as in puritanism
a tendency to care a great deal about seemly behavior and morals especially in sexual matters the moralism that the candidate displays on the campaign trail is seen by some as hypocritical

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of moralism The phone consensus is bipartisan, appealing to right-wing moralism and left-wing anti-corporate sentiment alike. Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 In sport as in war and education, there was a moralism and fundamental masculinity associated with the band ensemble. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025 Trend forecasters were proclaiming that Trump’s reelection represented a cultural shake-up in addition to a governmental one, replacing the stiff moralism of wokeness with cowboy rowdiness and chic nihilism. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025 The Return of the Global South Realism, not moralism, drives a new critique of western power. Kal Raustiala, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for moralism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moralism
puritanism
Noun
  • Inevitably, puritanism is going to come out and come back and go away.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2024
  • He in turn was denounced for what many thought was an old-fashioned puritanism and what many also thought was jealousy — the production was directed by his successor at Yale, Lloyd Richards.
    Bruce Weber, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Moralism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moralism. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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