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morality
5 dictionary results for: Morality
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mo·ral·i·ty 
[muh-ral-i-tee, maw-] Pronunciation Key
[muh-ral-i-tee, maw-] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -ties for 4–6.
| 1. | conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct. |
| 2. | moral quality or character. |
| 3. | virtue in sexual matters; chastity. |
| 4. | a doctrine or system of morals. |
| 5. | moral instruction; a moral lesson, precept, discourse, or utterance. |
| 6. | morality play. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| mo·ral·i·ty
(mə-rāl'ĭ-tē, mô-) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. mo·ral·i·ties
|
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
morality
morality
c.1386, "moral qualities," from O.Fr. moralité, from L.L. moralitatem (nom. moralitas) "manner, character," from L. moralis (see moral (adj.)). Meaning "goodness" is attested from 1592.
"Where there is no free agency, there can be no morality. Where there is no temptation, there can be little claim to virtue. Where the routine is rigorously proscribed by law, the law, and not the man, must have the credit of the conduct." [William H. Prescott, "History of the Conquest of Peru," 1847]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| morality | |
noun | |
| 1. | concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct [ant: immorality] |
| 2. | motivation based on ideas of right and wrong [syn: ethical motive] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Morality
Mo*ral"i*ty\, n.; pl. Moralities. [L. moralitas: cf. F. moralit['e].]1. The relation of conformity or nonconformity to the moral standard or rule; quality of an intention, a character, an action, a principle, or a sentiment, when tried by the standard of right. The morality of an action is founded in the freedom of that principle, by virtue of which it is in the agent's power, having all things ready and requisite to the performance of an action, either to perform or not perform it. --South. 2. The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the accepted standard of right. Of moralitee he was the flower. --Chaucer. I am bold to think that morality is capable of demonstration. --Locke. 3. The doctrines or rules of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics. The end of morality is to procure the affections to obey reason, and not to invade it. --Bacon. The system of morality to be gathered out of . . . ancient sages falls very short of that delivered in the gospel. --Swift. 4. The practice of the moral duties; rectitude of life; conformity to the standard of right; virtue; as, we often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question. 5. A kind of allegorical play, so termed because it consisted of discourses in praise of morality between actors representing such characters as Charity, Faith, Death, Vice, etc. Such plays were occasionally exhibited as late as the reign of Henry VIII. --Strutt. 6. Intent; meaning; moral. [Obs.] Taketh the morality thereof, good men. --Chaucer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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