Meaning & use
unethical
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Going against accepted standards of right and wrong, especially in a profession.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: unethical behavior, it is unethical.
Patterns
- unethical to do something
- unethical behavior
It is unethical for a doctor to treat a close relative.
The reporter was fired for unethical conduct.
The company used unethical methods to win the contract.
adjectivecomparable
Treating people, animals or the environment in a way that most would see as morally wrong, even if it is legal.
Grammar: Often used for business practices: unethical, but not illegal.
Patterns
- unethical practice
- unethical treatment
Testing makeup on animals is considered unethical by many people.
The firm's pricing was legal but unethical.
Selling a dangerous toy without a warning is clearly unethical.
Word forms
| comparative | more unethical |
|---|---|
| superlative | most unethical |
Common combinations
- unethical behavior
- Unethical behavior damaged the firm's reputation.
- deeply unethical
- Copying a classmate's work is deeply unethical.
- unethical practice
- Hiding fees is an unethical practice.
- consider it unethical
- Many people consider it unethical to cheat.
- unethical conduct
- The board investigated unethical conduct by a director.
Synonyms and how they differ
- immoral
- Immoral is broader and judges a person's whole character, while unethical usually points to breaking professional or social standards.
- dishonest
- Dishonest focuses on lying or cheating, which is just one kind of unethical conduct.
- unscrupulous
- Unscrupulous describes a person who knowingly ignores moral rules to get ahead.
- improper
- Improper is milder and often means not suitable rather than seriously wrong.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: unethical or illegal? unethical or immoral?
unethical vs illegal
Illegal means against the law, whereas unethical means against moral standards; something can be one without being the other.
unethical vs immoral
Immoral is a stronger judgment about right and wrong in general, while unethical often relates to rules of a field.
Practice
Hiding a product's known safety problems from customers may be legal in some places, but it is clearly ___.
Choose one answer.
Unethical means morally wrong, even when no law is broken, and that is the contrast in the sentence. Illegal would not fit because the sentence says it may be legal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unethical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.