org
The slang noun moral is a shortening of moral certainty. archive.org
8
noundatedcountable
A near-certainty; something regarded as a sure thing, especially a likely winner.
Similarcertainty, cert
Note
Betting talk from an older era: the phrase moral certainty clipped to a single word, so a horse expected to win was 'a moral.' It shares its origin with the 'probable but unproved' adjective and carries none of the ethical meaning. Because it is both dated and slang, it suits period dialogue better than ordinary writing.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The noun moral originated as a shortening of moral certainty in racing slang, denoting an apparently certain result. gutenberg.org
The slang noun derives from the probability sense of moral certainty rather than the ethical sense. archive.org
9
verbobsoleteintransitive
To moralize; to comment on questions of right and wrong, often in a lecturing way.
Similarpreach, sermonize, lecture
10
noundatedcountable
An exact counterpart or perfect likeness of another person or thing.
Similarimage, likeness, double
Note
Slang with no ethical meaning at all. It turns up mostly in set phrases such as the dead moral of and the very moral of, said of someone or something that is the exact double of another. Because it is dated, it now reads as old-fashioned and suits period voices better than plain modern prose.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Moral has a slang sense meaning an exact counterpart, without an ethical meaning. en.wiktionary.org
The very moral of can describe a close likeness of another person or thing. gutenberg.org
11
nounobsolete
A medieval drama in which characters represent virtues and vices in order to teach a moral lesson.
Note
An old name for the stage genre now called the morality play, and a use that has dropped out of the language. These late-medieval allegories set personified virtues and vices contending for a human soul, staged to teach Christian conduct. Modern writing says morality play. When an old text uses moral for a performance, read it as this sense rather than the lesson of a story, even though the play existed to deliver exactly that lesson.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Moral is an obsolete name for a morality play. en.wiktionary.org
These dramas belong to the late medieval period. en.wikipedia.org
The plays use allegory and personified virtues and vices competing for a human soul. user.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de
The plays were intended to teach Christian conduct. scielo.org.za

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of moral apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Cicero was the first to use mōrālis, a Latin word for "relating to manners or morals," as his translation of Ancient Greek ἠθικός (ēthikós, "moral"). The Latin word was built on mos ("manner, custom") and came into English through Old French moral and Middle English moral.