moral1 adjectivemoral2 noun
moralmor‧al1 /ˈmɒrəl $ ˈmɔː-/ ●●○ W2 adjective 
WORD ORIGINmoral1
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin moralis, from mos ‘what people usually or traditionally do’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- As moral people, we cannot accept that so many children grow up in poverty.
- Everything that he writes has a high moral purpose.
- Parents are responsible for giving their children moral guidance.
- The company is managed according to strict moral and ethical principles.
- They live according to a deeply held moral code.
- We follow the moral laws laid down by our religion.
- Women have a moral right to work without being sexually harassed.
- You have a moral obligation to help your sister's children.
- But as in the 1830s their participation involved a reworking of moral discourse.
- Eight percent said a decline in moral values worried them the most.
- He cautioned, however, that the broadcaster tries to be a moral educator rather than an objective news presence.
- It is also true that moral reasoning does not ensure consistent moral behavior.
- They see it as a scientific rather than a moral problem.
- This is involved in becoming aware of oneself as a self-conscious moral agent.
Longman Language Activatorrelating to what is right or wrong
· We follow the moral laws laid down by our religion.· They live according to a deeply held moral code.· Everything that he writes has a high moral purpose.moral obligation (=something that you do not have to do, but your moral sense says that you must do) · You have a moral obligation to help your sister's children.
according to what is right or wrong, or good or evil: · We are morally opposed to capital punishment.· The government is morally obliged to do all it can for the refugees.· It is morally wrong to punish someone for something they did not do.
morally correct according to the rules of behaviour in a particular profession: · It would not be ethical for me, as a doctor, to talk to you about my patients.
to help someone by making them feel more confident and less worried to say or do things that help someone feel confident enough to do something, for example by telling them they are good enough to do it, by giving them advice etc: · She was always looking for ways to encourage her students.encourage somebody to do something: · I would never have won if my friends hadn't encouraged me to keep trying.
to make someone feel less worried and more confident by talking to them in a sympathetic way and giving them practical help: · It was a difficult decision, but my family was very supportive.be supportive of: · My husband has always been very supportive of everything that I do.
to help someone by being sympathetic and kind to them during a difficult time in their life: · She is my daughter, and I will love and support her no matter what happens.· I am very grateful to members of the faculty who have supported me in so many ways.
to help someone, especially someone who is in a difficult situation, by telling them that they are right in what they are doing, and encouraging them to be brave, confident, etc: · She was very nervous about the interview, so I went along to give her some moral support.· The US is giving the rebel leaders moral support, but so far no weapons.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Meanings 1 & 2moral + NOUN
The proposal was rejected on environmental grounds. Neither side in this conflict can claim the moral high ground. a man of high moral principles Sharing food is the most important moral imperative in Semai society. a sense of moral outrage a man with no moral scruples laziness and moral turpitude
· Has there been a decline in moral standards in our society?
(=behaviour that a society believes is right and good)· Schools teach moral values both by example and in lessons.
(=something you must do for moral reasons)· If you have a pet, you have a moral obligation to take care of it.
· We shouldn't make moral judgements about the way other people live their lives.
(=something that must be done for moral reasons)· He felt that rescuing the hostages was a moral imperative.
(=a set of beliefs about right and wrong that influences your behaviour)· His own moral code is based on his religious beliefs.
(=influence that someone has because people believe their principles are right)· Corruption in government destroys its moral authority.
British English, moral fiber American English (=the emotional strength to do what is right)· Single parents are sometimes treated as though they lack moral fibre.
· a debate on the moral issues surrounding the use of animals in medical research
(=a difficult decision for moral reasons)· Doctors face a moral dilemma when a patient can be kept alive but has no chance of real recovery.
(=a feeling for what is right and what is wrong)· Children’s moral sense develops over a number of years.
(=the idea that you are morally right and other people are not)· He connects high social class with moral superiority.
(=the study of moral principles and rules)· a class in moral philosophy
(=the way societies are organized according to moral standards)· Hitler posed the greatest threat to the moral order of the world that history has ever seen.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· Children acquire their parents’ moral code.
(=an idea of what is right and wrong)· At what age do children develop a moral conscience?
· Some people see television as a cause of moral corruption in young people.
(=the courage to do the right thing)· He said his faith gave him the moral courage to survive his ordeal.
· Doctors face a moral dilemma over how long to prolong someone's life.
