ethical
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct.
-
being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct or practice, especially the standards of a profession.
It was not considered ethical for physicians to advertise.
- Antonyms:
- immoral
-
(of drugs) sold only upon medical prescription.
adjective
-
in accordance with principles of conduct that are considered correct, esp those of a given profession or group
-
of or relating to ethics
-
(of a medicinal agent) available legally only with a doctor's prescription or consent
Other Word Forms
- ethicality noun
- ethically adverb
- ethicalness noun
- hyperethical adjective
- nonethical adjective
- pseudoethical adjective
- superethical adjective
- unethical adjective
Etymology
Origin of ethical
Explanation
For someone who is honest and follows good moral standards, use the adjective ethical. An ethical teacher will grade your papers honestly — even if she catches you sticking your tongue out at her. Ethical comes from the Greek ethos "moral character" and describes a person or behavior as right in the moral sense - truthful, fair, and honest. Sometimes the word is used for people who follow the moral standards of their profession. An ethical lawyer or doctor does not try to take advantage of the client or patient's unfortunate situation. If something has happened and you are not sure what the right thing to do is, you are having an ethical dilemma.
Vocabulary lists containing ethical
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Achievement First 7th Grade IA 1 Words
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Excerpts from "To Kill a Mockingbird"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From an ethical standpoint, reason isn’t only a biological function, it’s what enables moral discernment, responsibility and self-governance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
In addition to the ethical questions raised by artists around Spotify’s business practices, the platform stopped working reliably to surface new music—or reached “enshittification,” if you will.
From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026
Even Claude, billed as one of the most ethical AI super-brains out there, engages in bad behavior.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
“Our internal review and the independent directors’ investigation are being conducted in line with our commitment to ensuring our technology is handled with the highest level of ethical and legal scrutiny.”
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
In essence, he asked for ethical and virtuous social conduct.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
