moral

1. adjective

1)

moral issues

Syn:

ethical, social, having to do with right and wrong

2)

a moral man

Syn:

virtuous, good, righteous, upright, upstanding, high-minded, principled, honorable, honest, just, noble, incorruptible, scrupulous, respectable, decent, clean-living, law-abiding

Ant:

dishonorable

3)

moral support

Syn:

psychological, emotional, mental

2. noun

1)

the moral of the story

Syn:

lesson, message, meaning, significance, signification, import, point, teaching

2)

he has no morals

Syn:

moral code, code of ethics, (moral) values, principles, standards, (sense of) morality, scruples

••

moral, ethical, honorable, righteous, sanctimonious, virtuous

You can be an ethical person without necessarily being a moral one, since ethical implies conformity with a code of fair and honest behavior, particularly in business or in a profession (an ethical legislator who didn't believe in cutting deals), while moral refers to generally accepted standards of goodness and rightness in character and conduct — especially sexual conduct (the moral values she'd learned from her mother). In the same way, you can be honorable without necessarily being virtuous, since honorable suggests dealing with others in a decent and ethical manner, while virtuous implies the possession of moral excellence in character (many honorable businesspeople fail to live a virtuous private life). Righteous is similar in meaning to virtuous but also implies freedom from guilt or blame (righteous anger); when the righteous person is also somewhat intolerant and narrow-minded, self-righteous might be a better adjective. Someone who makes a hypocritical show of being righteous is often described as sanctimonious — in other words, acting like a saint without having a saintly character.