deontology
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deontology
- /ˌdiːɒnˈtɒləd͡ʒi/ UK
- /diˌɑnˈtɑləd͡ʒi/ US
Rhymes with -ɒlədʒi
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek δέον (déon, “that which is binding, needful, proper, or right”) + English -ology (variant of -logy (suffix denoting a branch of learning or a study of a particular subject)). Δέον (Déon) is the neuter present participle of δεῖ (deî, “it behoves one to, it is necessary to, one must”), from δέω (déō, “to bind, tie; to fasten; to fetter”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₁- (“to bind”).
Sense 1 (“synonym of ethics”) was coined by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) to refer to censorial or dicastic ethics (ethics based on judgment), while sense 1.1 (“normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether the action follows certain obligations or rules”) derives from the use of the word deontological by the English philosopher Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971) in his book Five Types of Ethical Theory (1930).
noun deontologies
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Synonym of ethics (“the study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct”).
[Matthew Hale] was no reformer: nothing better than an expounder: every thing stated by him was stated as he found it, or conceived it to be: no inquiries as to what it ought to be: in the eyes of lawyers—not to speak of the dupes—that is to say, as yet, the generality of non-lawyers—the is and the
Similar: moral philosophy, ethics
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The normative ethical theory that the morality of an action is based on whether the action follows certain obligations or rules, rather than on its inherent goodness, consequences, etc.
Similar: moral philosophy
Translations
Every language
noun synonym of ethics — see also ethics
| Español | deontología |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 義務論 |
| 中文 | 本務論 /本务论 běnwùlùn, 道義論 /道义论 dàoyìlùn, 義務論 /义务论 yìwùlùn |
| Français | déontologie |
| Italiano | deontologia |
| Ελληνικά | δεοντολογία deontología |
| Русский | деонтология deontologija |
| Tiếng Việt | đạo nghĩa học |
noun normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether the action follows certain obligations or rules
| Français | déontologisme |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Deontologie |
Talk about this word "deontology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/deontology. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. deontology. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/deontology "deontology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/deontology.Cite this
@misc{deontology_2026,
title = {deontology},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/deontology},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