· The book discusses the ethical dimension involved in genetic engineering.
· She felt it was her moral duty to treat everyone equally.
(=a bad thing in relation to principles of what is right and wrong)· Mental or physical torture is a moral evil, and it can never be justified.
The proposal was rejected on environmental grounds. Neither side in this conflict can claim the moral high ground. a man of high moral principles Sharing food is the most important moral imperative in Semai society. (=based on what you think is right)· People are always making moral judgments about weight loss.
· He has expressed moral objections to this type of research.
· We have a moral obligation to take care of our environment.
(=beliefs about what is right and wrong)· Their ethical and moral outlook concerning terrorism is the complete opposite of mine.
a sense of moral outrage· Criminal law should be used to protect and reinforce moral principles.
(=one relating to principles of what is right and wrong)· This area of medical research poses serious ethical questions that doctors alone cannot answer.
a man with no moral scruples laziness and moral turpitude (=a lack of moral standards)· Many children are growing up in a moral vacuum.
· She had her own set of moral values.
(=when you show your beliefs are right, even if you lose the argument)· The victims’ families claimed the verdict as a moral victory.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Although delays were mitigated and judicial efficiency improved, the courts continued to exercise little moral authority.· He wielded real moral authority, to my eye.· But we have to admit that Mr Clinton has preserved much more moral authority and effectiveness in office than ever seemed possible.· When she stood, though, she projected physical power and moral authority.· Sincere spirit and moral authority count, not quick and easy money.· In 1945 Rhee possessed moral authority and commanded deep respect, even among those antagonistic to his conservatism.· The one thing he takes seriously is Buddhism: this anchors his fiery imagination, giving it a species of moral authority.· I recognize no human moral authority outside my existential self.
· Then one's moral career as an adult begins.· For the women this involved a distinct moral career.· But there are good reasons for examining how self-realisation and moral careers are developed within civil society.· Goffman has described how institutions offer individuals a framework for a moral career.· Underlying the behaviour of an apparently undifferentiated and chaotic mass of hooligans are distinct rules and moral careers.· Such knowledge and classification represents subjugation of the rest of the population, and the regularisation and standardisation of moral careers.· Here Jock is recounting a moment in his moral career.
· A national election victory gives a stronger moral claim to rule than a local election.
· She emphasised the status of housework as a moral code rather than a logical practice.· Luther is, after all, true to his own weird moral code.· He will not voluntarily do anything which conflicts with his personal moral code, nor can he be induced to do so.· The comedia lacrimosa champions a new moral code founded on friendship, tolerance, humanity and charity.· This is fairly obvious with a relatively abstract form such as a moral code.· His parents, he knew, had followed a simpler moral code.· Anyway the moral code prevents him from taking her back whether he wants to or not.· Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code....
· His moral dilemmas now appear in novels such as Schindler's Ark, his 1982 Booker prizewinner.· Snipes gives a brilliant performance as a man caught in a moral dilemma.· Different moral considerations might apply for different people in the face of similar moral dilemmas.· When a clinical situation poses a genuine moral dilemma, by definition no right answer exists.· The boy presented me with a moral dilemma.· There are plenty of moral dilemmas.· It takes no account of the moral dilemmas of human life.· Dante wrote that the hottest room in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral dilemma.
· The duty to compensate the defamed person is itself a moral duty.· Though not under a legal liability to maintain his illegitimate child, the father is under a moral duty to do so.· One person might consider it his moral duty to fight and another to desist from fighting.· No violation of moral duty is involved.· And the same may be said of most other merely moral duties.· It manipulates the environment, and it is able to enforce moral duties on those who are inclined to disregard them.· In their view serving the state was the highest moral duty and no state had external obligations.
· Traditionally it has meant some form of moral education to encourage pupils to develop attitudes of cooperation and concern for justice.· It abhors all violence and relies upon moral education, love and sympathy to secure human progress.· Many other themes concerned with moral education could be given.· As both emphasize, moral education can not proceed effectively in an economically unjust society.· The attempt to use the theatre for purposes of moral education, still practised in Schiller's time, was soon discredited.· Bradwell also claimed that the issue highlighted conflicting rights of parents and school over the moral education of the children.
