amoral

adjective

1
a
: having or showing no concern about whether behavior is morally right or wrong
amoral politicians
an amoral, selfish person
b
: being neither moral nor immoral
specifically : lying outside the sphere to which moral judgments apply
Science as such is completely amoral. —W. S. Thompson
2
: being outside or beyond the moral order or a particular code of morals
amoral customs
amorally adverb

Examples of amoral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
We are subjected daily to the caprices of a mind both unregulated and amoral. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026 In Bird and Goldmark’s account (these collaborators are also married), the nihilistic, amoral, duplicitous, power-seeking Roy Marcus Cohn makes Niccolò Machiavelli seem like a rank amateur. — Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 15 Sep. 2026 Created by Kasdan, Sid & Zoey is about Sid, a seductive, sophisticated, and amoral teenager from New York, who is sent to live with a police chief and his family in the idyllic Mississippi town where his mother grew up. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026 Mastering the laws of the parking lot can’t possibly prepare you for the throttling speed and amoral violence of the road beyond. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for amoral

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of amoral was in 1882

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Amoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amoral. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

amoral

adjective
: not being moral nor immoral
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!