as in puritanism
a tendency to care a great deal about seemly behavior and morals especially in sexual matters
the moralism that the candidate displays on the campaign trail is seen by some as hypocritical
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Recent Examples of moralism
Much of Ian MacKaye’s progressive moralism comes from his Episcopal upbringing.
—
Chris R. Morgan, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
In sport as in war and education, there was a moralism and fundamental masculinity associated with the band ensemble.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
Trend forecasters were proclaiming that Trump’s reelection represented a cultural shake-up in addition to a governmental one, replacing the stiff moralism of wokeness with cowboy rowdiness and chic nihilism.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025
The Return of the Global South Realism, not moralism, drives a new critique of western power.
—Kal Raustiala, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for moralism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moralism
puritanism
Noun
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Inevitably, puritanism is going to come out and come back and go away.—
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He in turn was denounced for what many thought was an old-fashioned puritanism and what many also thought was jealousy — the production was directed by his successor at Yale, Lloyd Richards.—
Cite this Entry
“Moralism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moralism. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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