English is a very inclusive language. It has been taken in words from Arabic, French, Germanic, Latin, etc.
Many exciting words in English have similar sounds and look similar; these are called Homophones. Although the terms are identical, their meanings and usage are significantly different.
Key Takeaways
- “Moral” relates to principles or rules of right conduct, ethics, and values that guide human behavior.
- “Morale” is an individual or group’s emotional or mental state, particularly regarding confidence, enthusiasm, and loyalty.
- The distinction between the two lies in their focus: “moral” concerns ethical principles, while “morale” addresses the psychological well-being of individuals or groups.
Moral vs Morale
The difference between moral and morale is that moral refers to the ethics and values of a person or ethics or values derived from a story or event. In contrast, morale is the enthusiastic confidence and determination of a person or a group. Moral is something that describes an individual, while morale is the measure of the degree of enthusiasm value to work or to do something.
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For example, we say:
- The moral of the story is that we must respect natural resources and conserve them.
- The morale of the soldiers must be kept high.
For better clarity,
- The story’s moral is that our morale must always be high, no matter how high the loss is.
Comparison Table
Parameter of Comparison | Moral | Morale |
---|---|---|
Meaning | Moral refers to a person’s ethical values and life rules or those derived from an event or story. | Morale refers to the degree of confidence, determination, or enthusiasm of a person or group. |
Type of Speech | It can be a noun (values derived from a story) or an adjective (an individual’s values). | It can only be a noun (this is something that a group or a person has). |
Origin | It originated from the Latin Language. | It originated from the French language. |
Pronunciation | It is pronounced by stressing over the first vowel. | It is pronounced by stressing more over the second vowel. |
Example | · One must always abide by their morals. · It is your moral obligation to stand against wrong. | · I have lost two straight matches, and my morale is low. · High morale is crucial to success. |
What is Moral?
Moral denotes values, ethics, some societal rules, and some principles a person possesses. It can be used as a noun or as an adjective.
Noun: Moral becomes a noun if it denotes the values gained from an incident or a story. The most common use in this case is,
- The moral of the story is that honesty is the best policy.
- Hence, the moral of today is that you can’t win over him unless you practice every day.
Adjective: Moral is an adjective when it is used to describe a person. It then acts as an attribute.
- He would always abide by his moral values.
- She has her morals.
The origin of word is found in Latin. It is pronounced by emphasizing the first vowel or the first syllable.
Moral values like honesty, respect for elders and society, compromise and consensus, and justice.
What is Morale?
Morale is the measured degree of excitement, belief, and eagerness that a group or individual possesses while working on something or some project. It is used as a noun only.
Noun: It measures the excitement or passionate feelings and emotions of a group of individuals.
- I lost my morale after I broke my leg in the accident.
- Their morale is high; they will surely succeed.
The origin of word is found in the French language. It is pronounced by putting more emphasis on the second vowel or syllable.
Morale is always measured in qualitative terms. It can be “high” or “low”.
It is the level of psychological well-being and self-motivation for any future work. It is widely known that the higher morale, the higher the productivity of an individual or employees.
Morale can be boosted by incentivizing individuals with perks and offers or skill development courses and training. Having skills would allow people to work more confidently and with time efficiency; therefore, there would be two rounds of morale-boosting.
One is the initial level where training lifts morale, and two is boosted because of time efficiency and higher confidence.
Main Differences Between Moral and Morale
- Moral refers to a person or group’s principles, rules, and ethical values. It can also refer to the importance or lesson gained from a story or real-life events. In contrast, morale refers to the degree of enthusiasm a group or an individual possesses while working.
- Moral can be used as nouns and adjectives, while Morale can only be nouns. Moral is a noun when we consider something gained from an incident, while an adjective describes attributes of an individual, a group, or a society.
- Moral has a Latin Origin, while Morale has a French origin.
- Moral is pronounced by emphasizing the first vowel or first syllable, while we emphasize the second vowel or second syllable more while pronouncing morale.
- For example, The moral of the story is that morale is the key to success. Moral refers to something gained from the report or event, while morale refers to the confidence and determination of a person or a group.
Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.