2023-03-28 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด I – Immoral & Amoral & Unmoral
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Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง Immoral = ‘ih-MAWR-uhl’ or ‘ih-MOR-uhl’
ออกเสียง Amoral = ‘ey-MAWR-uhl’ or ‘a-MAWR-uhl’
ออกเสียง Unmoral = ‘uhn-MAWR-uhl’
Dictionary.com
SYNONYM STUDY FOR IMMORAL
Immoral, abandoned, depraved
describe one who makes no attempt to curb self-indulgence.
Immoral, referring to conduct,
applies to one who acts contrary to
or does not obey or conform to standards of morality;
it may also mean licentious and perhaps dissipated.
Abandoned, referring to condition,
applies to one hopelessly, and usually passively,
sunk in wickedness and unrestrained appetites.
Depraved, referring to character,
applies to one who voluntarily seeks evil and viciousness.
Immoral, amoral, nonmoral, and unmoral
are sometimes confused with one another.
Immoral means not moral and
connotes evil or licentious behavior.
Amoral, non-moral, and unmoral,
virtually synonymous although the first is
by far the most common form,
mean utterly lacking in morals
(either good or bad), neither moral nor immoral.
However, since, in some contexts,
there is a stigma implicit in a complete lack of morals,
being amoral, nonmoral, or unmoral
is sometimes considered just as reprehensible as being immoral.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
immoral
violating moral principles; bad; wicked:
Stealing is an immoral act.
Not to be confused with:
amoral – neither moral nor immoral;
unaware of or indifferent to
questions of right or wrong:
Sometimes lawbreakers are simply amoral.
COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
USAGE FOR AMORAL
Amoral is often wrongly used where immoral is meant.
Immoral is properly used to talk about
the breaking of moral rules,
amoral about people who have no moral code
or about places or situations
where moral considerations do not apply
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language
Usage:
Amoral is sometimes confused with immoral.
The a- at the beginning of the word
means `without' or `lacking',
so the word is properly used of people
who have no moral code, or about places or situations
where moral considerations do not apply:
the film was violent and amoral.
In contrast immoral should be used to talk about
the breaking of moral rules.
as in: drug dealing is the most immoral
and evil of all human activities.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
A Lesson on '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 conscientious rejection
of typical moral standards and
has a connotation of evil or wrongdoing.
Nonmoral describes actions that are not usually
subject to moral concerns,
such as which 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 obligation is to do what is right,
and a moral lesson is 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 influenced or 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 adjective is the right choice when
describing nonhuman or inanimate things
incapable of understanding right and wrong.
But by extension, unmoral is also used for people
who seem deprived of 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 after the 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 behave in 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
another negative 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 act or action
is not subject to moral 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.
So in another part of the survey, we asked about basic cognitive faculties, like executing voluntary movements and object recognition…; about nonmoral personality change, like extroversion, sense of humor, creativity and intelligence….
— Nina Strohminger and Shaun Nichols, The New York Times, 23 Aug. 2015
"With recent changes in policy and changes about the way American adults are reporting how they think about marijuana—as less judgmental, as a nonmoral issue—we were curious about what's happening with youths," said Chris Salas-Wright, a UT social work professor and the report's lead author.
— The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, 25 Sep. 2018
'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 behavior is morally right or wrong"
—compendiously, "without morals."
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 illness
might be described as amoral.
These are illustrative examples, however;
amoral can be used to describe any person,
or his or her actions,
who is aware of 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
As noted earlier, the spirit of modern capitalism
shares with the historical forms of capitalism
… an alternative conception that favors pursuit of
as much wealth as can be attained.
Importantly, however, the spirit of modern capitalism differs
from what we might call this
"profiteering" ethos of amoral opportunism….
— Solomon Stein and Virgil Henry Storr, The Independent Review, Spring 2020
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 about morality.
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
but an 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
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 generally
or traditionally held moral principles.”
This word may describe a person who knows
the difference between right and wrong,
and deliberately chooses the wrong.
Amoral can mean “wrong,” or “being outside
or beyond the moral order or a 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 used for things
(and people) incapable of understanding right and wrong.
Common Errors in English Usage 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 generally or traditionally held moral principles.”
This word may describe a person
who knows the difference between right and wrong,
and deliberately chooses the wrong.
Amoral can mean “wrong,” or “being outside
or beyond the moral order or a 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 used for things (and people)
incapable of understanding right and wrong.
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