Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun motivation based on ideas of right and wrong.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of moral.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun motivation based on ideas of right and wrong

Etymologies

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Examples

  • For when morals are described as a mere physical science, founded on man's organization, his interests and passions, -- when the treatise, according to its _second_ title, is professedly an attempt to expound the _physical principles of morals_, -- and when, in pursuance of this plan, all the principles of

    Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws James Buchanan 1837

  • Church alone has a right to fix the limits between its domain and that of the state -- a dangerous and inadmissible principle, since under the term morals the Church comprises all the relations of men to each other, and asserts that whatever does not assist her oppresses her.

    History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science John William Draper 1846

  • If it were nothing more than this, it would be absurd and negligible, because futile; for what we call morals are only the observances which the conditions of life impose upon a people; and an act depends, for its moral status, upon its relation to those conditions.

    Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906 Various 1904

  • And next to that, there is the realization that when it comes to what you call morals, there is a morality higher than the respectability you good people care so much about -- the morality of nature.

    The Iron Woman Margaret Wade Campbell Deland 1901

  • The real devaluation in morals is way to complex to throw more than a very minor percentage of the blame on all things Stern (porn, adolescent antics, etc ….) …. try two parent working families, try divorce rate, try single working mothers, try failure of parenting, try lack of good education, try lack of education of manors, try contentless cable television (MTV and all the rest of it) and videogames babysitting our kids, try non stop marketing of wealth and greed — Its a failure of parents and societal support in general … … Its a waste of time and money to concentrate on squelching stern (which will be proved when society keeps degrading after Stern makes the move to paid media).

    Howard on 60 Minutes « BuzzMachine 2005

  • At the close of 1872 his Holiness delivered an allocution, in which he touched on the "persecution of the Church in the German Empire," and asserted that the Church alone has a right to fix the limits between its domain and that of the state -- a dangerous and inadmissible principle, since under the term morals the Church comprises all the relations of men to each other, and asserts that whatever does not assist her oppresses her.

    History of the Conflict between Religion and Science 1881

  • Yeah because those Republican angels that represent you are rich in morals, values, and compassion too ... gimme a break ...

    Ron Paul weighs in on supporters' singles site 2009

  • I'm sure its a great site, if you weed out the liberal Democrats, then you are left with a great mix of people who are all kind, decent, respectful and rich in morals, values, and compassion, pretty much like a red county

    Ron Paul weighs in on supporters' singles site 2009

  • And it seems quite possible that a certain amount of punishment, shorn of any metaphysical theory of morals, is still a useful corrective to a predetermined level of bad behavior anyway.

    Testing the Freedom to Choose, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

  • I'm sure its a great site, if you weed out the liberal Democrats, then you are left with a great mix of people who are all kind, decent, respectful and rich in morals, values, and compassion, pretty much like a red county.

    Ron Paul weighs in on supporters' singles site 2009

Comments

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  • A man without morals: a politician

    A woman without morals: a trollop.

    (see my list)

    June 13, 2008