THESAURUS rules about what is right and wrong and how to behave, especially relating to sex, that most people in a society agree about►moral
rules about what is right and wrong and how to behave, especially relating to sex, that most people in a society agree about: The novel reflects the morals and customs of the time. Older people are always complaining about the decline of public morals (=the standards of behavior, especially sexual behavior, expected by society).
►principles
a set of rules or ideas about what is right and wrong that influences how you behave: He tries to live according to his Christian principles.
►ethics
a set of moral rules, especially ones used by a particular group or person: Corporations should learn to care about business ethics as much as profit.
►standards
a level of moral behavior that people use to judge how good or bad someone’s behavior is: Are the country’s moral standards lower than in the past?
►values
a person’s beliefs about what is right and wrong, or about what is important in life: What kind of values are we teaching children if we reward them for everything?
►scruples
a belief about what is right and wrong that prevents you from doing something bad: No one should set aside their moral scruples when they go to work.
►mores
formal the customs, social behavior, and moral values of a particular group: During the 1960s, American sexual mores began to change.
formal the customs, social behavior, and moral values of a particular group: middle-class mores► see thesaurus at moral2