morally bankrupt
7
7.4
- adjective
- /ˈmɔrəli ˈbæŋkrʌpt/
:
moralmente en quiebra
- A company that exploits its workers for profit is morally bankrupt.
- morally bankrupt and corrupt
- morally bankrupt system
I mean, it is a completely morally bankrupt, corrupt organization.
- I mean, it is a completely morally bankrupt, corrupt organization.
- And he personally knows how transactional and morally bankrupt Donald Trump is.
- But the line drawn between probably legally fine and morally bankrupt is a very clear and obvious line.
- Do you think that corporations and these businesses are like a little bit evil, a little bit morally bankrupt?
- It shows you how cowardly and really morally bankrupt these people are based off conversations I've had with people within the NCAA, probably.
Examples
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Any university administrator that tolerates this is morally bankrupt.
Academic text (1992) -
According to Avenarius, the proliferation of the spy film in the West showed yet again that Western culture was morally bankrupt.
Academic text (2017) -
Like, why do we need morally bankrupt people in these huge positions of power?
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It's a morally bankrupt belief.
-
I mean, it is a completely morally bankrupt, corrupt organization.
-
Any people who support the man who ordered this execution are morally bankrupt.
Blog text (6) -
But the line drawn between probably legally fine and morally bankrupt is a very clear and obvious line.
-
Even the ineffective and morally bankrupt U.N. changed its attitude toward Israel slightly.
Academic text (2013) -
We must fight hard and not hesitate to play some mean hardball with these morally bankrupt panderers.
Blog text (15) -
That's morally bankrupt.
Synonyms
144
4.6
Not following what most people think is right or wrong
8
6.6
Willing to do wrong to get what you want
4
8.1
Completely dishonest and morally bad in every part
1
8.5
A person who does not have strong moral principles and is likely to do dishonest or unfair things
1
9.5
Not feeling guilty about doing bad or dishonest things
Antonyms
How Moral
Surface Forms
Morphology
This phrase uses a metaphorical extension of the financial sense of 'bankrupt' (lacking resources) combined with 'morally' to mean 'lacking moral principles.' The mapping from 'bankrupt' → 'lacking' is fairly predictable and common cross-linguistically, so learners who know both words will often infer the meaning, but it still depends on a metaphorical transfer rather than fully literal composition.
Etymology
Morally bankrupt takes the idea of being bankrupt, that is, 'having no money', and applies it to a person's morals. So someone who is morally bankrupt is seen as having no moral values left and no sense of right and wrong.