Moral vs. Morale How to Choose the Right Word

Youre not alone if you have trouble deciding when to use the look-alike words moral and morale. In present-day English, the adjective moral relates to what is considered to be behaviorally right and wrong, and the noun morale refers to a mental or emotional state. In the relatively recent past, however, the Oxford English Dictionary reports that morale meant the morals or morality of a person or group of persons, and moral was sometimes used to mean the mental or emotional state of a person or persons, although neither of these usages is common today. How to Use Moral The adjective moral (with the stress on the first syllable) characterizes an action or object as ethical or virtuous. When it is used as a noun, moral refers to the ethical lesson or principle taught by a story or event. In the plural form, morals refers to a persons beliefs with respect to right and wrong, as well as his qualities in the areas of sexual morality and ethics as perceived by others. Moral was first used in English when Gregory the Greats sixth-century exposition on the Book of Job in the Judeo-Christian Bible was translated—the Latin title was Magna Moralia. How to Use Morale The noun morale (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable) means spirit or attitude, the mental state of a person or group involved in an activity. Morale, however, was borrowed from the French moral, meaning something like esprit de corps or the feeling of pride members of a group hold in belonging. The term was respelled to morale in English to preserve the French stress on the final syllable. Examples Use moral as an adjective when youre referring to a persons understanding of right and wrong. Our mayor is an outstanding example of high moral standards.My mother had great moral courage as an immigrant shopkeeper.Anne found herself in a moral dilemma, caught between what was right for her and right for her family. Moral as a noun is the underlying meaning of a particular fable or tale. The Greek storyteller Aesop (circa 620–564 B.C.) always included explicit morality lessons in his fables to teach children how to be better people. The moral of Aesops fable The Fox and the Grapes, was that its easy to condemn what you cant have. In the plural, the term morals is used as a general statement about a persons moral philosophy or a set of personal standards of right and wrong. My grandmother always ended our conversations by telling me that she didnt care for the lax morals of todays young people. Use morale when you refer to the mental or spiritual state of an individual or group.   When the teacher announced a pop quiz, the morale of the class quickly sank. How to Remember the Difference Although the two words have the same root and allied meanings, its easy to remember that morale is a noun that means a spirit or attitude if you pronounce it to yourself as mo-RALLY and think of a rally that gets people excited and uplifts the group. Sources Fogarty, Mignon. Moral Versus Morale. Grammar Girls 101 Misused Words Youll Never Confuse Again. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 2011. p. 84.Moral. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.Moral, n.  OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018.â€Å"Morale.†Ã‚  Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.Morale, n.  OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018.