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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary mor·al
\\ˈmȯr-əl, ˈmär-\\ adjective ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin moralis, from mor-, mos custom DATE 14th century 1. a. of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical moral judgments b. expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior a moral poem c. conforming to a standard of right behavior d. sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment a moral obligation e. capable of right and wrong action a moral agent 2. probable though not proved : virtual a moral certainty 3. perceptual or psychological rather than tangible or practical in nature or effect a moral victory moral support • mor·al·ly \\-ə-lē\\ adverb Synonyms. moral , ethical , virtuous , righteous , noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good. moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong the basic moral values of a community ethical may suggest the involvement of more difficult or subtle questions of rightness, fairness, or equity committed to the highest ethical principles virtuous implies moral excellence in character not a religious person, but virtuous nevertheless righteous stresses guiltlessness or blamelessness and often suggests the sanctimonious wished to be righteous before God and the world noble implies moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean, or dubious in conduct and character had the noblest of reasons for seeking office
\\ˈmȯr-əl, ˈmär-; 3 is mə-ˈral\\ noun DATE 15th century 1. a. the moral significance or practical lesson (as of a story) b. a passage pointing out usually in conclusion the lesson to be drawn from a story 2. plural a. moral practices or teachings : modes of conduct b. ethics 3. morale English Etymology moral moral (adj.) mid-14c., "pertaining to character or temperament" (good or bad), from O.Fr . moral, from L. moralis "proper behavior of a person in society," lit. "pertaining to manners," coined by Cicero ("De Fato," II.i) to translate Gk. ethikos (see ethics) from L. mos (gen. moris) "one's disposition," in plural, "mores, customs, manners, morals," of uncertain origin. Meaning "morally good, conforming to moral rules," is first recorded late 14c. of stories, 1630s of persons. Original value-neutral sense preserved in moral support, moral victory, with sense of "pertaining to character as opposed to physical action." The noun meaning "moral exposition of a story" is attested from c.1500.http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ moral moral / 5mCrEl; NAmE 5mC:r-; 5mB:r- / adjective1. [only before noun] concerned with principles of right and wrong behaviour 道德的: a moral issue / dilemma / question 道德方面的议题/困境/问题 traditional moral values 传统的道德观念 a decline in moral standards 道德水准的下降 moral philosophy 道德哲学 a deeply religious man with a highly developed moral sense 道德意识极强的笃信宗教的人 The newspapers were full of moral outrage at the weakness of other countries. 报纸上充满着对别国软弱表现的道义上的不满。 2. [only before noun] based on your own sense of what is right and fair, not on legal rights or duties 道义上的；道德上的 SYN ethical :
moral responsibility / duty 道义上的责任/义务 Governments have at least a moral obligation to answer these questions. 政府至少在道义上有责任回应这些问题。 (BrE) The job was to call on all her diplomatic skills and moral courage (= the courage to do what you think is right). 这项工作需要她发挥全部的外交才能和扞衞正义的勇气。 3. following the standards of behaviour considered acceptable and right by most people 品行端正的；有道德的 SYN good , honourable :
He led a very moral life. 他这个人一向很正派。 a very moral person 品行非常端正的人 ⇨ compare amoral , immoral 4. [only before noun] able to understand the difference between right and wrong 能辨别是非的: Children are not naturally moral beings. 儿童并非天生就能分辨是非。 IDIOMS ▪ take, claim, seize, etc. the moral 'high ground to claim that your side of an argument is morally better than your opponents' side; to argue in a way that makes your side seem morally better 声称自己的论点在道义上占优势noun1. morals [pl.] standards or principles of good behaviour, especially in matters of sexual relationships 品行,道德(尤指性关系方面): Young people these days have no morals. 现在的年轻人根本不讲道德。 The play was considered an affront to public morals. 人们认为这出戏侮辱了社会公德。 (old-fashioned) a woman of loose morals (= with a low standard of sexual behaviour) 放荡的女人 2. [C] a practical lesson that a story, an event or an experience teaches you 寓意；教益: And the moral is that crime doesn't pay. 寓意就是犯罪得不偿失。 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English moral noun 1 practical lesson ADJ. clear VERB + MORAL draw There are clear morals to be drawn from the failure of these companies. PREP. ~ to There is a clear moral to all this. 2 morals: principles ADJ. good, strict | doubtful, loose Women who went to pubs alone would sometimes be assumed to have loose morals. | sexual | public | Christian VERB + MORAL have He has absolutely no morals, that man! | instil She had tried her best to instil morals into her daughters. | protect | corrupt PHRASES a decline in morals OLT moral adj. ⇨ moral (a moral issue/duty)⇨ good 5 (lead a moral life) Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged mor·al I. \ˈmȯrəl, ˈmärəl\ adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin moralis, from mor-, mos custom + -alis -al — more at mood 1. a. : of or relating to principles or considerations of right and wrong action or good and bad character : ethical < moral values > < moral distinctions > < moral conduct > < moral convictions > < a moral monster > b. : of or relating to the study of such principles or considerations 2. : expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior : didactic , moralizing < a moral lesson > < a moral poem > < a moral story > 3. a. : capable of being judged as good or evil or in terms of principles of right and wrong action : resulting from or belonging to human character, conduct, or intentions < the use of science is a moral question, that is to say, a human question — Irwin Edman > < a moral act, the result of a choice — Norman Podhoretz > b. : capable of right