· But now I shall leave you with one final anecdote which impinges on both issues of morale and moral fibre.· Even when he was trying to be a criminal, the low moral fibre shone through.· The Zeitgeist has proved more powerful than her own undoubted moral fibre and the historical influence of her own Church and family.· Some people believe that the effect of the Zeitgeist is invariably to weaken moral fibre and signal the downfall of the nation.· The problem does not arise merely through lack of moral fibre.· It isn't just lack of moral fibre which leads to a rising divorce rate.
· Even the most loyal officials found it increasingly difficult to defend serfdom on moral grounds.· The argument on moral grounds is not so easy.· Lehman Brothers, the investment banking firm handling the sale, went to Harvester and objected on simple moral grounds.· Many providers remove groups on moral grounds, or to avoid controversy.· Having gained the high moral ground, I was reluctant to quit it right away.
· None the less, the moral imperatives that are intrinsic to the student role will always reassert themselves.· Are moral imperatives stronger than political power?· If we proceed from prudential to moral imperatives, will the conditions of the choice be fundamentally changed?· But it is also a moral imperative.· Sometimes there's a moral imperative and you feel everything building up behind you that you have to do it.· If there are no absolutes or eternal values, then the moral imperative behind such movements evaporates into thin air.· That the moral imperative was not a sufficient condition has already been remarked upon.· Ending discrimination against older consumers may be regarded as a moral imperative, but it also makes sound economic sense.
· There's a difference between moralising and opening up moral issues.· Teachers can engage students, even at the preschool level, in discussions of moral issues.· But they do have a gut feeling that abortion is a moral issue.· He favored letting the moral issues be resolved by communities governing themselves at the local level.· But he's not prepared to compromise on what he regards as a moral issue.· Despite the term, it is not a moral issue, it is simply a question of economic incentives.· Nor a question of manners, or a moral issue concerned with how those who serve the public behave.· Part of the reason our poverty keeps growing is related to the economy, and part of it is a moral issue.
· It is not that I have no reason to submit to the moral law and can do as I please.· But the moral law of the Old Testament retains eternal validity.· This moral law includes the ten commandments.· The moral law had been covered with casuistry and hypocrisy.· Kant answers the first questions by contending that we can not strictly speaking know that there is such a moral law.· Most people agree that the moral law protects the weak.
· Aides had denied she had any moral objections but said she had longstanding private engagements to fulfil.· He knew the sort of people he was addressing and he knew the sort of moral objections they found most satisfying.· We make a big show of our moral objections, but what really puts us off are the technical ones.· There were moral objections to children being blown out of sleep to death on a filthy street.· Apart from any moral objections, researchers are scared that they will be deprived of fame and fortune by military secrecy.· There were moral objections to house lizards being senselessly butchered by madmen.· This is quite apart from any moral objections that might arise.· And moral objections to people spending their lives shooting scag.
· Poor rates mounted, and many magistrates and overseers continued their moral obligations but in a spirit of growing hopelessness.· If evolution has hard-wired into us a belief that there are objective moral obligations, then we will believe that there are.· After all, you're under no moral obligation to them.· But what would transform it from an externally enforced to a moral obligation?· It is much easier to bury a problem than to consider whether our moral obligation lies elsewhere.· First, do states in fact have moral obligations?· They have a moral obligation to build a path.
· Law bolstered the moral order of society and judges, as custodians of those values, were deserving of respect and trust.· The imposed moral order held precedence over the claims of both truth and love.· More particularly, different aspects and different consequences of this previous moral order are identified.· Historically, however, such facts are now in question; hence, the moral orders, too, that they support.· One stresses that a rational and moral order can be created from a universally valid set of moral principles.· When individual desires go beyond the moral order then people become dissatisfied with life and social cohesion begins to break down.· Industrial societies can not be run by an absolute moral order-the final imposition of righteousness on earth.· The other main strand in nineteenth-century feminism accepted the idea of women as the natural guardians of the moral order.
· Whatever the topic under discussion, they automatically began with some resentful expression of moral outrage.· However, such public condemnation and the associated moral outrage can, on occasions, be strangely muted.· Regional officers had lived for many years with successive waves of moral outrage about the scandalous conditions within the asylums.· Media reports of child abuse cases often express this sense of moral outrage.· And moral outrage at the use of simple expedients can still run high.
· Acid House comes a close second to football fans in the tabloids' top ten of moral panics.· This has led to the creation of a moral panic on campuses.· Indeed notions of moral indignation, moral panic or moral conflict are not used in this perspective at all.· Societies appear subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic.
