moral compass

[ mawr-uhl kuhm-puhs, mor‐ ]

noun

1. an internalized set of values and objectives that guide a person with regard to ethical behavior and decision-making:

   a rebellious teenager without a moral compass.

Word History and Origins

Origin of moral compass¹

First recorded in 1840–45

Example Sentences

He refused to pay his taxes because he refused to support a government that had lost its moral compass.

From Outside Online

This is what happens when the nation’s public health relies on individuals’ moral compasses, throwing folks into episodes of snap judgments, sideways glances and smirks that might no longer be hidden behind masks.

From Washington Post

Both Florence and Jake have dubious moral compasses, and their authors render them with unsympathetic hands.

From Time

That gradual pace of evolution has ensured that regulations and industry knowledge helped practitioners build a highly developed moral compass.

From Fortune

I am confident that over the long term we will improve the technology industry’s moral compass, but we need to start working on it hard and fast now.

From Fortune

He repeated it again, slowly: “He has no values…He has no moral compass whatsoever.”

From The Daily Beast

Boyd does have a moral compass—not yours or mine—but he does have one.

From The Daily Beast

And these odds were often set by realpolitik, rather than a moral compass.

From The Daily Beast

If you are gay, Jewish, old, or have any sort of moral compass, you will be, too.

From The Daily Beast

If only his moral compass were pointed in the right direction.

From The Daily Beast

The needle in the moral compass is deflected by selfishness or false teaching.

From Project Gutenberg

Their moral compass, so to speak, is less exposed to magnetic aberrations and is more likely to point true.

From Project Gutenberg

"The guiding star for my moral compass," said I, under my breath.

From Project Gutenberg