moralize

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to make comments or judgments about right and wrong, often in a self-righteous or tedious way

   The narrator pauses to moralize about ambition and vanity.

2. 2
   verb

   to draw out or explain the moral lesson of a story or event

   The teacher asked the class to discuss the fable without moralizing it too quickly.

3. 3
   verb

   to improve or reform the moral character of someone or something

   The campaign claimed that education would moralize public life.

Borrowed from Old French moraliser and equivalent to moral + -ize. Moral ultimately comes from Latin moralis, 'concerning conduct or customs,' from mos, moris, 'custom.'

Topics