1
as in immoral
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable unethical treatment of prisoners of war that was a clear violation of international law

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unethical Unless businesses convert these types of documents into machine-readable formats, unethical practices, like forging signatures on financial documents, will accelerate. Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025 Boutros recounted the events of the October 2022 incident and accused Moretti of unethical behavior during an interview with defense attorneys. Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025 Cutting medical services to families who rely on them to give tax breaks to billionaires is unethical. Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025 The event was a spectacle: Luxury cars snaked their way into Trump’s northern Virginia golf club as protesters lined the streets, denouncing the event as an unethical way for a president to make money or allow others to potentially influence him through the purchase of his meme coin. Ben Goggin, NBC news, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for unethical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unethical
Adjective
  • Kudos to Bruce Springsteen for practicing his First Amendment rights to rail against the corrupt policies and immoral actions of the Trump administration.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 30 May 2025
  • Independent jurors can blunt the force of immoral laws and arbitrary prosecutions by refusing to subject their neighbors to unjust laws or overtly cruel punishment.
    Mike Fox, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Related Stories Said to be the first book in a series, Little Hands watches as a young British woman with a mysterious past inadvertently joins a ruthless gang of female thieves who rob the ultra-wealthy along the French Riviera.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 June 2025
  • New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • The man faces one count each of first-degree assault or attempted serious physical injury, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, resisting arrest or detention by fleeing, and second-degree domestic assault.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2025
  • In 2022, Hemphill pleaded guilty to unlawful parading, a misdemeanor charge that got her two months in prison, three years of probation and a $500 fine.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025
Adjective
  • Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive first look at the film, which follows Ahmed's Ash, an off-the-grid fixer who brokers deals between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations through a message relay service that maintains anonymity.
    Jessica Wang, EW.com, 5 June 2025
  • Sara’s friend from her secret agent days, Teresa, is also taking matters into her own hands after also losing a loved one to a corrupt system.
    Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • While Disney hasn’t revealed Starfighter’s plot, THR adds that the film revolves around Gosling’s character protecting a young charge against evil pursuers, one of whom is Goth.
    Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 7 June 2025
  • These dedicated warriors certainly earn our admiration in the good/evil binary of the conflict, but complications help give the documentary shape, as in the attention given a crusty logger named Valdir, who agreed to be featured on camera.
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • There’s a sinful sort of glee in watching all of this unfold, knowing that the same mournful character might be the next one to die.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
  • The sinful acts on display here are a direct result of that disenfranchisement, an effort to reclaim what is still owed, forty acres and a mule, with interest.
    Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.
    Foster Klug, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
  • Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.
    Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • That cartilage injury was worse than expected, and Jiménez could miss all or most of this season rehabbing.
    David O'Brien, New York Times, 5 June 2025
  • Athletics manager Mark Kotsay has continued to search for answers to cure what ails the Athletics during their historically bad run of losing in West Sacramento.
    Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unethical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unethical. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on unethical

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!