as in moralizing
marked by or given to preaching moral values
parental opinion was divided on the school's moralistic curriculum
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Recent Examples of moralistic
The United States went to war in 2001 and 2003 with a very moralistic, very crusading view of war, a very black-and-white view that there were good guys and bad guys, and America would wield the swift sword of justice.
—
Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Jan. 2026
To rebuild a consensus, politicians must thus appeal to these swing voters by eschewing moralistic and globalist rhetoric.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Taken together, these triumphal and tragic elements constitute the ingredients for an epic historical narrative that defies all moralistic categories, a story rooted in the coexistence of grandeur and failure, brilliance and blindness, grace and sin.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Initially, bedtime stories tended to be moralistic tales designed to reinforce obedience and proper behavior.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for moralistic
Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Jan. 2026
To rebuild a consensus, politicians must thus appeal to these swing voters by eschewing moralistic and globalist rhetoric.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Taken together, these triumphal and tragic elements constitute the ingredients for an epic historical narrative that defies all moralistic categories, a story rooted in the coexistence of grandeur and failure, brilliance and blindness, grace and sin.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Initially, bedtime stories tended to be moralistic tales designed to reinforce obedience and proper behavior.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for moralistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moralistic
Adjective
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Most of the roughly 200 episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger have the moralizing flavor of after-school specials, albeit weirdly violent ones.—
Chris Klimek,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In a terrifically non-didactic way, Lincoln lets audiences in on the inner workings of governmental warfare.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Apr. 2026
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This might threaten unrelieved angst weighing down a 90-minute drama, or, maybe worse, a didactic, finger-wagging life lesson lecture.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Moralistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moralistic. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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