ethic

noun

eth·​ic ˈe-thik How to pronounce ethic (audio)
1
a
: a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values
the present-day materialistic ethic
an old-fashioned work ethic
often used in plural but singular or plural in construction
an elaborate ethics
Christian ethics
b
ethics ˈe-thiks How to pronounce ethic (audio) plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group
professional ethics
c
: a consciousness of moral importance
forge a conservation ethic
d
: a guiding philosophy
2
ethics plural : a set of moral issues or aspects (such as rightness)
debated the ethics of human cloning
3
ethics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation

Did you know?

Ethics vs Morals: Is there a difference?

Ethics and morals are both used in the plural and are often regarded as synonyms, but there is some distinction in how they are used.

Morals often describes one's particular values concerning what is right and what is wrong:

It would go against my morals to help you cheat on the test.

He appears to view himself as a kind of culture warrior, striking out against the crumbling morals of modern society.
Jonathan Goldsbie, Now Toronto, 16 Oct. 2014

While ethics can refer broadly to moral principles, one often sees it applied to questions of correct behavior within a relatively narrow area of activity:

Our class had a debate over the ethics of genetic testing.

Anybody, it seemed, could make the music -- if they couldn't play guitar, they could push a button -- and nobody worried about the ethics of appropriating riffs.
Jennifer Foote, Newsweek, 23 July 1990

In addition, morals usually connotes an element of subjective preference, while ethics tends to suggest aspects of universal fairness and the question of whether or not an action is responsible:

Perhaps you don’t like Kim Kardashian, or her family, or her morals don’t align with yours, or you just think it’s weird that she might have had some plastic surgery, likes to apply makeup in a really complicated way and named her kid “Saint.”
Sarah Boboltz, The Huffington Post, 12 Oct. 2016

The Frenches, both professors in The Media School, focused on the ethics of making medical decisions for a child who could not express her own wishes yet…
Chris Mura, Indiana Daily Student, 18 Oct. 2016

Examples of ethic in a Sentence

Ethics is his chosen field of study.
Recent Examples on the Web And in thinking through the grimy ethics of what these kinds of journalists sometimes have to do (extract confidences and then betray them, essentially committing private harms for the sake of an abstract Public Good). Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The ethics of the Iditarod race require that when a large animal like a moose or caribou is killed during the competition, its meat must be taken and distributed. Victor Mather, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 The Marius incident called into question animal rights issues, speciesism, the ethics of zoos and even the Disneyfied way in which death and violence are often erased from our understanding of the animal kingdom. Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 In addition to winking at the reader, this passage helps to unlock a novelistic ethics. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024 More recently, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, even J.K. Rowling, who shaped the ethics of a generation. Nathan Jeffers, Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024 The effort is complicated by the fact that people’s ethics and values — as well as their ideas of what AI should and should not be permitted to do — vary. Rachel Metz, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 This raises demonstrative safety and ethics concerns. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 But the research is also stirring concerns about the ethics of using farm animals for their organs and the risks of spreading animal viruses to people. Rob Stein, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ethic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ethik, from Middle French ethique, from Latin ethice, from Greek ēthikē, from ēthikos

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of ethic was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ethic

Cite this Entry

“Ethic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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