unethical
Pronunciation
- /ʌnˈɛθɪkəl/[1]
Etymology
It is formed from English un- + ethical.[2][3][4] The OED compares the rarer unethic.[3] Ethical, from about 1600, is itself formed from ethic and -al.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Not ethical, morally wrong: Etymonline finds it by 1844.[2] The OED's first record is from 1871, in E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture.[3][5]
Semantic evolution
Wiktionary dates the general sense "immoral" to the 19th century and the narrower one, breaching the accepted standards of conduct of an organization or profession, to the 20th.[1] Merriam-Webster's definition joins the two: not conforming to approved standards of behaviour, a social code, or the principles of a profession.[6] In law it is used for conduct that breaks moral norms or the standards of professional conduct.[7]
Timeline
Meanings
Adjective
- Not in accord with accepted moral standards, or with the rules of conduct of a profession; improper: The board found the doctor's billing practices unethical.[6][8][7]
Related words
Usage notes
It is often used interchangeably with immoral, but is sometimes distinguished from it as referring to breaches of specific, collectively agreed standards rather than of fundamental moral principles.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins