moral victory
noun
: the achievement of something that is important and good
Although they lost, the minority claimed the vote as a moral victory since they had won the support of so many former opponents.
Examples of moral victory in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That moral battle, that moral victory, is maybe even more obvious than the political victory.
—
Rachel Handler, Vulture, 20 June 2024
The win amounts to a moral victory for Trump’s only remaining rival in the GOP race.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2024
He is poised to declare a moral victory for Russia and to take the credit if Obama backs away from intervention.
—Fiona Hill, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2013
That’s just a moral victory for a franchise that no longer tolerates them.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
The underdogs in those games went just 2-6 straight up, but 5-3 against the spread (not that any fan base is taking a moral victory from covering the spread this late in the season).
—Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
That was a moral victory because a costly mistake on an element in the short program a year ago had left her in 11th place, giving her a steep climb to her eventual fifth-place finish.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Unfortunately, this was a standard Patriots loss — close, but not quite.
Related: A moral victory?
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023
There is no moral victory in being a lone boycotter.
—John Hodgman, New York Times, 6 July 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rachel Handler, Vulture, 20 June 2024
The win amounts to a moral victory for Trump’s only remaining rival in the GOP race.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2024
He is poised to declare a moral victory for Russia and to take the credit if Obama backs away from intervention.
—Fiona Hill, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2013
That’s just a moral victory for a franchise that no longer tolerates them.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
The underdogs in those games went just 2-6 straight up, but 5-3 against the spread (not that any fan base is taking a moral victory from covering the spread this late in the season).
—Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
That was a moral victory because a costly mistake on an element in the short program a year ago had left her in 11th place, giving her a steep climb to her eventual fifth-place finish.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Unfortunately, this was a standard Patriots loss — close, but not quite.
Related: A moral victory?
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023
There is no moral victory in being a lone boycotter.
—John Hodgman, New York Times, 6 July 2023
Dictionary Entries Near moral victory
Cite this Entry
“Moral victory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral%20victory. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share