What does immorally mean?
Immorally is an adverb describing conduct that conflicts with accepted moral standards. It typically appears in discussions of ethics, law, business, politics, and personal behavior, where it identifies an action as morally wrong rather than merely mistaken, unlucky, or ineffective. For example, a company may be described as immorally exploiting workers when it knowingly disregards their welfare for profit. The word is more forceful than unethically because immorally directly contrasts with moral ideas and often suggests serious misconduct. It is also more formal than dishonestly, which focuses especially on deception or the failure to tell the truth. In less formal contexts, a speaker may choose dishonestly, unfairly, or wrongly. Immorally is commonly paired with verbs such as act, profit, treat, and manipulate, reflecting its frequent use in descriptions of behavior and conduct.
adverbIn a way that is contrary to accepted moral principles; dishonestly or unethically.
- In a manner that violates moral principles or accepted standards of right and wrong.
"The company was accused of immorally exploiting workers in its overseas factories."
"She refused to immorally manipulate the data to make the report look more successful."
"The novel examines how power can be used immorally by those who control it."
Immorally is built on the same idea as moral: both describe how people are expected to behave, but one points to the accepted standard and the other marks its violation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does immorally come from?
The word comes from the Latin moralis, meaning “relating to morals” or “pertaining to character,” which developed into English moral. By adding the negative prefix im-, meaning “not,” the adjective immoral was formed, expressing opposition to accepted moral conduct. The adverb immorally was subsequently created from that adjective. Related English forms include moral, morality, and amoral, all of which reflect the same broad Latin moral tradition.
How immorally is actually used
Immorally is formal and strongly evaluative. It is more common in moral, legal, political, and ethical discussion than in everyday conversation.