· Kant Kant's moral philosophy is sharply opposed to the moral sense approach of Hutcheson and Hume.· Smith began to teach logic and moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow.· Any verdict we pass on punishment must be soundly based on an acceptable general moral philosophy.· He had just been appointed professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow.· It is plain from all of this how moral philosophy is taken to depend on natural philosophy.· I am surprised that he did not cite as evidence in support of his case the moral philosophy of his own Monklands District Council.· Of course, not everyone is well versed in moral philosophy.· Both theories are exercises in analytical moral philosophy which aspire to provide rational principles to support particular conceptions of just social arrangements.
· A sanitary code which sought to evade fundamental moral principles could never ultimately succeed.· Two, can you come up with some moral principle, some ethical issue that is so important it justifies deception?· One stresses that a rational and moral order can be created from a universally valid set of moral principles.· They would rather get beaten on their moral principles and convictions than be corrupted by political deals.· To some there may be occasion to place a moral principle above a legal one.· By the mid-nineties, many adolescents had no answer when asked what moral principles might apply to a particular circumstance.· I do not think that we should be against such moral principles.· There is no single moral principle which is sole and supreme and can never conflict with any other.
· They see it as a scientific rather than a moral problem.· It certainly is not the most important moral problem that betrays our honor and diminishes our possibilities for self-esteem.· The feminist response to abortion as a moral problem has been ambivalent.· Almost immediately the new coalition began to question the criminal law approach to moral problems.· The applied ethics strand is represented by a unit concerned with moral problems relating to conflict between persons, groups and societies.· It is essentially a technical rather than a moral problem.· Yet even with this verdict, moral problems still remain.· Sitting furtively with my contraband, I ruminated on whether addiction itself is considered the moral problem.
· I think that soaps and crime series are two of the few arenas where moral questions are debated.· But those are moral questions as well as psychological questions.· It is a moral question at root.· Ed gave his typical response to a loaded moral question.· The basic anti-abortion argument boils down to a moral question.· Whether a particular accused should be acquitted because his conduct was not dishonest appears to me to be a moral question.
· Put briefly, there developed an idea of the pervasive religious and moral responsibility of the ruler.· These ties bear hardest on those who tend to accept moral responsibility for caring roles.· This meant that man has an inescapable moral responsibility for his own actions.· The real priority was a greater stress on moral responsibility in the education of the sons of the upper class.· Philosophers and psychologists alike have eroded all our old assumptions of free will and moral responsibility.· We are interested now in the question of moral responsibility.· The company accepted moral responsibility for the disaster, but claimed that the plant was sabotaged by a disgruntled employee.· Will he exercise influence on the Soviet Union to accept its moral responsibility?
· I have heard of chaps being accused of asserting their conjugal rights, but asserting moral rights is obviously something else.· He is willing to fight for his social and moral rights.· In like manner the suffrage of women prior to 1918 was a claimed moral right.· This led several members of the Congress to question the Assembly's moral right to initiate political reforms.· The penal system wields power over its subjects, but its moral right to do so has been coming under strong attack.· Theyconvince themselves that they have some moral right to their victim's coin collection.· The new Act also covers moral rights.
· Individuals, except in an ultimate moral sense, are unequal. 6.· Are we free to modify Our moral sense by rational reflection and conscious goal-setting or not?· Kant Kant's moral philosophy is sharply opposed to the moral sense approach of Hutcheson and Hume.· She treated her crisis as a literary event; she lost her moral sense, her judgment, her power to distinguish.· One loses one's moral sense when lust becomes dominant.· Only a theory that is completely certain should be allowed to undermine this moral sense.· My moral sense has been dulled by too many years here.· Enabling people not just to keep alert but to feel they are still learning and growing makes economic as well as moral sense.
· Stone also emphasizes the extent to which women accepted the double moral standard.· He feared that in the absence of moral standards, workers could be abused and exploited.· Religions frequently fail to live up to their high moral standards.· He has dumped several party members for violating his personal moral standards.· The need to survive, which always dictates the moral standards of society, once more underlined the role of the women.· High moral standards and all that.· The central concern for all these groups is with what they perceive to be declining moral standards.· By the moral standards of some of the bargainers the claims of some of the others may be immoral.
