ethics

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Moral rules or beliefs that guide how people behave, especially in a profession or organization.

   Grammar: Takes a plural verb when talking about specific moral rules: 'The ethics of the experiment were questioned.'

   Patterns

   • professional ethics
   • business ethics
   • the ethics of something
   • question someone's ethics

   The company's ethics came under fire after the scandal.

   Medical ethics require doctors to put patients first.

   She questioned the ethics of testing on animals.

2. 2nounsingular

   The branch of philosophy that studies right and wrong behavior.

   Grammar: Takes a singular verb when referring to the academic subject: 'Ethics is offered as a major.'

   Patterns

   • study ethics
   • a course in ethics
   • ethics and philosophy

   He teaches ethics at the university.

   Ethics is a required course for law students.

   She wrote her thesis on ethics and artificial intelligence.

Common combinations

professional ethics

Lawyers must follow a strict code of professional ethics.

business ethics

The seminar on business ethics was well attended.

medical ethics

Medical ethics guide decisions about end-of-life care.

ethics committee

The ethics committee approved the new study.

question someone's ethics

Voters began to question the mayor's ethics.

Synonyms and how they differ

morals

Morals are personal beliefs about right and wrong, while ethics often refers to shared rules within a group or profession.

principles

Principles are basic rules or values that guide behavior; ethics is the wider system of such rules.

Opposites

Word family

ethical adjective

Morally right or acceptable.

ethically adverb

In a morally right way.

ethicist noun

A person who studies or advises on ethics.

unethical adjective

Not morally acceptable.

Commonly confused: ethics or ethnic? ethics or ethos?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ethics”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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