MORALLY Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

morally

adverb

Definition of morally

as in innocently

with purity of thought and deed a politician who is in the habit of acting legally without behaving morally

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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 morally The royal banquet is supposed to be a celebration of Macbeth’s power, but the presence of the morally upright ghost spoils everything! — Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026 Pete Hegseth wants to morally instruct America with a public execution? — George F. Will, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026 Douglas was intense and unexpectedly funny, never morally vain. — Sam Wasson, Air Mail, 10 Oct. 2026 What is astonishing—politically, morally, strategically—is that Netanyahu has any chance at all. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026 Federal officials described their actions as morally necessary and in keeping with legal requirements. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 An Oscar nominee for Anora, Borisov delivers another knockout performance as Sutskever, a Russian immigrant, computer science prodigy, and, eventually, the morally conflicted cofounder of OpenAI. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 At the time, the Tompkins County District Attorney declined to bring charges, this week telling ABC News the allegations may be morally disturbing, but Jane Doe's account in 2024 did not constitute a crime. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026 Its students arrive morally outraged, a priori puritans, while its professors are enervated and dissatisfied. — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for morally

Adverb

His ideas align with Hinton’s, and by 2013 the two of them—along with a third partner, Fedor Fedotov’s Alex Krizhevsky—find themselves at Google, innocently pursuing their research.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
The scoring started innocently enough, Stockton marching the team 79 yards on an 11-play workmanlike touchdown drive.

— Mike Griffith, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of innocently

Adverb

Based purely on average revenue per user, a key metric for telecom companies, Jio's discount to Airtel seems justified, but Jio wants to be seen as a tech company and not just a utility player.

— Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and other officials have ruled out the deployment of combat troops, stressing that the pact is purely defensive.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of purely

Adverb

In one scene, a padlock appears to lock without a key or even being properly closed.

— Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
For this leaner, meaner Deafheaven, stylistic variety takes a backseat to speed and chaos, and when properly executed, subtle melodic or rhythmic tweaks wield the heft of the more tectonic transitions in the band’s defining songs.

— Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of properly

Adverb

The solution is a lot of morphine and a lot of rest, both of which Cathy undertakes with Adam constantly (and chastely) by her side.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Take The Music Lesson, a study of a young woman playing the virginal, closely watched by a gentleman, which Graham-Dixon reads as a depiction of Collegiants chastely performing and singing psalms.

— Clare Bucknell, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026

Definition of chastely

Adverb

Some of us virtuously recycle items that will be transported across the world to smother island nations in single-use plastic bags and water bottles, milk jugs, yogurt tubs, pet food and potato chip bags, Styrofoam meat trays, Coke bottles, Amazon mailing envelopes, and fast-food wrappers.

— Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
The glorious sweep of progress toward Roman civilization and prosperity means the end of an idyllic, virtuously rustic Golden Age.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025

Definition of virtuously

Adverb

Witnesses’ fumbling looks bad by comparison, and Ossoff sounds righteously angry without being rageful.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
With raping, raving misogynists in the highest offices and loudest cultural bandwidths of the world, women of all classes have cause to be righteously filled with rage, betrayal, and disappointment.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 June 2026

Definition of righteously

Browse Nearby Words

moralizing

morally

morals

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“Morally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/morally. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of morally

adverb

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