in foro conscientiae

adverb

Morally, but not necessarily legally.

Meanings

adverbin foro conscientiae (not comparable)

alternative in foro conscientiæ

  1. not comparableMorally, but not necessarily legally.

    Thoſe human laws, that annex a puniſhment to it, do not at all increaſe it’s moral guilt, or ſuperadd any freſh obligation in foro conſcientiae to abſtain from it’s perpetration.

    1765, William Blackstone, “Introduction”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, section II (Of the Nature of Laws in General), pages 42–43
    1 more example

    The principle of the censorship is still uncompromisingly maintained by the Roman Catholic Church; and this, though in general binding only in foro conscientiae, has necessarily had considerable importance in states which recognize the papacy as an independent power relations with which are established by concordat.

    1911, Press Laws, entry in Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, vol. 22, p. 300

Origin

  1. Latinin forō cōnscientiae“in the court of conscience”
  2. Englishin foro conscientiae

Learned borrowing from Latin in forō cōnscientiae (“in the court of conscience”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

in foro conscientiae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20foro%20conscientiae

MLA

“in foro conscientiae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20foro%20conscientiae. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in foro conscientiae,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20foro%20conscientiae.

Source: in foro conscientiae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.