· Pip now falls into a snobbish habit of connecting high social status with moral superiority.· Underlying this hostility was a profound belief in the ethical and moral superiority of collective welfare provision.· Serving large helpings, I ate nothing myself and my abstinence was only another proof of my moral superiority.· Pleasure will be an adult privilege, a mark of economic power, class status and moral superiority.· In one area, however, she does come into her own, since she has spiritual strength and moral superiority.· Of Canon Wheeler's moral superiority to herself she was unconvinced.· The preservationists, pinning their faith to moral superiority and persuasive argument, were beaten back every time.
· Voice over Finally, Dawn came here, where she's been given practical and moral support.· When a baby is newborn, friends, family, and even strangers deluge us with moral support and advice.· I don't believe Wellington stayed to give De Gaulle moral support.· I want you there not just for moral support but to have a witness present.· He can also make a point of talking to Mr Yeltsin and other republican leaders to offer them moral support.· Last year they gave heavy financial and moral support to Democrats.· The frontiersman heroes such as Davy Crockett no longer excite our moral support.· Mahdi denies that his movement wants weapons or financing from Washington, saying moral support and diplomatic pressure are enough.
· This would lead to a graph of illegalities graded according to moral turpitude.· This was long before Eastern Airlines fired him for moral turpitude and for making false claims about a medical background.· There may be no moral turpitude or manipulation as such.· It kept them from moral turpitude. 21.
· Nevertheless the discretion is not to be exercised in a moral vacuum.· There is no satisfying solution to the moral vacuum that is created when one human being murders another.· In both cases the result of improvement is a dehumanized landscape and something like a moral vacuum.· Young people from welfare-dependent single-parent families just aren't artful dodgers ready to graduate into serious crime and a moral vacuum.
· As are the author's stern moral values that are reflected on page after page of the novel.· They include judgment and moral values.· In another case, though, they lose all moral value and lead only to bookkeeping and arguing.· Speechwriters are not expected to have the same moral values as other people in political life.· They have always been unseemly, since they make a mockery of the moral values they purport to uphold.· Eight percent said a decline in moral values worried them the most.· Their moral values are a bit intolerant, too.· If they are to last over time, moral values must contribute to successful human survival.
· Although it saved them substantial costs, these cases were not exactly searing moral victories for the healthcare plans.· Those are the kinds of moral victories that eluded them in Game 1.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► moral compassPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► custodian of tradition/moral values etc► the moral majority
- Steve went with her to provide moral support.
- I don't believe Wellington stayed to give De Gaulle moral support.
- I want you there not just for moral support but to have a witness present.
- Last year they gave heavy financial and moral support to Democrats.
- Louise came up for the funeral and stayed on for three weeks to give moral support.
- Mahdi denies that his movement wants weapons or financing from Washington, saying moral support and diplomatic pressure are enough.
- Voice over Finally, Dawn came here, where she's been given practical and moral support.
- When a baby is newborn, friends, family, and even strangers deluge us with moral support and advice.
- With his moral support a group of nobles and clergy from both sides tried to work out peace terms.
- The protesters have won at least a moral victory.
- Although it saved them substantial costs, these cases were not exactly searing moral victories for the healthcare plans.
- Those are the kinds of moral victories that eluded them in Game 1.
- Some corporations have seized the moral high ground.
- Television is therefore seen to be taking the moral high ground, the side of the punter against the forces of evil.
- I changed into my running clothes and did three miles while I went through the mental gymnastics of getting the case organized.
- None the less, great feats of mental gymnastics were per-formed to make them into atmospheric phenomena.
- Daley has taken the high road in his campaign, trying to ignore Merriam's attacks.
- Instead, I decided to take the high road.
- Read in studio Still to come on Central News, taking the high road.
- She was at least making the attempt to take the high road, only to run into a dead end.
