From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmoralmor‧al1 /ˈmɒrəl $ˈmɔː-/ ●●○W2 adjective1[only before noun]GOOD/MORALrelating to theprinciples of what is right andwrongbehaviour, and with thedifference between good andevil →morally,ethicalIt is easy to have an opinion on a moral issue like the death penalty for murder.moral philosophymoral standards/values/principlesI think you can run a business to the highest moral standards.If we accept that certain babies should be allowed to die, we place doctors in amoral dilemma.Man is gifted with amoral sense by which he distinguishes good from evil.2[only before noun]GOOD/MORALbased on your ideas about what is right, rather than on what islegal orpracticalThe book places a highmoral value on marriage and the family unit.The UN feels that it has themoral authority (=influence because people accept that its beliefs are right) to send troops to the area.moral duty/obligation/responsibilityA man has a moral duty to obey the law.It isn’t justlack of moral fibre (=lack of the emotional strength to do what you believe is right) which leads to a rising divorce rate.3 →moral support4 →moral victory5GOOD/MORALalwaysbehaving in a way that is based onstrong principles about what is right and wrongOPP immoral,amorala moral man of high integrity6 →take/claim/seize the moral high ground7 →moral compassCOLLOCATIONS –Meanings 1 & 2moral + NOUNa moral standard/principleHas there been a decline in moral standards in our society?a moral value (=behaviour that a society believes is right and good)Schools teach moral values both by example and in lessons.a moral duty/obligation (=something you must do for moral reasons)If you have a pet, you have a moral obligation to take care of it.a moral judgmentWe shouldn't make moral judgements about the way other people live their lives.a moral imperative (=something that must be done for moral reasons)He felt that rescuing the hostages was a moral imperative.a moral code (=a set of beliefs about right and wrong that influences your behaviour)His own moral code is based on his religious beliefs.somebody’s moral authority (=influence that someone has because people believe their principles are right)Corruption in government destroys its moral authority.moral fibre British English,moral fiber American English (=the emotional strength to do what is right)Single parents are sometimes treated as though they lack moral fibre.a moral issuea debate on the moral issues surrounding the use of animals in medical researcha moral dilemma (=a difficult decision for moral reasons)Doctors face a moral dilemma when a patient can be kept alive but has no chance of real recovery.somebody’s moral sense (=a feeling for what is right and what is wrong)Children’s moral sense develops over a number of years.moral superiority (=the idea that you are morally right and other people are not)He connects high social class with moral superiority.moral philosophy (=the study of moral principles and rules)a class in moral philosophythe moral order (=the way societies are organized according to moral standards)Hitler posed the greatest threat to the moral order of the world that history has ever seen.Examples from the Corpusmoral•This isinvolved in becomingaware of oneself as aself-consciousmoralagent.•The company ismanagedaccording tostrictmoral andethical principles.•They live according to a deeply heldmoralcode.•But as in the 1830s theirparticipation involved areworking ofmoraldiscourse.•Hecautioned, however, that thebroadcaster tries to be amoraleducator rather than anobjectivenewspresence.•Parents areresponsible for giving their childrenmoralguidance.•Wefollow themoral lawslaid down by ourreligion.•You have amoralobligation to help your sister's children.•Asmoral people, we cannotaccept that so many childrengrow up inpoverty.•They see it as ascientific rather than amoral problem.•Everything that he writes has a highmoralpurpose.•It is alsotrue thatmoralreasoning does notensureconsistentmoral behavior.•Eightpercent said adecline inmoralvaluesworried them the most.moral philosophy•Anyverdict wepass onpunishment must be soundly based on anacceptablegeneralmoral philosophy.•Ofcourse, not everyone is wellversed inmoral philosophy.•He had just beenappointedprofessor ofmoral philosophy at theUniversity of Glasgow.•Smith began toteachlogic andmoral philosophy at the University of Glasgow.•Kant Kant'smoral philosophy is sharplyopposed to the moralsenseapproach of Hutcheson and Hume.•It isplain from all of this howmoral philosophy is taken todepend onnaturalphilosophy.•I amsurprised that he did notcite asevidence insupport of his case themoral philosophy of his own MonklandsDistrictCouncil.•Boththeories areexercises inanalyticalmoral philosophy whichaspire to providerational principles to support particularconceptions of justsocialarrangements.moral value•They includejudgment andmoral values.•Theconcern of these groups has grown inresponse to aperceivedwidening of thegap betweencherishedmoral values andactualday-to-day behaviour.•Individualbeliefs aboutrace,genderroles,moral values, andhumannature are formed over alifetime ofexperience.•Theirmoral values are abitintolerant, too.•Speechwriters are notexpected to have the samemoral values as other people inpolitical life.•Alternatively, themoral values of a particular group within thesociety understudy may beadopted.•As are the author'ssternmoral values that arereflected onpage after page of thenovel.•Eight percent said a decline inmoral values worried them the most.moralmoral2 ●○○ noun1 →morals2GOOD/MORAL[countable] a practicallesson about what to do or how to behave, which youlearn from astory or from something that happens to you →messagemoral ofThe moral of the film was that crime does not pay.THESAURUSmorals all of thebasic ideas that a person or group of people has about what is morally good and rightThe man has no morals at all.He felt that society's morals were declining, as shown by increases in public drunkenness and violence.morality ideas about what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behaviour – used when talking about whether it is right to do a particular thing, or when talking about moralstandards generallySeveral advisers had very different views on the morality of the action (=on whether it was morally right).They wanted to ban the film, on the grounds of protecting public morality.ethics moralrules fordeciding what is right and wrong – often used about this as asubject that people study anddiscussDoctors must follow a strict code of ethics.I'm not sure about the ethics of using human embryos for research (=I'm not sure that it is morally right).principles moral rules or beliefs about what is right and wrong, which make you decide what you should and should not doHe stuck to his principles and spoke out against injustice, despite the risks.It'sagainst their principles to kill any living thing.values your ideas about what is important in lifeDuring the 1960s, many young people rejected their parents' values.He stressed the importance of spiritual values.scruples beliefs about what is right and wrong thatprevent you from doing bad thingsShe had no scruples about listening to their private conversation.My scruples would not allow me to interfere in their relationship.Examples from the Corpusmoral•There was a lot of publicdebate about themorality of theinvasion.•So feelfree tofill your children with lessons andmorals from this story.•Thedoctor, whatever herpolitics andmorals, hadlovelyskilful hands, which Phoebe could not butadmire.•Werepudiated entirelycustomarymorals,conventions andtraditionalwisdom.•Warning rather than exhortation tovirtue is thestyle of the fabliaumorals.•But this putativelyhappy ending holds nomorals for Cal.•Strictermorals also were more widely accepted in those days.•Themoral issimple: do notlet up until the time-upbellsounds.•Thesebeautiful new books, filled withmorals and happyendings, help us hold on to our storytellingheritage.Originmoral1(1300-1400)Latinmoralis, frommos“what people usually or traditionally do”
