immoral

adjective

im·​mor·​al (ˌ)i(m)-ˈmȯr-əl How to pronounce immoral (audio)
-ˈmär-
: not moral
broadly : conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles
immorally adverb

Examples of immoral in a Sentence

Don't condemn her: there was nothing immoral about what she did. It was immoral of her to tell lies like that.
Recent Examples on the Web While the Catholic Church condemns such reproductive technology as immoral, many Protestant churches and denominations do not have a firm stance against the practice. Peter Smith, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024 All participants, no matter their politics, consistently rated more personally relevant threats as more immoral. Keelah Williams, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2024 Their weird personal stakes in TPB suggest they are deeply invested in how the Hollywood system operates — the immoral ideology that even Theodor Adorno critiqued, in The Culture Industry. Armond White, National Review, 21 Feb. 2024 Critics have said that using monkeys as research subjects is immoral, but the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine maintain that there are currently no alternatives that can fully replace non-human primates. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2024 But as political attitudes begin to coincide with moral convictions, partisans increasingly view each other as immoral. Phillip McGarry, The Conversation, 1 Feb. 2024 Sue Ann Asch, from Kalkaska, Mich., has been charged with accosting children for immoral purposes, online court records show. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 1 Feb. 2024 The majority of Republicans (72%) and Democrats (64%) think of each other as more immoral than other Americans – a nearly 30% rise from 2016 to 2022. Garriy Shteynberg, Discover Magazine, 24 Jan. 2024 Declaring yet again that Ukraine must take the first step is both immoral and naive. Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immoral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of immoral was in 1660

Dictionary Entries Near immoral

Cite this Entry

“Immoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immoral. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

immoral

adjective
im·​mor·​al (ˈ)im-ˈ(m)ȯr-əl How to pronounce immoral (audio)
-ˈ(m)är-
: not moral : wicked, bad
immorally adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on immoral

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!