immorality
Absence of virtue
Immorality is conduct that violates moral standards—behavior considered wrong, sinful, or corrupt.
The word often carries sexual connotations: arrested for immorality, a den of immorality.
But it applies broadly to any ethical violation: the immorality of war, corporate immorality.
What counts as immoral varies by culture, era, and belief system.
Extreme indulgence in vices
- perversionCorruption or deviant distortion
- degeneracyMoral or physical decline
- turpitudeInherent wickedness or vileness
- vilenessDespicable quality
sordidness · obscenity · licentiousness · lewdness · libertinism · dissipation · profligacy · lechery
Moral corruption or evil
- iniquityMoral wrongdoing, grave injustice
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- evilProfound moral wickedness
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
sacrilege · profanity · fornication · adultery · impurity · temptation · damnation · unrighteousness
Improper professional behavior
- offenseViolation or umbrage
- misdeedImmoral or illegal act
- violationBreaking of rules
- infractionMinor rule breach
crime · malpractice · transgression · breach · infringement · lawbreaking · misdemeanor · impropriety
Lacking moral standards
- unscrupulousLacking moral principles
- dishonorableLacking integrity or ethics
- unconscionableMorally unacceptable, beyond reason
- reprehensibleDeserving condemnation
wrongfulness · injustice · unfairness · exploitation · irresponsibility · negligence · malpractice · impropriety
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- graftIllicit political gain
- extortionObtaining through threats
- nepotismPreferring kin in hiring
cronyism · kickback · racketeering · malfeasance · profiteering · venality · exploitation · sleaze
Compulsive substance reliance
- gamblingBetting on uncertain results
- prostitutionCommercial sexual services
- gluttonyGreedy excess in consumption
- drunkennessImpaired state from alcohol
lust · greed · sloth · envy · wrath · pride · avarice · excess
Intentional misleading of others
- lyingStating known falsehoods
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- perjuryCriminal courtroom dishonesty
- falsificationDeliberate alteration of truth
fabrication · duplicity · deceit · dissembling · prevarication · swindle · forgery · cheating
debauchery
Extreme indulgence in vices
- perversionCorruption or deviant distortion
- degeneracyMoral or physical decline
- turpitudeInherent wickedness or vileness
vileness · sordidness · obscenity · licentiousness · lewdness · libertinism · dissipation · profligacy · lechery · lasciviousness
wickedness
Moral corruption or evil
- iniquityMoral wrongdoing, grave injustice
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- evilProfound moral wickedness
blasphemy · sacrilege · profanity · fornication · adultery · impurity · temptation · damnation · unrighteousness · godlessness
misconduct
Improper professional behavior
infraction · crime · malpractice · transgression · breach · infringement · lawbreaking · misdemeanor · impropriety · delinquency
unprincipled
Lacking moral standards
- unscrupulousLacking moral principles
- dishonorableLacking integrity or ethics
- unconscionableMorally unacceptable, beyond reason
reprehensible · wrongfulness · injustice · unfairness · exploitation · irresponsibility · negligence · malpractice · impropriety · misconduct
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- graftIllicit political gain
- extortionObtaining through threats
nepotism · cronyism · kickback · racketeering · malfeasance · profiteering · venality · exploitation · sleaze · scandal
addiction
Compulsive substance reliance
- gamblingBetting on uncertain results
- prostitutionCommercial sexual services
- gluttonyGreedy excess in consumption
drunkenness · lust · greed · sloth · envy · wrath · pride · avarice · excess · indulgence
deception
Intentional misleading of others
falsification · fabrication · duplicity · deceit · dissembling · prevarication · swindle · forgery · cheating · hoax
- moralityethics, right and wrong, conscience, ethical principles, ethical standards
- wrongdoingmisconduct, crime, sabotage, crimes, misbehavior
- vicesgreed, envy, lust, gluttony, vanity
- wrongswrong, wrongdoing, misdeed, mistake, error
- deviancedeviance, perversion, perversity, aberration, abnormality
- moral statesvirtue, vice, righteousness, wickedness, innocence
immoralitymorality
Right and wrong principles
virtue · righteousness · goodness · integrity · rectitude
immoralitydecency
Moral appropriateness in behavior
propriety · respectability · decorousness · seemliness · decorum