amoral

[ ey-mawr-uhl, a-mawr-, ey-mor-, a-mor- ]

adjective

1. not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.
2. having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong:

   a completely amoral person.

amoral

/ eɪˈmɒrəl; ˌeɪmɒˈrælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. having no moral quality; nonmoral
2. without moral standards or principles

Usage

Amoral is often wrongly used where immoral is meant. Immoral is properly used to talk about the breaking of moral rules, amoral about people who have no moral code or about places or situations where moral considerations do not apply

Derived Forms

• amorality, noun
• aˈmorally, adverb

Other Word Forms

• a·moral·ism noun
• a·mo·ral·i·ty [ey-m, uh, -, ral, -i-tee, am-, uh, -], noun
• a·moral·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of amoral¹

First recorded in 1880–85; a- ⁶ + moral

Synonym Study

See immoral.

Example Sentences

Those ideas all came from a simple thesis: that capitalism is amoral and will gobble up anything it’s allowed to gobble up.

From Los Angeles Times

In “Barking Dogs Never Bite,” he probes what viewers see as ethical food versus amoral, offensive cuisine.

From Salon

He invited controversy, however, not by advocating a more amoral, realpolitik foreign policy but by delivering a finger-wagging, highly moralistic lecture about, among other things, how our allies are insufficiently liberal about free expression.

From Los Angeles Times

After directing “Shadow World,” a 2016 archival dive into the amoral world of the global arms trade, he wanted to investigate something that was right in front of him yet harder to see.

From Los Angeles Times

The trendy term for this is "vice-signaling," defined by The Bulwark's Tim Miller as "people who now gleefully portray themselves publicly as amoral or immoral in order to demonstrate some sort of strength or sophistication."

From Salon

Related Words

• barbarous
• excessive
• outrageous
• preposterous
• uncivilized
• unethical
• unfair
• unjust
• unreasonable
• wanton