WORD FAMILYnounmoralmoralsmorality ≠ immoralitymoralistamoralityadjectivemoral ≠ immoralamoralmoralisticverbmoralizeadverbmorally ≠ immorally
1[only before noun] relating to the principles of what is right and wrong behaviour, and with the difference between good and evil: It is easy to have an opinion on a moral issue like the death penalty for murder. moral philosophymoral standards/values/principles I think you can run a business to the highest moral standards. If we accept that certain babies should be allowed to die, we place doctors in a moral dilemma. Man is gifted with a moral sense by which he distinguishes good from evil.2[only before noun] based on your ideas about what is right, rather than on what is legal or practical: The book places a high moral value on marriage and the family unit. The UN feels that it has the moral authority (=influence because people accept that its beliefs are right) to send troops to the area.moral duty/obligation/responsibility A man has a moral duty to obey the law. It isn’t just lack of moral fibre (=lack of the emotional strength to do what you believe is right) which leads to a rising divorce rate.3moral support encouragement that you give by expressing approval or interest, rather than by giving practical help: Dad came along to give me some moral support.4moral victory a situation in which you show that your beliefs are right and fair, even if you do not win: Through Joan of Arc, France won a great moral victory.5always behaving in a way that is based on strong principles about what is right and wrong OPP immoral, amoral: a moral man of high integrity6take/claim/seize the moral high ground to claim that you are the only person who does what is morally right in a situation, with the intention of being noticed and considered to be good by the public7moral compass a way of recognizing what kind of behaviour is right or wrong: Has the government lost its moral compass?COLLOCATIONS– Meanings 1 & 2moral + NOUNa moral standard/principle· Has there been a decline in moral standards in our society?a moral value (=behaviour that a society believes is right and good)· Schools teach moral values both by example and in lessons.a moral duty/obligation (=something you must do for moral reasons)· If you have a pet, you have a moral obligation to take care of it.a moral judgment· We shouldn't make moral judgements about the way other people live their lives.a moral imperative (=something that must be done for moral reasons)· He felt that rescuing the hostages was a moral imperative.a moral code (=a set of beliefs about right and wrong that influences your behaviour)· His own moral code is based on his religious beliefs.somebody’s moral authority (=influence that someone has because people believe their principles are right)· Corruption in government destroys its moral authority.moral fibre British English, moral fiber American English (=the emotional strength to do what is right)· Single parents are sometimes treated as though they lack moral fibre.a moral issue· a debate on the moral issues surrounding the use of animals in medical researcha moral dilemma (=a difficult decision for moral reasons)· Doctors face a moral dilemma when a patient can be kept alive but has no chance of real recovery.somebody’s moral sense (=a feeling for what is right and what is wrong)· Children’s moral sense develops over a number of years.moral superiority (=the idea that you are morally right and other people are not)· He connects high social class with moral superiority.moral philosophy (=the study of moral principles and rules)· a class in moral philosophythe moral order (=the way societies are organized according to moral standards)· Hitler posed the greatest threat to the moral order of the world that history has ever seen.moral1 adjectivemoral2 noun
moralmoral2 ●○○ noun EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- There was a lot of public debate about the morality of the invasion.
- But this putatively happy ending holds no morals for Cal.
- So feel free to fill your children with lessons and morals from this story.
- Stricter morals also were more widely accepted in those days.
- The moral is simple: do not let up until the time-up bell sounds.
- The doctor, whatever her politics and morals, had lovely skilful hands, which Phoebe could not but admire.
- These beautiful new books, filled with morals and happy endings, help us hold on to our storytelling heritage.
- Warning rather than exhortation to virtue is the style of the fabliau morals.
- We repudiated entirely customary morals, conventions and traditional wisdom.
THESAURUS
all of the basic ideas that a person or group of people has about what is morally good and right: · The man has no morals at all.· He felt that society's morals were declining, as shown by increases in public drunkenness and violence.
ideas about what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behaviour – used when talking about whether it is right to do a particular thing, or when talking about moral standards generally: · Several advisers had very different views on the morality of the action (=on whether it was morally right).· They wanted to ban the film, on the grounds of protecting public morality.
moral rules for deciding what is right and wrong – often used about this as a subject that people study and discuss: · Doctors must follow a strict code of ethics.· I'm not sure about the ethics of using human embryos for research (=I'm not sure that it is morally right).
moral rules or beliefs about what is right and wrong, which make you decide what you should and should not do: · He stuck to his principles and spoke out against injustice, despite the risks.· It's against their principles to kill any living thing.
your ideas about what is important in life: · During the 1960s, many young people rejected their parents' values.· He stressed the importance of spiritual values.
beliefs about what is right and wrong that prevent you from doing bad things: · She had no scruples about listening to their private conversation.· My scruples would not allow me to interfere in their relationship.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY the corruption of public morals (=the standards of behaviour, especially sexual behaviour, expected by society) a young woman of loose morals (=low standards of sexual behaviour – often used humorously)COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The proposal was rejected on environmental grounds. Neither side in this conflict can claim the moral high ground. a man of high moral principles Sharing food is the most important moral imperative in Semai society. a sense of moral outrage a man with no moral scruples laziness and moral turpitude
the corruption of public morals (=the standards of behaviour, especially sexual behaviour, expected by society) a young woman of loose morals (=low standards of sexual behaviour – often used humorously)· Children acquire their parents’ moral code.
