Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Moral
Mor′al
,Adj.
[F., fr. It.
moralis
, fr. mos
, moris
, manner, custom, habit, way of life, conduct.] 1.
Relating to duty or obligation; pertaining to those intentions and actions of which right and wrong, virtue and vice, are predicated, or to the rules by which such intentions and actions ought to be directed; relating to the practice, manners, or conduct of men as social beings in relation to each other, as respects right and wrong, so far as they are properly subject to rules.
Keep at the least within the compass of
moral
actions, which have in them vice or virtue. Hooker.
Mankind is broken loose from
moral
bands. Dryden.
She had wandered without rule or guidance in a
moral
wilderness. Hawthorne.
2.
Conformed to accepted rules of right; acting in conformity with such rules; virtuous; just;
as, a
. Used sometimes in distinction from religious; moral
manas, a
. moral
rather than a religious lifeThe wiser and more
moral
part of mankind. Sir M. Hale.
3.
Capable of right and wrong action or of being governed by a sense of right; subject to the law of duty.
A
moral
agent is a being capable of those actions that have a moral
quality, and which can properly be denominated good or evil in a moral
sense. J. Edwards.
4.
Acting upon or through one’s moral nature or sense of right, or suited to act in such a manner;
as, a
. Sometimes opposed to moral
arguments; moral
considerationsmaterial
and physical
; as,
. moral
pressure or support5.
Supported by reason or probability; practically sufficient; – opposed to
legal
or demonstrable
; as, a
moral
evidence; a moral
certainty.6.
Serving to teach or convey a moral;
as, a
moral
lesson; moral
tales.Moral agent
, a being who is capable of acting with reference to right and wrong.
– Moral certainty
, a very high degree or probability, although not demonstrable as a certainty; a probability of so high a degree that it can be confidently acted upon in the affairs of life;
– as, there is a
. moral certainty
of his guiltMoral insanity
, insanity, so called, of the moral system; badness alleged to be irresponsible.
– Moral philosophy
, the science of duty; the science which treats of the nature and condition of man as a moral being, of the duties which result from his moral relations, and the reasons on which they are founded.
– Moral play
, an allegorical play; a morality.
[Obs.]
– Moral sense
, the power of moral judgment and feeling; the capacity to perceive what is right or wrong in moral conduct, and to approve or disapprove, independently of education or the knowledge of any positive rule or law.
– Moral theology
, theology applied to morals; practical theology; casuistry.
Mor′al
,Noun.
1.
The doctrine or practice of the duties of life; manner of living as regards right and wrong; conduct; behavior; – usually in the plural.
Corrupt in their
morals
as vice could make them. South.
2.
The inner meaning or significance of a fable, a narrative, an occurrence, an experience, etc.; the practical lesson which anything is designed or fitted to teach; the doctrine meant to be inculcated by a fiction; a maxim.
Thus may we gather honey from the weed,
And make a
And make a
moral
of the devil himself. Shakespeare
To point a
moral
, or adorn a tale. Johnson.
We protest against the principle that the world of pure comedy is one into which no
moral
enters. Macaulay.
3.
A morality play. See
Morality
, 5. Mor′al
,Verb.
I.
To moralize.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Moral
MOR'AL
,Adj.
1.
Relating to the practice, manners or conduct of men as social beings in relation to each other, and with reference to right and wrong. The word moral is applicable to actions that are good or evil, virtuous or vicious, and has reference to the law of God as the standard by which their character is to be determined. The word however may be applied to actions which affect only, or primarily and principally, a person's own happiness. Keep at the least within the compass of moral actions, which have in them vice or virtue.
Mankind is broken loose from moral bands.
2.
Subject to the moral law and capable of moral actions; bound to perform social duties; as a moral agent or being.3.
Supported by the evidence of reason or probability; founded on experience of the ordinary course of things; as moral certainty, distinguished from physical or mathematical certainty or demonstration. Physical and mathematical certainty may be stiled infallible, and moral certainty may be properly stiled indubitable.
Things of a moral nature may be proved by moral arguments.
4.
Conformed to rules of right, or to the divine law respecting social duties; virtuous; just; as when we say, a particular action is not moral.5.
Conformed to law and right in exterior deportment; as, he leads a good moral life.6.
Reasoning or instructing with regard to vice and virtue. While thou, a moral fool, sitt'st still and cri'st.
7.
In general, moral denotes something which respects the conduct of men and their relations as social beings whose actions have a bearing on each others's rights and happiness, and are therefore right or wrong, virtuous or vicious; as moral character; moral views; moral knowledge; moral sentiments; moral maxims; moral approbation; moral doubts; moral justice; moral virtue; moral obligations, &c. Or moral denotes something which respects the intellectual powers of man, as distinct form his physical powers. Thus we speak of moral evidence, moral arguments, moral persuasion, moral certainty, moral force; which operate on the mind.Moral law, the law of God which prescribes the moral or social duties, and prohibits the transgression of them.
Moral sense, an innate or natural sense of right and wrong; an instinctive perception of what is right or wrong in moral conduct, which approves some actions and disapproves others, independent of education or the knowledge of any positive rule or law. But the existence of any such moral sense is very much doubted.
Moral philosophy, the science of manners and duty; the science which treats of the nature and condition of man as a social being, of the duties which result form his social relations, and the reasons on which they are founded.
MOR'AL
,Noun.
1.
The doctrine inculcated by a fiction; the accommodation of a fable to form the morals. The moral is the first business of the poet.
MOR'AL
,Verb.
I.