Meaning & use

ethic

noun·Academic

A moral principle or a strong belief that guides how someone behaves.

See it in a sentence

A strong work ethic helped her rise quickly within the company.

The board debated the ethic of using unpaid interns for essential work.

A note on using this word

Usually singular before another noun, as in 'work ethic'; the plural 'ethics' names the field of moral philosophy.

Words with a similar meaning

principlemoral codevalue

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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