Meaning & use
ethical
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Following accepted principles of right and wrong, especially in a job or profession.
Grammar: Before a noun or after be: ethical behavior; it is ethical.
The company has strict ethical rules for staff.
Is it ethical to test the product on animals?
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Relating to moral questions and the study of ethics.
Grammar: Before a noun: ethical issues.
The case raised difficult ethical questions.
She wrote an essay on ethical theory.
adjectivebefore a noun
Made or sold in a way that avoids harm to people, animals or the environment.
Grammar: Used in shopping: ethical fashion.
He buys ethical coffee from fair-trade farms.
The shop sells ethical clothing.
Word forms
| comparative | more ethical |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ethical |
Common combinations
- ethical dilemma
- Doctors face an ethical dilemma.
- ethical standards
- Journalists follow ethical standards.
- ethical issue
- Privacy is an ethical issue.
- ethical considerations
- Ethical considerations guided the study.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moral
- Moral is broader and personal, while ethical often refers to professional rules.
- principled
- Principled describes a person who acts on firm beliefs.
- honorable
- Honorable stresses good character and honesty.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ethical or ethnic?
ethical vs ethnic
Ethnic relates to cultural groups, not to right and wrong.
Practice
The lawyer refused the case because it would be ___ to hide the evidence.
Choose one answer.
Unethical means morally wrong. Ethnic is a look-alike about cultural origin.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ethical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.