as in innocently
with purity of thought and deed
a politician who is in the habit of acting legally without behaving morally
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Recent Examples of morally
The cast’s sole survivor is Jessica Hecht, who pours miraculous warmth and complexity into her faintly insulting role as Colleen, the head teller, a morally upright spinster goosed by her flirtation with Sonny and the spotlight.
—
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Anyone swanning about feeling morally superior just hasn’t yet had their number called.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Calling all Democrats evil is incredibly dangerous, not to mention morally reprehensible.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
And his writing evolved along with the series, as the characters grew more morally complex, and the plots became more intricate and convoluted.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026
Part of what gives Giant such voltage in a present context has to do not simply with what’s still happening in Gaza, but also with the phenomenon, much on display these days, of how a thinking person can break morally bad.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
In a September Gallup poll, support had slipped to 47%, with another 47% calling such research morally wrong.
—Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026
The issue Americans felt was most morally wrong, across the board, was having an affair while married.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
New poll finds Americans likely to see each other as ‘morally bad’ — but expert says strong families can help.
—FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Anyone swanning about feeling morally superior just hasn’t yet had their number called.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Calling all Democrats evil is incredibly dangerous, not to mention morally reprehensible.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
And his writing evolved along with the series, as the characters grew more morally complex, and the plots became more intricate and convoluted.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026
Part of what gives Giant such voltage in a present context has to do not simply with what’s still happening in Gaza, but also with the phenomenon, much on display these days, of how a thinking person can break morally bad.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
In a September Gallup poll, support had slipped to 47%, with another 47% calling such research morally wrong.
—Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026
The issue Americans felt was most morally wrong, across the board, was having an affair while married.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
New poll finds Americans likely to see each other as ‘morally bad’ — but expert says strong families can help.
—FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for morally
Adverb
-
Bethenny Frankel was innocently applying a roller on her face to help with inflammation on Thursday on Instagram.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The mistake begins innocently enough.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Her love of the game and drive to improve was coming purely from within.—
Charles Baggarly
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
-
One Emirati said people in the UAE want their military to impose a cost on Iran and are no longer satisfied with a purely defensive posture.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Everyone is urged to properly dispose of cigarette butts, matches, and any other flammable items in appropriate containers.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Shades of Apollo 13 The Artemis astronauts will orbit Earth for a day to make certain everything is working properly before igniting the main engine and heading for the moon.—
Marcia Dunn,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Some of us virtuously recycle items that will be transported across the world to smother island nations in single-use plastic bags and water bottles, milk jugs, yogurt tubs, pet food and potato chip bags, Styrofoam meat trays, Coke bottles, Amazon mailing envelopes, and fast-food wrappers.—
Caroline Fraser,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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The glorious sweep of progress toward Roman civilization and prosperity means the end of an idyllic, virtuously rustic Golden Age.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
The darkly comic crime drama pits Frances McDormand's righteously furious mom against a police force that hasn't caught her daughter's killer.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
-
But O’Hara is best known for her role as Kate McCallister in Home Alone, the distracted, frantic, righteously determined mom to Macaulay Culkin’s precocious 8-year-old Kevin.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Morally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/morally. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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