ethical

adjective eth·i·cal \ ˈe-thi-kəl \

variants: or less commonly ethic play \ˈe-thik\

|Updated on: 21 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: ethical in a Sentence

Definition of ethical

1 : of or relating to ethics

ethical theories

2 : involving or expressing moral approval or disapproval

ethical judgments

3 : conforming to accepted standards of conduct

ethical behavior

4 of a drug : restricted to sale only on a doctor's prescription

—

ethicality

play \ˌe-thə-ˈka-lə-tē\ noun

—

ethically

play \ˈe-thi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

—

ethicalness

play \ˈe-thi-kəl-nəs\ noun

See ethical defined for English-language learners

See ethical defined for kids

Examples of ethical in a Sentence

Some doctors feel that this procedure is not medically ethical.
the ethical behavior expected of every member of the police force

Recent Examples of ethical from the Web

Amid months of scandal and probes into his ethical misconduct, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned.

— niki mcgloster, Essence.com, "The Quick Read: Lupita Nyong'o To Star In 'Charlie's Angels' Reboot," 6 July 2018
And the team found similar results in more complex versions of the task, where participants had to judge whether a face was threatening or whether a research proposal was ethical.

— matt warren, Science | AAAS, "Are these dots purple or blue? Your answer might not be as reliable as you think," 28 June 2018
Hoffman, who’s written about the legal and ethical implications of step therapy, says that sometimes step therapy can have sensible outcomes, like pushing patients to take generics instead of brand-name drugs.

— alessandra potenza, The Verge, "To save money, my insurance company forced me to try drugs that didn’t work," 22 June 2018
In response, the Outline has probed whether harvesting the slime is ethical.

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Guilty plea in grisly Bucks murders, botched repairs endanger Philly schools | Morning Newsletter," 17 May 2018
Another is ethical, because of the need to balance individuals’ right to liberty against the state’s duty to protect them and others.

— The Economist, "An alarming rise in mental-health sectioning in Britain," 19 Apr. 2018
Now that Facebook is under fire for its handling of user data, however, questions are finally beginning to arise as to whether that model is ethical, and whether it can be allowed to continue unchecked.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "Tim Cook and Zuckerberg Feud Over Who Is Less Evil," 2 Apr. 2018
For Trump, the lawsuit has developed into a perfect storm of overlapping legal, ethical and political problems.

— mj lee, CNN, "Stormy Daniels tells friend: This is a 'nightmare'," 22 Mar. 2018
She is also known for her charismatic and energetic personality, being ethical, confidence, friendliness and professionalism.

— rebecca maitland, Houston Chronicle, "Realtor of the Week: Sara Black," 1 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ethical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ethical

Middle English etik, from Latin ethicus, from Greek ēthikos, from ēthos character — more at sib

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1573

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

ethical Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of ethical

moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good. moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong.