morale

noun

mo·rale | \mə-ˈral

Definition of morale

1 : moral principles, teachings, or conduct

2a : the mental and emotional condition (as of enthusiasm, confidence, or loyalty) of an individual or group with regard to the function or tasks at hand The team's morale is high.

b : a sense of common purpose with respect to a group : esprit de corps The ship's morale improved after two days of shore leave.

3 : the level of individual psychological well-being based on such factors as a sense of purpose and confidence in the future The failure of his play did not affect his morale.

Examples of morale in a Sentence

The team is playing well and their morale is high. The President's speech boosted the morale of the troops.

Recent Examples on the Web

Zia’s supporters believe that a transfer to a hospital would provide a large morale boost before December’s national election. — Washington Post, "Bangladesh opposition leader Zia critically ill, aide says," 19 June 2018 There’s nothing morale-boosting about your boss harassing you to kick part of your meager state salary over to the United Way. — Dan Sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Power Lunch: FEMA backs down, ICE swoops in, Seiler says farewell," 1 Feb. 2018 Meanwhile, the difficult past year has taken a toll on employee morale: An internal survey shows that only 52 percent of Facebook staff are optimistic about its future, down from 84 percent of employees last year. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Who will Facebook fire after a damning New York Times investigation?," 15 Nov. 2018 Instead, Khandelwal — who has already been credited with infusing new hope and vision into a department that’s struggled with low morale since its creation in 2013 — appears poised to win confirmation by the Metropolitan King County Council. — Sara Jean Green, The Seattle Times, "Despite critical audit, county likely to name new head of public-defense department," 5 Nov. 2018 Nuclear power guarantees unlimited range, with a submarine’s only limiting factors being food and crew morale. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Should the U.S. Navy Buy Non-Nuclear Submarines?," 7 Sep. 2018 One worries about morale when a child is on her own for the first time—without friends, pet goldfish, or a lamp. — David Netto, Town & Country, "One Interior Designer on the Subtle Art of Decorating a Dorm Room," 12 July 2018 Beating Germany in game one was a morale-boosting lift, as was the hard-fought victory over the Koreans six days later. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "Mexico's World Cup run was fun – but it was a failure," 2 July 2018 While economic activity in the borderlands weakens and corruption grows, the morale and effectiveness of security forces has eroded, Franklin said. — Tom Odula, Fox News, "5 years after mall Kenya attack, al-Shabab's threat grows," 21 Sep. 2018

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