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 What is astonishing—politically, morally, strategically—is that Netanyahu has any chance at all. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026 Federal officials described their actions as morally necessary and in keeping with legal requirements. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 An Oscar nominee for Anora, Borisov delivers another knockout performance as Sutskever, a Russian immigrant, computer science prodigy, and, eventually, the morally conflicted cofounder of OpenAI. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 At the time, the Tompkins County District Attorney declined to bring charges, this week telling ABC News the allegations may be morally disturbing, but Jane Doe's account in 2024 did not constitute a crime. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026 Its students arrive morally outraged, a priori puritans, while its professors are enervated and dissatisfied. — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026 There are games, tests and temptations designed to test the competitors physically, mentally, and morally before one walks away with the prize. — Peter White, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 The documentary condemns The Swan for manufacturing reality, while offering its own more morally satisfying reality. — Danielle Pergament, Allure, 29 Sep. 2026 Matthew tries to take his son hunting, to which Woody morally objects. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for morally
  1. innocently
  2. purely
  3. properly
  4. chastely
  5. virtuously
  6. righteously
Adverb
  • His ideas align with Hinton’s, and by 2013 the two of them—along with a third partner, Fedor Fedotov’s Alex Krizhevsky—find themselves at Google, innocently pursuing their research.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The scoring started innocently enough, Stockton marching the team 79 yards on an 11-play workmanlike touchdown drive.
    — Mike Griffith, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of innocently
Adverb
  • Recent studies have proposed that these fluctuations are not purely random but occur within what is known as a chaotic attractor — a set of possible storm states within which the hurricane can evolve unpredictably.
    — Chanh Kieu, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The only downside is that he’s seen as a purely comic figure by some in the industry.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of purely
Adverb
  • Whether the military was properly prepared for treating its wounded in the current Iran war has become a sharp point of contention.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • If a regular electric toothbrush already does the job when used properly, how much is a toothbrush camera actually adding?
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of properly
Adverb
  • The solution is a lot of morphine and a lot of rest, both of which Cathy undertakes with Adam constantly (and chastely) by her side.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • 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 9 Oct. 2026.

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