moral compass
/ˌmɔɹəl ˈkʌmpəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.66 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An inner sense that distinguishes right from wrong, functioning as a guide for morally appropriate behavior.
noun
A belief system, person, etc., serving as a guide for morally appropriate behavior.
Example Sentences
- "To every sane man in all climes and ages the great Creator has given a moral compass to enable him to avoid the wrong and follow the right. This moral compass we call conscience."
- "He steered by the guidance of his own peculiar moral compass, regardless of the rough waters through which it led him."
- "They hustle and scheme without moral compass, trying to survive by making accommodations that are at best temporary, more often delusional."
- "I think he did absolutely the right thing, because according to his own personal moral compass, interfering with someone else's marriage was a sin."
- "Popular podcaster and public intellectual Sam Harris, who publicly ended his friendship with Musk, wrote in a January newsletter: “There is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality.”"
- "Their catastrophe stemmed from disregarding Christian doctrine: radix malorum est cupiditas (greed is the root of all evil). Without a moral compass, [Robert] Stone's characters cannot even plead ignorance."
Etymology
From moral (“of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour; conforming to a standard of right behaviour”) + compass (“device used to determine the cardinal directions”), from the fact that a compass indicates various directions on its face (sense 3), and enables its user to find the correct direction to go in (sense 1).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmɔɹəl ˈkʌmpəs/
- British English: /ˌmɒɹəl ˈkʌmpəs/