moralist
Virtue's stern advocate
A moralist is someone who teaches or promotes moral principles, or who comments on questions of right and wrong.
The term often carries a critical edge, suggesting someone who moralizes—who lectures others about proper behavior with an air of superiority: He's such a moralist about other people's drinking habits.
A moralist may also be a philosopher or writer who examines ethical questions: the French moralists of the seventeenth century.
Feigning moral superiority
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
- preachyExcessively moralizing in tone
- censoriousSeverely critical in judgment
disapproving · condemning · puritanical · prudish · finger-wagging · moralizing · lecturing · scolding
Religious sermon deliverer
- sermonClergy's worship address
- pietySincere religious devotion
- pulpitChurch speaking platform
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
salvation · proselytize · evangelize · homily · clergy · gospel · sanctity · zealot
Moral soundness and consistency
- conscientiousScrupulously careful and thorough
- scrupulousThorough and principled
- honorableHaving high moral standards
- ethicalConforming to moral principles
steadfast · incorruptible · upstanding · conviction · backbone · character · rectitude · probity
Moral tale composer
- didacticIntended to instruct
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- AesopAncient Greek fable writer
cautionary tale · satire · social critic · aphorism · maxim · La Fontaine · edifying · instructive
Study of right conduct
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
- ethicistExpert in moral theory
- deontologyMorality based on obligations
- utilitarianismGreatest-happiness moral theory
consequentialism · virtue · normative · bioethics · metaethics · relativism · autonomy · duty
sanctimonious
Feigning moral superiority
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
- preachyExcessively moralizing in tone
censorious · disapproving · condemning · puritanical · prudish · finger-wagging · moralizing · lecturing · scolding · fault-finding
preacher
Religious sermon deliverer
righteousness · salvation · proselytize · evangelize · homily · clergy · gospel · sanctity · zealot · devotion
integrity
Moral soundness and consistency
- conscientiousScrupulously careful and thorough
- scrupulousThorough and principled
- honorableHaving high moral standards
ethical · steadfast · incorruptible · upstanding · conviction · backbone · character · rectitude · probity · high-minded
fabulist
Moral tale composer
- didacticIntended to instruct
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
Aesop · cautionary tale · satire · social critic · aphorism · maxim · La Fontaine · edifying · instructive · exemplum
ethics
Study of right conduct
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
- ethicistExpert in moral theory
- deontologyMorality based on obligations
utilitarianism · consequentialism · virtue · normative · bioethics · metaethics · relativism · autonomy · duty · principle
- judgmental typesmoralizer, prig, prude, puritan, holier-than-thou
- French ClassicismRacine, La Fontaine, Pascal, classicism, Tartuffe
- criticscritic, critics, criticizer, criticizers, faultfinder
- storytellersstorytellers, narrator, narrators, tale-teller, tale spinner
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- dissidentsdissident, dissidents, dissenter, rebel, Sakharov
moralistlibertine
One lacking moral restraint
immoralist · hedonist · amoralist · libertarian · nihilist
moralistlibertine
One lacking moral restraint
misbehaver · profligate · reprobate · debauchee · rake
moralistethicist
Expert in moral theory
moral philosopher · pragmatist · cynic · realist · amoralist
- Victorian moralityRigid 1800s social standards
- morality taleStory conveying ethical instruction
- morality playsDidactic medieval dramas
- Christian moralityMoral system from Christ's teachings
- sexual moralityStandards for intimate conduct
- morality policeEthics enforcement authority
morality, immorality, moralistic, moralize, moralism, moralists, amorality, moralistically