Meanings
nounethics (countable and uncountable, plural ethics)
- countableuncountableThe standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.
The professor teaches a course on business ethics.
1 more example
Medical ethics require doctors to prioritize patient welfare.
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
Synonyms: deontology, moral philosophy
noun
- pluralplural of ethic
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
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More synonyms by meaning
nounmotivation based on ideas of right and wrong
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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἠθική
- Late Latinethica
- Middle Frenchethique
- Middle Englishetik
- Englishethics
From Middle English etik, from Middle French ethique, from Late Latin ethica, from Ancient Greek ἠθική (ēthikḗ), from ἠθικός (ēthikós, “of or for morals, moral, expressing character”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, moral nature”).
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans eties, etiek
- etiesstandards of conduct
- etiekstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Arabic أَخْلَاق, أَدَب
- أَخْلَاق (ʔaḵlāq)standards of conduct
- أَدَب (ʔadab)standards of conduct
- عِلْم الْأَخْلَاق (ʕilm al-ʔaḵlāq)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Bengali আখলাক, আখলাক
- আখলাক (akholak)standards of conduct
- আখলাক (akholak)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- নৈতিকতা (nōitikota)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Bulgarian е́тика, е́тика
- е́тика (étika)standards of conduct
- е́тика (étika)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Catalan ètica, ètica
- èticastandards of conduct
- èticastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Chinese Cantonese 倫理 /伦理, 倫理學 /伦理学
- 倫理 /伦理 (leon⁴ lei⁵)standards of conduct
- 倫理學 /伦理学 (leon⁴ lei⁵ hok⁶)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Chinese Mandarin 倫理 /伦理, 道德
- 倫理 /伦理 (lúnlǐ)standards of conduct
- 道德 (dàodé)standards of conduct
- 倫理學 /伦理学 (lúnlǐxué)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Czech etika, etika
- etikastandards of conduct
- etikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Danish etik
- etikstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Dutch zedenkunde, ethiek
- zedenkundestandards of conduct
- ethiekstandards of conduct
- zedenkundestudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- ethiekstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Esperanto etiko
- etikostandards of conduct
Estonian eetika
- eetikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Finnish etiikka, moraali
- etiikkastandards of conduct
- moraalistandards of conduct
- etiikkastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
French éthique, éthique
- éthiquestandards of conduct
- éthiquestudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
German Verhaltenskodex, Ethik
- Verhaltenskodexstandards of conduct
- Ethikstandards of conduct
- Ethikstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Greek ηθική
- ηθική (ithikí)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Hebrew אֶתִיקָה
- אֶתִיקָהstandards of conduct
Hindi आचार, आचरण
- आचार (ācār)standards of conduct
- आचरण (ācraṇ)standards of conduct
- आचारशास्त्र (ācārśāstra)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Hungarian etika, erkölcstan
- etikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- erkölcstanstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Indonesian etika
- etikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Irish eitic, eitic
- eiticstandards of conduct
- eiticstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Italian etica, etica
- eticastandards of conduct
- eticastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Japanese 倫理, 倫理学
- 倫理 (rinri)standards of conduct
- 倫理学 (rinrigaku)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Korean 윤리, 륜리
- 윤리 (yulli)standards of conduct
- 륜리 (ryulli)standards of conduct
- 윤리학 (yullihak)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- 륜리학 (ryullihak)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Latvian ētika, ētika
- ētikastandards of conduct
- ētikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Malay etika
- etikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Māori matatika, tikanga matatika
- matatikastandards of conduct
- tikanga matatikastandards of conduct
- matatikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Norwegian Bokmål etikk, etikk
- etikkstandards of conduct
- etikkstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Persian اخلاق, ادب
- اخلاق (axlâq)standards of conduct
- ادب (adab)standards of conduct
- فلسفه اخلاق (falsafe-ye axlâq)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- علم اخلاق ('elm-e axlâq)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- اصول اخلاق (osul-e axlâq)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Polish etyka
- etykastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Portuguese ética, ética
- éticastandards of conduct
- éticastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Russian э́тика, э́тика
- э́тика (étika)standards of conduct
- э́тика (étika)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Slovak etika, etika
- etikastandards of conduct
- etikastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Spanish ética, ética
- éticastandards of conduct
- éticastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Swedish etik, etik
- etikstandards of conduct
- etikstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- sedelärastudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Tagalog kaasalan, asalan
- kaasalanstandards of conduct
- asalanstandards of conduct
- palaasalanstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- dalub-asalanstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- dalubasalanstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- asalanstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Thai จริยธรรม, จริยศาสตร์
- จริยธรรม (jà-rí-yá-tam)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- จริยศาสตร์ (jà-rí-yá-sàat)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Turkish ahlak, etik
- ahlakstandards of conduct
- etikstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Ukrainian е́тика, е́тика
- е́тика (étyka)standards of conduct
- е́тика (étyka)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Vietnamese luân lý, luân lý học
- luân lýstandards of conduct
- luân lý họcstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
- đạo đức họcstudy of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Yiddish עטיק
- עטיק (etik)study of principles governing right and wrong conduct
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
ethics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethics
MLA
“ethics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethics. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ethics,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethics.
Source: ethics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.