(=an idea of what is right and wrong)· At what age do children develop a moral conscience?
· Some people see television as a cause of moral corruption in young people.
(=the courage to do the right thing)· He said his faith gave him the moral courage to survive his ordeal.
· Doctors face a moral dilemma over how long to prolong someone's life.
· The book discusses the ethical dimension involved in genetic engineering.
· She felt it was her moral duty to treat everyone equally.
(=a bad thing in relation to principles of what is right and wrong)· Mental or physical torture is a moral evil, and it can never be justified.
The proposal was rejected on environmental grounds. Neither side in this conflict can claim the moral high ground. a man of high moral principles Sharing food is the most important moral imperative in Semai society. (=based on what you think is right)· People are always making moral judgments about weight loss.
· He has expressed moral objections to this type of research.
· We have a moral obligation to take care of our environment.
(=beliefs about what is right and wrong)· Their ethical and moral outlook concerning terrorism is the complete opposite of mine.
a sense of moral outrage· Criminal law should be used to protect and reinforce moral principles.
(=one relating to principles of what is right and wrong)· This area of medical research poses serious ethical questions that doctors alone cannot answer.
a man with no moral scruples laziness and moral turpitude (=a lack of moral standards)· Many children are growing up in a moral vacuum.
· She had her own set of moral values.
(=when you show your beliefs are right, even if you lose the argument)· The victims’ families claimed the verdict as a moral victory.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Within Mr Quinn's own party, there will doubtless be those with looser morals than Mr Ashdown's.
· The concern of the prosecution in 1960 was with the corruption of public morals.
VERB· But: less fastidious ministers in future may draw the corporatist moral.· I shall now draw some general morals from this sketch of the structure of Peirce's philosophical thought.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► custodian of tradition/moral values etc► the moral majority
- The novel reflects the morals and customs of the time.
- I changed into my running clothes and did three miles while I went through the mental gymnastics of getting the case organized.
- None the less, great feats of mental gymnastics were per-formed to make them into atmospheric phenomena.
- Daley has taken the high road in his campaign, trying to ignore Merriam's attacks.
- Instead, I decided to take the high road.
- Read in studio Still to come on Central News, taking the high road.
- She was at least making the attempt to take the high road, only to run into a dead end.
WORD FAMILYnounmoralmoralsmorality ≠ immoralitymoralistamoralityadjectivemoral ≠ immoralamoralmoralisticverbmoralizeadverbmorally ≠ immorally
1morals [plural] principles or standards of good behaviour, especially in matters of sex: the morals and customs of the Victorian period Values and morals are independent of religious faith. the corruption of public morals (=the standards of behaviour, especially sexual behaviour, expected by society) a young woman of loose morals (=low standards of sexual behaviour – often used humorously)2[countable] a practical lesson about what to do or how to behave, which you learn from a story or from something that happens to youmoral of The moral of the film was that crime does not pay.THESAURUSmorals all of the basic ideas that a person or group of people has about what is morally good and right: · The man has no morals at all.· He felt that society's morals were declining, as shown by increases in public drunkenness and violence.morality ideas about what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behaviour – used when talking about whether it is right to do a particular thing, or when talking about moral standards generally: · Several advisers had very different views on the morality of the action (=on whether it was morally right).· They wanted to ban the film, on the grounds of protecting public morality.ethics moral rules for deciding what is right and wrong – often used about this as a subject that people study and discuss: · Doctors must follow a strict code of ethics.· I'm not sure about the ethics of using human embryos for research (=I'm not sure that it is morally right).principles moral rules or beliefs about what is right and wrong, which make you decide what you should and should not do: · He stuck to his principles and spoke out against injustice, despite the risks.· It's against their principles to kill any living thing.values your ideas about what is important in life: · During the 1960s, many young people rejected their parents' values.· He stressed the importance of spiritual values.scruples beliefs about what is right and wrong that prevent you from doing bad things: · She had no scruples about listening to their private conversation.· My scruples would not allow me to interfere in their relationship.