and wrong action or of being governed by a sense of right < a moral agent > 4. : of, relating to, or acting upon the mind, character, or will : psychological < a whole series of political, organizational, military and … moraltriumphs — Joseph Alsop > < gone to the dinner party determined to make a success … understanding the moral importance to herself of this initial contact with society — I.V.Morris > 5. a. : conforming to or proceeding from a standard of what is good and right : principled < not exactly a religious man, though a highly moral one — Katharine F. Gerould > < a moral life > < took a moral position on the issue though it cost him the nomination > < show moral courage > b. Hegelianism : relating to virtuous conduct or natural excellence as distinguished from civic or legal righteousness 6. a. : based upon inner conviction < have a moral certainty that my will is free > b. : virtual rather than actual, immediate, or completely demonstrable < have a moral certainty that the prisoner is guilty > 7. : sanctioned by or operating upon one's conscience or ethical judgment < the ranch was legally all Mother's, except that Grampa … had a moral claim upon it — Mary Austin > < felt under a sort of moral obligation not to be indifferent — Joseph Conrad > 8. a. : of or relating to the accepted customs or patterns of social or personal relations < a reflection of the moral imperatives of the community — Kingsley Davis > < the enormous importance of moral conformity to the stability of society — Talcott Parsons > b. : sexually virtuous : not adulterous or promiscuous < middle-aged and cautious and monogamic and moral — Sinclair Lewis > c. : conforming to generally accepted standards of correct behavior < appeared moral, self-controlled, well-bathed, and literate — Jean Stafford > < the teacher had to be more moral — which usually meant more conventional — J.M.Barzun > d. : expecting or exacting a strict adherence to conventional standards of speech or conduct : proper < a highly moral man who was outraged by the rowdy language of his fellow soldiers > Synonyms: ethical , virtuous , righteous , noble : in describing persons and their actions and conduct, moral , opposed to immoral, may designate conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong, now particularly in sexual conduct < living a moral life > < the right thinker, the great moral statesman, the perfect model of the Christian cad — H.L.Mencken > < there were black marketeers, but they were not seen as products of the moral deficiencies of the ruling class — Edward Shils > ethical may suggest conformity to a code or to the conclusions of other considerations of right, fair, equitable conduct < an ethical decision > < an ethical solution to the problem — Edward Shils > virtuous may still indicate blended rectitude and integrity; often it implies abstinence from illicit sex < pacifists assume that other people are as reasonable and virtuous as they are themselves — Harold Nicolson > < a man might grind the faces of the poor; but so long as he refrained from caressing his neighbors' wives and daughters, he was regarded as virtuous — Aldous Huxley > < all virtuous persons … whose lives are chaste and placid — Elinor Wylie > righteous suggests freedom from guilt, culpability, or questionability; it may suggest religious or sectarian sanction or sanctimoniousness < persecution seemed justified in reason; it was very logical; broad reasons of Christian statecraft seemed to make for it; and often a righteous zeal wielded the weapon — H.O.Taylor > < our wits are much more alert when engaged in wrongdoing (in which one mustn't be found out) than in a righteous occupation — Joseph Conrad > < a republic admirable in justice and righteous in all its ways — V.L.Parrington > noble may indicate moral eminence with lack of any taint of the petty or dubious < a noble ideal, worthy of a Christian — V.L.Parrington > < behavior … when the crisis actually came was simple, dignified, and even noble — P.E.More > < the true task of man is to create for himself a noble memory, a mind filled with grandeur, forgiveness, restless ideals, and the dynamic ethical ferment preached by all religions at their best — J.L.Liebman > II. \“, in sense 7 like morale \ noun(-s) 1. a. : the moral significance or practical lesson taught by or capable of being derived from a story, event, experience, or object < love makes gentlemen even of boors … is the constant moral of medieval story — Henry Adams > < the moral of his life > < the moral of recent history > b. : a passage pointing out usually in conclusion the lesson to be drawn from a story : maxim < the view … that highly serious art is didactic, ending with a moral — G.K.Chalmers > 2. : morality play 3. morals plural a. : the moral practices of an individual or culture : habits of life or modes of conduct < as principal, he maintained a high standard of morals and manners in the school — L.M.Crosbie > < losing touch with the ordinary patterns and morals of life — Alan Moorehead > b. : sexual conduct < provoked a long and thoughtful discussion of the mores and morals of American womanhood — T.O.Heggen > < a person of loose morals > 4. morals plural : the study dealing with the principles of conduct :ethics < the science of morals endeavors to divide men into the good and the bad — J.W.Krutch > 5. morals plural : moral teachings : the moral principles of an individual or culture < the Greek dramatists moralize only because morals are woven through and through the texture of their tragic idea — T.S.Eliot > < an authoritative code of morals has force and effect when it expresses the settled customs of a stable society — Walter Lippmann > 6. archaic : counterpart , image < the long chin … is the very moral of the governor's — Tobias Smollett > 7. [French, morale, moral nature, from moral, adjective] : morale < the moral of the nation is therefore likely to be as important a factor in war as the moral of armies has always been — Atlantic > III. \like moral I\ verbarchaic : moralize |
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