ˈmɔrəl adj. & n. --adj. 1 a
concerned with goodness or badness of
human character or
behaviour, or with
the distinction between right and wrong. b concerned with accepted rules and standards of human behaviour. 2 a conforming to accepted standards of
general conduct. b
capable of moral
action (man is a moral agent). 3 (of rights or duties etc.) founded on moral
law. 4 a concerned with morals or
ethics (moral philosophy). b (of a
literary work etc.) dealing with moral conduct. 5 concerned with or leading to a
psychological effect associated with
confidence in a right action (moral
courage; moral
support; moral victory). --n. 1 a a moral
lesson (esp. at the end) of a
fable, story,
event, etc. b a moral
maxim or
principle. 2 (in pl.) moral behaviour, e.g. in
sexual conduct. ømoral
certainty probability so
great as to
allow no
reasonable doubt. moral law the conditions to be satisfied by
any right
course of action. moral
majority the majority of
people, regarded as favouring firm moral standards (orig. Moral Majority,
name of a right-wing US movement). moral
philosophy the
branch of philosophy concerned with ethics. moral
pressure persuasion by
appealing to a person's moral
sense. Moral Re-Armament 1 = OXFORD
GROUP. 2 the beliefs of
this organization,
esp. as
applied to
international relations. moral
science systematic knowledge as applied to morals. moral sense the
ability to
distinguish right and wrong. øømorally adv. [ME f. L moralis f. mos moris
custom, pl.
mores morals]