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Glite Dictionary
📚 A moral teacher ⚖️ A strict judge
moralist

moralist

3 7.0
A person who insists others follow strict rules about right and wrong
  • noun
  • /ˈmɔrəlɪst/
translation icon : moralista
  • I consulted the strictest moralist to learn how to appear.
  • right-wing moralists

The writer's response to the man of action, the moralists response to the wayward warrior.

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Examples

  • We're scientists, not moralists.

    The Doctor and the Devils (1985)

  • Surely Mr. Bush did not surpass his predecessor, President Ronald Reagan, as a moralist.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The fact is that you were almost a moralist, little brother.

    Vixen! (1968)

  • I am not a moralist, Sergeant.

    Moulin Rouge (1952)

  • We are not moralists here, let alone police.

    Tender Is the Night (1962)

  • Gingrich and his team are moralists who are totally committed to their vision of virtue.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Conventionally, moralists contrast "an ethics of obligations" with "an ethics of aspiration."

    Academic text (1991)

  • Even in this age of modernity, when war is detested as an act of immorality, there are moralists who defend the so-called "just war."

    Academic text (2007)

  • Mme. Casaubon, the doyenne of village moralists, foresaw disasters.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The moralist insisted that everyone should follow the guidelines of honesty and integrity.

Synonyms

stickler
vsmoralist
21 7.9

A person who always wants things done exactly and carefully

prioritizes enforcing moral rules rather than picky standards of quality
disciplinarian
vsmoralist
11 6.6

A person who makes others follow strict rules

focuses on moral rightness and behaviour conformity rather than general discipline
puritan
vsmoralist
6 7.2

A person who thinks people should follow very strict moral or religious rules and dislikes fun

demands conformity to accepted moral rules broadly, not only religious austerity
martinet
vsmoralist
2 9.4

A person who insists that others follow rules exactly

demands conformity specifically to moral standards rather than general discipline
prescriptivist
vsmoralist
1 8.7

A person who supports strict rules about language and grammar

applies strictness to moral behaviour across life rather than language usage
bluenose
vsmoralist
  • Offensive
1 9.3

A person who is strict about morals and proper behavior

actively demands conformity to established moral rules rather than merely disapproving
moralizer
vsmoralist
1 6.3

A person who often tells others what is right or wrong

demands strict outward conformity to moral rules rather than mainly lecturing others
rigorist
vsmoralist
  • Formal
9.5

A person who is very strict about following rules, especially in religion or ethics

emphasizes enforcing social moral standards rather than personal doctrinal purity

How Judgmental

critic
563 3.0
moralist
3 7.0
crusader
32 5.6
observer
305 2.8

Surface Forms

moralist singular
moralists plural

Morphology

moralist = moral (transparent) = moral + ist

Agentive derivation from 'moral' is semantically direct even when used pejoratively to mean someone strict about morals.

Etymology

Moralist comes from moral, which meant 'customs', so imagine someone who insists everyone follow those customs closely and behave as the rules say. That's why a moralist can mean a person who demands that others 'stick to the rules'.