unethical
Eating the last cookie without sharing? That's just mean. But if you stole that cookie and then lied about it, that would be morally wrong, or unethical.
The prefix un- means "not," so something or someone who's unethical is literally "not ethical." In other words, that someone is lacking principles or morals. Because being unethical involves going against social or professional expectations of what's right, it's a word that's often used to describe bad behavior or immoral conduct. So like the great philosophers, you can decide if Cookie Monster has an ethics problem — or just bad eating habits.
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not conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior“unethical business practices”
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Synonyms:
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wrong
contrary to conscience or morality or law
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Antonyms:
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ethical
conforming to accepted standards of social or professional behavior
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right
in conformance with justice or law or morality
- show more antonyms...
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wrong
/ˈənˌɛθəkəl/
/ənˈɛθɪkəl/
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Vocabulary lists containing unethical
Jameela is excited to work on the staff of her school newspaper, but she must deal with a tough editor-in-chief, the prolonged absence of her father, and her sister's serious illness.
Learn these words that begin with the common prefix un-, meaning "not."
Prepare for the TOEFL Exam by learning these words that begin with the common prefix un-, meaning "not."
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