immoral
adj.describing behavior that is wrong or evil according to accepted standards of what is right. You use this for actions that break important moral rules.
adj.violating established principles of right and wrong; ethically unacceptable. Often used to describe conduct that is considered wicked or depraved rather than merely illegal.
“Many people believe that lying for profit is immoral.”
“The public condemned the company's decision to ignore safety warnings as deeply immoral and greedy.”
“Philosophers often debate whether an action can be legally permissible while remaining fundamentally immoral within a specific ethical framework.”
Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'be', 'seem', or 'become'.
Learners confuse 'immoral' (violating moral rules) with 'amoral' (lacking any moral sense or being indifferent to right and wrong).
“It’s about feeling that things aren’t right in the world, and that adults can do terrible or immoral things – but none of it will change you.”
From im- + moral.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.