What does moralise mean?
Moralise means to talk about right and wrong, especially to tell other people how they should behave. It is commonly used when someone offers moral judgments or tries to persuade an audience through appeals to ethical principles. The word can suggest that the speaker is being overly preachy, dogmatic, or self-righteous, so “moralising about public dishonesty” may be approving, while “he moralised at us for an hour” is often critical. The verb can also be used more neutrally to mean making something more moral or ethically acceptable, although this use is less frequent. The British spelling is moralise, while the US spelling is moralize. It is related to moral, morality, and moralist, all of which share the same Latin root associated with moral character and conduct.
To comment on or explain conduct in terms of right and wrong, or to urge others to follow moral principles.
"They moralised about the damage caused by careless advertising."
Often used critically when someone is being excessively preachy or making repeated moral judgments.
To make something moral or morally acceptable.
"The reform was intended to moralise the treatment of children in the care system."
This sense is less common and can sound formal.
To moralise is to turn a moral principle into a public lecture—something many people do more readily than they practise it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does moralise come from?
The verb comes through French moraliser, from the Latin adjective moralis, meaning “relating to morals” or “concerned with right conduct.” The suffix -ise was added in the usual way to form a verb. The family includes moral, morality, moralist, and morale, reflecting the same broad Latin root concerning morals and character.
Related word forms
How moralise is actually used
In modern English, moralise often has a mildly disapproving or ironic tone when someone repeatedly tells other people what they ought to do. It is especially common in the expression moralise about something.
Easily confused with moralise
Moralize is the standard US spelling of the British English verb moralise; both forms have the same meaning.