unethical

adjective

un·​eth·​i·​cal ˌən-ˈe-thi-kəl How to pronounce unethical (audio)
Synonyms of unethical
: not conforming to a high moral standard : morally wrong : not ethical
illegal and unethical business practices
immoral and unethical behavior
unethically adverb

Examples of unethical in a Sentence

unethical treatment of prisoners of war that was a clear violation of international law an unethical attorney, he had no qualms about getting off clients who he knew were guilty
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If unethical actors can deploy custom frontier AI models to aggressively interrogate smart contracts and find hidden protocol flaws, human-only defensive audits will be rendered obsolete. Sean Stein Smith, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 Attorneys have said those relationships are by and large unethical, but also rare. Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026 The move triggered immediate uproar, with some charging that such invisible guardrails were unfair and unethical. Jared Perlo, NBC news, 11 June 2026 So much of it comes down to economics, to not being freed from unethical labor practices. Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unethical

Word History

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unethical was in 1871

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Cite this Entry

“Unethical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unethical. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.

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