morality play

noun

1
: an allegorical play popular especially in the 15th and 16th centuries in which the characters personify abstract qualities or concepts (such as virtues, vices, or death)
2
: something (such as a court trial) which involves a direct conflict between right and wrong or good and evil and from which a moral lesson may be drawn

Examples of morality play in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The most celebrated Spanish novelists and directors of the Franco era offered accounts of people’s lives that avoided simple morality plays and partisan games. Victor Pérez-Díaz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013 Since then, all sorts of filmmakers have splashed drama and morality plays on the wide-open canvas of the Western, with varying degrees of success. and Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 21 June 2024 Basie watch the scene, made no move to stop it, and in fact quite evidently enjoyed the morality play. Larry Tye, TIME, 9 May 2024 They are also all transformed into morality plays of sorts—although, unlike in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the morals in Trump’s America are inscrutable. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for morality play 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of morality play was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near morality play

Cite this Entry

“Morality play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morality%20play. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

morality play

noun
: a type of play popular especially in the 15th and 16th centuries in which the characters stand for moral qualities (as virtue or vice) or conditions (as death)

More from Merriam-Webster on morality play

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