"Morals" are standards for right and wrong behavior, while "morale" is the motivation and drive to do something.

Moral

Morals¹ (noun) are principles for ethics and behavior that can differ from person to person and are influenced by culture, society, and family. Morals are standards of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in society.

His personal morals were heavily influenced by his religion.
People with no morals tend to feel little empathy.
Her morals and view of life changed as she grew older.
Morals, ethics, and etiquette vastly differ across different countries.

A moral² (noun) can also mean a lesson from a story. For example in The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Aesop, the moral of the story is to not lie.

The moral of the fable was to be aware of belittling things out of your reach.
There was a moral behind the story our teacher was telling us.
I didn’t understand the moral of the book until you explained it to me.
The moral of the movie was to not judge a book by its cover.

Moral¹ (adjective) means regarding or related to principles for ethics and behavior.

The experiment involved moral dilemmas that the subjects had a difficult time contemplating.
She had strict moral standards and tried her best to abide by them.
The philosophers studied different moral issues in great depth.
The witness felt like it was his moral obligation to testify in court.

Moral² (adjective) means holding high standards for proper conduct.

That gentleman over there is a very moral and righteous man.
She is a moral woman who would never gossip about anyone.
The criminal was a genius who was everything but moral.
My grandmother told me only kind and moral people will live happy lives.

Morale

Morale is the motivation, drive, enthusiasm, discipline, and confidence to execute an action. Morale can be raised with encouragement and cheering, while low morale is associated with low productivity and a lack of confidence.

The captain tried to raise morale by singing the school’s anthem.
Morale was at an all-time low when the company stocks plummeted.
The goalie had low morale after he failed to block four goals within 30 minutes.
The speech was a morale booster for the employees.

Practice questions

  1. She started to question her moral/morale standards when she started dating him.
  2. The stronger team had high moral/morale and was much more confident than the opposing team.
  3. The terrible results crushed my moral/morale to the point where I wanted to quit.
  4. He was not only moral/morale but highly empathetic and understanding.
  5. I had my own interpretation of what the moral/morale of the story was.
  6. The traumatic experiences influenced her moral/morale development.
  7. The cheerleaders were in charge of boosting the moral/morale of both the team and the audience.
  8. The woman decided to go against her morals/morales even though she knew she might regret it.
  9. My professor studies the different morals/morales and ethics that are unique to Asia.
  10. The moral/morale of the anecdote was to not trust strangers.

Answers:

  1. moral
  2. morale
  3. morale
  4. moral
  5. moral
  6. moral
  7. morale
  8. morals
  9. morals
  10. moral
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