the moral high ground
noun
: a position in which one has a moral advantage over others
These countries lost/ceded the moral high ground when they entered the war to protect their economic interests.
She believes she has the moral high ground on this issue.
Examples of the moral high ground in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Allies in Latin America thus helped Kennedy keep the moral high ground and portray the Soviets as unwelcome aggressors.
—
Time, 28 Oct. 2025
Charlie Kirk’s assassination last month has sparked an increasingly partisan debate about acceptable rhetoric as political parties maneuver for the moral high ground on the nature of political discourse in the United States.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2025
Analysts have said Beijing’s plan to categorize the shoal as a nature reserve amounts to trying to take the moral high ground in the dispute over the atoll, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.
—Reuters, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
Clearly, this is an inconvenient circumstance for Netanyahu, and his government has gone to some lengths to try to recapture the moral high ground — and the recent release of Hamas videos showing emaciated hostages in Gaza would seem to be doing some of the heavy lifting for him.
—Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
Following the birth of Prince Archie in May 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had one sure way to claim the moral high ground over Prince William and Kate Middleton and the rest of the royal family.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 18 June 2025
What is clear, however, is that Garber and Harvard University have chosen the moral high ground of integrity.
—Dan Pontefract, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Even worse, pro-democracy Filipinos had lost the moral high ground: their antidemocratic adversary was democratically elected and inspired widespread support from the country’s poor and middle classes.
—Sheila S. Coronel, Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2022
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Time, 28 Oct. 2025
Charlie Kirk’s assassination last month has sparked an increasingly partisan debate about acceptable rhetoric as political parties maneuver for the moral high ground on the nature of political discourse in the United States.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2025
Analysts have said Beijing’s plan to categorize the shoal as a nature reserve amounts to trying to take the moral high ground in the dispute over the atoll, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.
—Reuters, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
Clearly, this is an inconvenient circumstance for Netanyahu, and his government has gone to some lengths to try to recapture the moral high ground — and the recent release of Hamas videos showing emaciated hostages in Gaza would seem to be doing some of the heavy lifting for him.
—Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
Following the birth of Prince Archie in May 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had one sure way to claim the moral high ground over Prince William and Kate Middleton and the rest of the royal family.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 18 June 2025
What is clear, however, is that Garber and Harvard University have chosen the moral high ground of integrity.
—Dan Pontefract, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Even worse, pro-democracy Filipinos had lost the moral high ground: their antidemocratic adversary was democratically elected and inspired widespread support from the country’s poor and middle classes.
—Sheila S. Coronel, Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2022
Cite this Entry
“The moral high ground.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20moral%20high%20ground. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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