Revision A

2021-04- 30

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – amoral & immoral & unmoral

แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น

ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค

Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง amoral – adj. = ‘ey-MAWR-uhl’ ‘a-MAWR-uhl’

Amorality – noun ออกเสียง = ‘ey-muh -RAL-i-ee’

ออกเสียง immoral = ‘ih-MAWR-uhl’

ออกเสียง unmoral = ‘uhn-MAWR-uhl’

Unmoral – noun ออกเสียง = ‘uhn-muh -RAL-i-ee’

Dictionary.com

SYNONYM STUDY FOR IMMORAL

Immoral, abandoned, depraved

describe onewho makes no attempt to curb self-indulgence.

Immoral, referring to conduct,

appliesto one who acts contrary to

or does not obey or conform to standards of morality;

it may alsomean licentious and perhaps dissipated.

Abandoned, referring to condition,

appliesto one hopelessly, and usually passively,

sunk in wickednessand unrestrained appetites.

Depraved, referring to character,

appliesto one who voluntarily seeks evil and viciousness.

Immoral, amoral, nonmoral, and unmoral

are sometimesconfused with one another.

Immoral means not moral and connotes evil or licentious behavior.


Amoral, nonmoral, and unmoral, virtually synonymous

although the first is by far the most common form,

mean utterly lacking in morals (either good or bad),

neithermoral nor immoral.

However, since, in some contexts,

there is a stigma implicit

in a complete lack of morals,

being amoral, nonmoral, or unmoral

issometimes considered just as reprehensible as being immoral.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree

amoral

= neither moral norimmoral;

= unaware of or indifferentto questions of right or wrong:

Sometimes lawbreakers are simply amoral.

Not to be confused with:

immoral = violating moral principles; bad; wicked:

Stealing is an immoral act.

COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY

USAGEFOR AMORAL

Amoral is often wrongly used where immoral is meant.

Immoral is properly used to talk about

the breaking ofmoral rules,

amoral aboutpeople who have no moral code or

about places or situationswhere moral considerations do not apply

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Immoral & Amoral & Unmoral

All three of these words function by

putting a negative prefix on the word moral.

Of the three

immoral is the most purely antonymous of moral,

meaning

conflicting with generallyor traditionally held moral principles.”

This word may describe

a person who knowsthe difference between right and wrong,

and deliberatelychooses the wrong.

Amoral can mean “wrong,”

or“being outside

orbeyond the moral order

ora particular code of morals,”

but can also exist in between moral and its antonym,

with the meaning “being neither moral nor immoral.”

Unmoral can mean

"having no moral perception or quality"

or"not influenced or guided by moral considerations,”

and is often usedfor things (and people)

incapable of understanding right and wrong.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Our Antedating of the Week: 'immoral'

This week our antedating is immoral,

a word defined as “not moral,”

and, in a broad sense,

conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles.”

Someone is always being immoral somewhere or other,

and it turns out the word for this behavior is a bit older than we thought.

Our earliest record of use had come in 1660, but recent findings show

that we’ve been calling people and things immoral

since almost a century prior to that date.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Usage Notes

A Lessonon 'Unmoral', 'Immoral', 'Nonmoral', and 'Amoral'

All of them have prefixes meaning "not."

So, which to use when?

What to Know

Unmoral refers to those having no moral perception.

It is best used for animals or inanimate objects

incapable of considering moral concerns,

but can also be used for humans lacking the same.

Immoral refers to

a conscientiousrejection of typical moral standards

and has a connotationof evil or wrongdoing.

Nonmoral describesactions

that are not usuallysubject to moral concerns,

such aswhich shirt to wear.

Finally, amoral

implies an awareness of moral standards,

but a lack of concern for them while acting.

Moral derives from the Latin word meaning "custom"

that also gave English mores,

which refers to customs, values, and behaviors

that are accepted by a particular group.

As an adjective,

moral describes people or things

that follow accepted customs or behavior.

For example,

a person's moral obligationis to do what is right,

and a moral lessonis one that teaches what is right.

As a noun,

moral refers to

a lesson learned from a story or an experience

("the moral of the story is to be satisfied with what you have");

 plural morals

denotes the proper ideas and beliefs about how to act or behave,

as in"a person with no morals"

or"the company's actions demonstrate a lack of morals."

Common offshoots

of righteous moral

are unmoral, immoral, nonmoral, and amoral,

and they are not innocent; in fact, they are mischievous.

A couple of them have specific meanings

that not everyone is aware of, which cause misuse of the words,

and a couple are sometimes confused with each other.

Consider this article a lesson on the meaning and usage

of these negatively-prefixed words that are similar but not the same.

Unmoral' Meaning

Unmoral is the first of the gang to be recorded in English writing,

in the early 17th century.

Having the prefix un-, meaning "not,"

the word denotes"having no moral perception or quality"

(e.g., "the unmoral, critter-killing feline")

 or "not influencedor guided by moral considerations"

("unmoral, greedy corporations").

Unmoral can also mean "lying outside the bounds of morals or ethics,"

and in this sense,it is synonymous with amoral.

All in all,

the question of morality is irrelevant to that which is called "unmoral,"

so, the adjectiveis the right choice

when describing nonhuman orinanimate

things incapable of understanding right and wrong.

