ethical
adjective
eth·i·cal
ˈe-thi-kəl 
variants
or less commonly ethic
1
: of or relating to ethics
ethical theories
2
: involving or expressing moral approval or disapproval
ethical judgments
3
: conforming to accepted standards of conduct
ethical behavior
4
of a drug
: restricted to sale only on a doctor's prescription
Examples of ethical in a Sentence
Some doctors feel that this procedure is not medically ethical.
the ethical behavior expected of every member of the police force
Recent Examples on the Web
Many organizations are actively working on ethical AI frameworks to address bias and ensure fair, transparent decision-making processes.
—
Chaitanya Laxminarayana, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Maintaining an open dialogue around these issues is necessary to balance rapid technological advancement with crucial ethical and societal considerations.
—Francis Hellyer, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2025
As such, Anthropic has been highly attuned to finding ways to bake-in security, legal and ethical parameters to their models, to help businesses avoid problems down the road.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
That’s an impressive result with significant ethical, economic and social implications.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ethical
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show current usage.
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Chaitanya Laxminarayana, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Maintaining an open dialogue around these issues is necessary to balance rapid technological advancement with crucial ethical and societal considerations.
—Francis Hellyer, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2025
As such, Anthropic has been highly attuned to finding ways to bake-in security, legal and ethical parameters to their models, to help businesses avoid problems down the road.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
That’s an impressive result with significant ethical, economic and social implications.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ethical
Cite this Entry
“Ethical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethical. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ethical
adjective
eth·i·cal
ˈeth-i-kəl
1
: of or relating to ethics
2
a
: following accepted rules of conduct
b
: following professional standards of conduct
3
: sold only on a doctor's prescription
ethical drugs
Medical Definition
ethical
1 of 2 adjective
eth·i·cal
ˈeth-i-kəl
variants
also ethic
1
: conforming to accepted professional standards of conduct
2
of a drug
: restricted to sale only on a doctor's prescription
ethical
2 of 2 noun
: an ethical drug
Legal Definition
ethical
adjective
eth·i·cal
ˈe-thi-kəl
1
: of or relating to ethics
2
: conforming to accepted professional standards of conduct
ethically
adverb
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