morally

adverb

Definition of morallynext
as in innocently
with purity of thought and deed a politician who is in the habit of acting legally without behaving morally

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of morally But a fissure remains between those actors who stay morally opposed to cloning, and those who embrace this new reality. — Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 Bardem plays Miguel, a celebrated architect tempted by a morally dubious but hugely lucrative commission to build a secret survivalist bunker for a reclusive tech billionaire, Andrew (Paul Dano). — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026 Once inside, contestants must navigate a series of Wonka’s games, tests, and temptations designed to challenge them physically, mentally, and morally. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026 Their agenda was backward-looking, morally coercive, and steeped in righteous absolutism. — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026 To make merit means to do something morally good that will generate good karma – actions that are believed to impact this life and future ones. — Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026 The Catholic faith morally opposes the death penalty, yet many of the state’s top Catholic leaders have supported measures to expand it. — Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2026 McAdam later said Dominguez was incapable of understanding that his acts were morally and legally wrong. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Deadline’s Full Coverage Of Disney’s D23 Fan Event The VisionQuest also features James Spader as Ultron, Todd Stashwick as the morally ambiguous mercenary Paladin and Faran Tahir reprising his role of Raz from the MCU kickstarter pic Iron Man. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for morally
  1. innocently
  2. purely
  3. properly
  4. chastely
  5. virtuously
  6. righteously
Adverb
  • The Network Started With A Missing File The origins of the incident started innocently.
    — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Their amalgamation with the other color produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character can innocently consent.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Definition of innocently
Adverb
  • Note that credit bidding really does not purely involve a credit of a part of the judgment held against the debtor.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Tswalu was acquired by the philanthropic Oppenheimer family purely for environmental conservation.
    — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of purely
Adverb
  • Knowing what to look for and how to properly analyze a vehicle during a test drive can be the difference between choosing your next daily driver that'll last decades, or leaving a vehicle on the lot.
    — Charles Singh, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • During the trial, the defense called witnesses who described Clancy as a dedicated parent who suffered from extreme mental illness and was not properly treated by her medical providers.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of properly
Adverb
  • Take The Music Lesson, a study of a young woman playing the virginal, closely watched by a gentleman, which Graham-Dixon reads as a depiction of Collegiants chastely performing and singing psalms.
    — Clare Bucknell, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Definition of chastely
Adverb
  • Some of us virtuously recycle items that will be transported across the world to smother island nations in single-use plastic bags and water bottles, milk jugs, yogurt tubs, pet food and potato chip bags, Styrofoam meat trays, Coke bottles, Amazon mailing envelopes, and fast-food wrappers.
    — Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
  • The glorious sweep of progress toward Roman civilization and prosperity means the end of an idyllic, virtuously rustic Golden Age.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of virtuously
Adverb
  • Witnesses’ fumbling looks bad by comparison, and Ossoff sounds righteously angry without being rageful.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
  • With raping, raving misogynists in the highest offices and loudest cultural bandwidths of the world, women of all classes have cause to be righteously filled with rage, betrayal, and disappointment.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
Definition of righteously

Browse Nearby Words

moralizing
morally
morals
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Cite this Entry

“Morally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/morally. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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