pictorial advertisements for chic clothing and fragrances in which drug addiction and other forms of moral turpitude are depicted as alternative fashion statements

Recent Examples on the Web

Moral turpitude is a term applied generally to felonies like murder, child abuse, fraud and theft. Lorraine Longhi, The Arizona Republic, "Scottsdale Councilman Guy Phillips says he won't resign following backlash to 'I can't breathe' comments," 1 July 2020

City law requires that a person must first be convicted of a crime of moral turpitude before officials can take away a public employee’s pension, and Nuru’s court case has only barely begun. Dominic Fracassa, SFChronicle.com, "SF corruption case: Nuru resigns in wake of fraud charges," 10 Feb. 2020

The issue concerns a provision in the Alabama Constitution that says felons who commit crimes of moral turpitude lose their right to vote. Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, "Merrill corrects press release on felons’ voting rights," 6 Nov. 2019

Even today, nearly all states have laws that permit the dismissal of a teacher for immorality, immoral character or moral turpitude. Kyle Greenwalt, The Conversation, "Even when they aren’t fired for being pregnant or gay, teachers face strict moral demands," 22 Oct. 2019

That’s the outgrowth of a mind-set that views our most vulnerable populations as malingerers, rip-off artists or guilty of moral turpitude. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Trump proposes denying free school meals to a half-million children," 21 Oct. 2019

Some states, such as New Mexico and Kansas, limit the reasons for a recall to things such as malfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties and conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude. Anna Staver, The Denver Post, "After failed recall attempts, Colorado’s GOP is searching for its next move," 14 Sep. 2019

The fantasy role-playing game was, in the ’80s, considered by some as a ploy conceived by Satan to arouse moral turpitude. Max Londberg, kansascity, "Beyond ‘Satanic Panic’: Agent has theory on 30-year mystery of missing Kansas teen | The Kansas City Star," 8 Apr. 2018

Broad language allowing stars and distributors to be dropped if accused of misconduct is beginning to be included in negotiations in the wake of he Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey situations Moral turpitude? Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter, "#MeToo Hits Movie Deals: Studios Race to Add 'Morality Clauses' to Contracts," 7 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turpitude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.