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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
moral
man
. Used sometimes in distinction from religious;
as, a
moral
rather than a religious life
.
The 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
moral
arguments;
moral
considerations
. Sometimes opposed to
material
and
physical
;
as,
moral
pressure or support
.
5.
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 guilt
.
–
Moral 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
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.
[L. moralis, from mos, moris, manner.]
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.
Morality; the doctrine or practice of the duties of life. [Not much used.]
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.
To moralize. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

Moral

Moral

See also: moral, morál, and morâl

German

Noun

Moral f ‎(genitive Moral, no plural)

  1. moral, morality
  2. morale

Declension

Derived terms

moral

moral

See also: Moral, morál, and morâl

English

Adjective

moral ‎(comparative more moral, superlative most moral)

  1. Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially for teaching right behaviour.
    moral judgments;  a moral poem‎
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne
      She had wandered without rule or guidance in a moral wilderness.
  2. Conforming to a standard of right behaviour; sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment.
    • Sir M. Hale
      the wiser and more moral part of mankind
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
      The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
    a moral obligation‎
  3. Capable of right and wrong action.
    a moral agent‎
  4. Probable but not proved.
    a moral certainty‎
  5. Positively affecting the mind, confidence, or will.
    a moral victory;  moral support‎

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

moral ‎(plural morals)

  1. (of a narrative) The ethical significance or practical lesson.
    The moral of the The Boy Who Cried Wolf is that if you repeatedly lie, people won't believe you when you tell the truth.
    • Macaulay
      We protest against the principle that the world of pure comedy is one into which no moral enters.
  2. Moral practices or teachings: modes of conduct.
  3. (obsolete) A morality play.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Translations

Anagrams

Catalan

Adjective

moral m ‎(feminine morala, masculine plural morals, feminine plural morales)

  1. moral

French

Etymology

Middle French and Old French moral, from Latin moralis

Pronunciation

Noun

moral m ‎(plural moraux)

  1. morale, optimism

Adjective

moral m ‎(feminine singular morale, masculine plural moraux, feminine plural morales)

  1. moral

Related terms

Ladin

Adjective

moral m (feminine singular morala, masculine plural morai, feminine plural morales)

  1. moral

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin moralis.

Pronunciation

  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /mu.ˈɾaɫ/
  • Hyphenation: mo‧ral

Adjective

moral m, f ‎(plural morais, comparable)

  1. moral

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mǒraːl/
  • Hyphenation: mo‧ral

Noun

mòrāl m ‎(Cyrillic spelling мо̀ра̄л)

  1. (uncountable) moral

Declension

Spanish

Adjective

moral m, f ‎(plural morales)

  1. moral

Antonyms

Noun

moral f ‎(plural morales)

  1. moral
  2. (tree): mulberry

Related terms

Swedish

Etymology

Loan from French morale via German Moral, used in Swedish in Then Swänska Argus (1730s).

Pronunciation

Noun

moral c

  1. morale, character
  2. moral, moral practices, conduct
    snäv, viktoriansk moral
    strict, Victorian moral
  3. a moral, a lesson (of a narrative)

Declension

Inflection of moral 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative moral moralen moraler moralerna
Genitive morals moralens moralers moralernas

Related terms

See also

References

Etymology

From French morale.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [moˈʁaːl]

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