But by extension,

unmoral is also used for people

who seem deprivedof human moral perception.

"Many young people today are unmoral rather than immoral,"

Judge Leahy explained 72 years ago.

"Because they have been reared in homes with such low standards of marriage and family behavior, they actually don’t know right from wrong."
— Gary Brown, The Repository (Canton, Ohio), 9 July 2018

'Immoral' Meaning

The negative prefix im- connects with moral

soon afterthe formation of unmoral.

Immoral describes a person or behavior

that conscientiously goes against accepted morals

—that is, the proper ideas and beliefs

about how to behavein a way that is

considered right and good by the majority of people.

Immoral connotes the intent of evilness or wrongdoing,

and it is a true antonym of moral.

'Nonmoral' Meaning

Decades, centuries, go by before moral

is linked to anothernegative prefix, non- (in the 19th century).

Nonmoral has the specific meaning of

"not falling into or existing in the sphere of morals or ethics."

Thus, a nonmoral actor action

is not subject tomoral judgment

because morality is not taken into consideration.

Spilling milk is a nonmoral act,

and although you might be judged

by the clothes you wear,

your decision to wear them is nonmoral.

'Amoral' Meaning

Amoral appears in the late 1800s.

The prefix a- means "not" or "without,"

as in atypical or asymptomatic.

The dictionary definition of amoral is

"having or showing no concern about

whether behavioris morally right or wrong"

—compendiously, "withoutmorals."

For example,

an infant, unlearned in what is right and wrong, is amoral;

someone who lacks the mental ability to understand right or wrong

due to illnessmight be described as amoral.

These are illustrative examples, however;

amoral can be used to describe any person, or his or her actions,

who is awareof what is right and wrong but does wrong anyway

and responds indifferently about it.

… if you hooked him up to a lie detector test,

he could say one thing in the morning, one thing at noon,

and one thing in the evening, all contradictory

and he would pass the lie detector each time.

Whatever lie he is telling at that minute, he believes it.

But the man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him.
— Ted Cruz, quoted in The Examiner (Washington, DC), 3 May 2016

Additionally, amoral means "being neither moral nor immoral,"

or specifically "lying outside the sphere

to which moral judgments apply."

It's almost a truism, art is amoral.

Art doesn't care aboutmorality.

Art may have to deal with morality, but art in its own marshaling of the materials given to it is only looking for art.

It's looking how to make an effect, an impact.
— Henry Bean, NPR, 27 Sept. 2001

Summarizing the Difference

The moral of this article is

unmoral is reserved for things (and sometimes people)

incapable of understanding right and wrong.

Immoral describes people who can differentiate

between right and wrong

but intentionally do wrong anyway.

Nonmoral is used when morality is clearly not an issue,

and amoral implies

acknowledgment of what is right and what is wrong

butan unconcern for morality when carrying out an act.

Confusion of these words might be regarded

by some people as a moral offense so heed this lesson.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Trending: ‘amoral

Lookups spiked 4,300% on January 2nd, 2018

Why are people looking up amoral?

In an interview with the New York Times,

former Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid

made a distinctionbetween two closely related adjectives:

Trump is an interesting person. He is not immoral but is amoral.

Amoralis

when you shoot someone in the head, it doesn’t make a difference.

No conscience.

What does amoral mean?

Amoral is defined as

"having or showing no concern about

whether behavior is morally right or wrong."

Where does amoral come from?

Both amoral and immoral

use Latin prefixesattached to moral.

Moral derives from the Latin word meaning "custom"

that also gave us mores.

The prefix a- means "not" or "without" (think ahistorical)

and the prefix im- means "not" (think impossible).

Immoral is the older word in English, dating to the mid-1600s;

amoral was first used in the late 1700s.

What is notable about this use of amoral?

A subtle distinctionis made

betweenthe meanings of amoral and immoral

that is connected with their classical prefixes:

amoral denotes"without morals" and

immoral denotes "not moral" or "against acceptedmorals,"

with the implicationthat,

in the case of the latter term, (immoral)

expected standardsare understood and breached,

whereas, with amoral,

expected standards of moral behavior

are either unknownor unrecognized.

Dictionary of Problem Words in English

amoral & immoral & unmoral

Amoral means

not concerned with moral standards,”

not to be judged by the criteria or standards of morality.”

Animals and morons may be considered amoral.

Immoral means

“wicked,”

“depraved,”

contrary to accepted principles of right and wrong.”

The acts of thieves, rapists, and murderers are immoral.

Unmoral means

“having no morality,”

“unable to distinguish right from wrong.”

Thus, an infant or a mentally retarded person

may be consideredunmoral.

Amoral, unmoral,and the less-used nonmoral are virtual synonyms.

Dictionary of Problem Words in English

amoral& immoral & unmoral

Amoral means

“not concerned with moral standards,”

“not to be judged by the criteria or standards of morality.”

Animals and morons may be considered amoral.

Immoral means

“wicked,”

“depraved,”

“contrary to accepted principles of right and wrong.”

The acts of thieves, rapists, and murderers are immoral.

Unmoral means

“having no morality,”

“unable to distinguish right from wrong.”

Thus, an infant or a mentally retarded person

may be considered unmoral.

Amoral, unmoral, and the less-used nonmoral

are virtually synonyms.