moralize
/ˈmɒrəlaɪz/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɔːrəlaɪz/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmȯr-ə-ˌlīz ˈmär-/ (ame, mw)
moralize — verb
- moralizepresent simple I / you / we / they
- moralizeshe / she / it
- moralizedpast simple
- moralizing-ing form
1. to keep telling other people, in a long and annoying way, which behaviours count
to keep telling other people, in a long and annoying way, which behaviours count as good or bad, often sounding as if you are better than them.
Uncle Vinícius spent the whole dinner moralizing about how young people no longer respect their elders.
moralize about + topic
Please stop moralizing — I just want practical advice about the bill, not a lecture.
imperative: stop moralizing
The columnist moralized at length on the dangers of social media for teenage girls.
Jiwoo rolled her eyes whenever her brother began to moralize about her late-night gaming.
Some readers felt the novel moralized too much, instead of letting the characters speak for themselves.
- preach
stronger negative tone; suggests the speaker is delivering a sermon to people who did not ask for it
- sermonize
very formal and clearly negative; emphasises the long, serious speech style
- lecture
broader; can be about any topic, while moralize is specifically about right and wrong
- pontificate
stresses speaking with an air of authority, not necessarily about morals
文法句型
moralize
moralize about + noun
moralize on + noun
用法筆記
Frequently negative in tone — the speaker sees the moralizer as preachy or self-righteous. Often pairs with 'about' or 'on' plus the topic; the person being lectured is usually implied, not named.
常見錯誤
2. to treat a story, event, or image as if its main purpose is to teach readers a l
to treat a story, event, or image as if its main purpose is to teach readers a lesson about good and bad behaviour.
Victorian writers often moralized children's fables, adding warnings about lying and laziness at the end.
moralize + a story / fable
Indra argued that critics should not moralize every painting that shows poverty or suffering.
transitive: moralize + a work of art
The director refused to moralize the war scenes, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions.
Older biographies tend to moralize a famous life, picking only the lessons that match their values.
- allegorize
more technical; treats a text as a hidden symbolic story, not only as a moral lesson
- interpret
broader and neutral; does not assume the reading is moral or judgmental
文法句型
moralize + noun phrase
moralize + a story / event / image
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is a story, image, or event that someone forces a moral reading onto, not a topic the speaker preaches about. Common in literary and art criticism.
常見錯誤
3. to make a person or group behave in a more moral way, by teaching, reforming, or
to make a person or group behave in a more moral way, by teaching, reforming, or setting strong rules.
Nineteenth-century reformers believed that public schools would moralize the children of the poor.
moralize + a social group
Nora founded the charity hoping it would moralize prison life rather than only punish offenders.
moralize + an institution
Critics argued that the new policy was an attempt to moralize the working class through fear of fines.
The pamphlets aimed to moralize young soldiers far from home and tempted by bad company.
- corrupt
means to make morally worse, the opposite movement
文法句型
moralize + a person / society / institution
用法筆記
Mostly appears in historical, religious, or sociological writing about reform movements. Object is usually a group (the poor, the army, the prison) rather than a single named person.