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Ethical vs Righteous - What's the difference?

ethical | righteous |

Righteous is a synonym of ethical.



As adjectives the difference between ethical and righteous

is that ethical is of or relating to the study of ethics while righteous is free from sin or guilt.

As a noun ethical

is an ethical drug.

As a verb righteous is

to make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin.

ethical

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (philosophy, not comparable) Of or relating to the study of ethics.
    • The philosopher Kant is particularly known for his ethical writings.
  • (not comparable) Of or relating to the accepted principles of right and wrong, especially those of some organization or profession.
    • All employees must familiarize themselves with our ethical guidelines.
  • (comparable) Morally approvable, when referring to an action that affects others; good.
    • We are trying to decide what the most ethical course of action would be.
  • (of a drug, not comparable) Only dispensed on the prescription of a physician.
    • In most jurisdictions, morphine is classified as an ethical drug.

    Usage notes

    * In general usage ethical'' is used to describe standards of behavior between individuals, while ''moral'' or ''immoral can describe any behavior. You can call lying unethical or immoral, for example, because it involves the behavior of one person and how it affects another, but violating dietary prohibitions in a holy text can only be described as immoral.

    Derived terms

    * ethical investment * ethical system * meta-ethical * (morally approvable) unethical

    Related terms

    * ethic * ethics * ethos

    See also

    * ethical dative

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An ethical drug.

    • External links

    * * *

    Anagrams

    *

    righteous

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • free from sin or guilt
  • moral and virtuous, suggesting sanctimonious
  • justified morally
  • (slang, US) awesome

    • Derived terms

    * righteousness * self-righteous

    Verb

    (es)
  • To make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin.
  • * 2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 101:
    • Thus for the purposes of being ‘righteoused ’, the Law was irrelevant; yet Paul could not bear to see all the Law disappear.