Ethics: Upper-intermediate Spanish vocabulary

51 Spanish words about ethics at upper-intermediate level. Each entry links to the full meaning, a real example sentence, and usage notes written for English speakers.

• libertadnounfreedom, liberty
• violencianounviolence — behaviour involving physical force causing harm; intense force
• victimanounvictim — a person harmed or killed by another or by an event
• justicianounjustice — the principle of fair treatment and equitable distribution; also the legal system
• juicionounjudgement, assessment — an opinion or conclusion reached through reasoning; also a trial
• riquezanounwealth, riches — an abundance of valuable resources or material possessions
• límitenounlimit, boundary
• responsabilidadnounresponsibility, accountability — the obligation to act in a certain way or to answer for the consequences of one's actions
• posturanounstance, position — a way of thinking about or approaching something
• abusonounabuse, misuse
• reputacionnounreputation — the opinions held about someone or something by the public
• conciencianounawareness, conscience
• privilegionounprivilege — an unearned advantage or benefit enjoyed by a person or group due to social position or circumstances
• virtudnounvirtue — a quality or behaviour showing high moral standards
• desigualdadnouninequality, disparity
• dignidadnoundignity — the inherent worth and right to respectful treatment owed to every person
• engañarverbto deceive, to mislead
• vicionounvice — immoral or wicked behaviour; a weakness of character
• venganzanounrevenge, vengeance — the action of hurting someone in return for hurt done to you
• vulnerableadjectivevulnerable
• discriminaciónnoundiscrimination — the unjust treatment of a person or group based on a characteristic
• prejuicionounprejudice — a preconceived negative judgement about a person or group formed without adequate evidence
• integridadnounintegrity
• equidadnounequity — proportional fairness that accounts for individual need, contrasted with strict equality
• moraladjectivemoral — relating to principles of right and wrong behaviour
• éticoadjectiveethical — relating to moral principles; conforming to accepted standards of conduct
• tolerancianounwillingness to accept beliefs, customs or behaviour different from one's own
• íntegroadjectiveupright, honest
• corruptoadjectivecorrupt — morally compromised through bribery or abuse of power
• dudosoadjectivedoubtful — uncertain in outcome; also: questionable in quality or morality
• malvadoadjectivewicked, evil — morally bad or deliberately harmful
• honornounhonour, integrity — a quality of high moral character and public respect
• perjudicarverbto harm, to damage
• humanidadnounhumanity, humankind — the human race as a whole; also the quality of being compassionate
• contaminar (reputación)verbto taint, to blight
• inflarverbto inflate, to distort upwards
• intenciónnounintention, intent — the aim or plan behind an action
• castigarverbto punish, to penalise
• juzgarverbto judge, to assess
• misericordianounmercy, compassion — willingness to forgive or be kind towards those in distress
• reflexionarverbto reflect, to think carefully
• manipularverbto manipulate, to control
• descuidarverbto neglect, to fail to care for
• obligaciónnounobligation, duty — a moral or legal requirement to act in a certain way
• ofenderverbto offend, to upset
• oprimirverbto oppress, to subjugate
• respetarverbto respect; to comply with
• recompensarverbto reward
• sacrificar(se)verbto sacrifice
• principionounprinciple — a fundamental truth or belief serving as a foundation
• voluntarioadjectivevoluntary, optional — done of one's own free will; 'participación voluntaria'; 'jubilación voluntaria' = voluntary redundancy