deontology

Syllables: de·on·to·lo·gy/ˌdiːɒnˈtɒləd͡ʒi/US/diˌɑnˈtɑləd͡ʒi/

deontology noun: synonym of ethics (“the study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct”).

Noun

deontology (usually uncountable, plural deontologies)

(usually) 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...1826 October, Jeremy Bentham, “Art. VIII.—Observations on the Actual State of the English Law of Real Property, with the Outlines of a Code. By James Humphreys, Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn, Barrister. 8vo....
- The principle, then, on which Deontology is grounded, is the principle of Utility; in other words, that every action is right or wrong—worthy or unworthy—deserving approbation or disapprobation, in proportion to its tendency to contribute to, or to diminish the amount of public happiness.a. 1833 (date written), Jeremy Bentham, “Deontology Explained—Term Why Adopted”, in John Bowring, editor, Deontology; or, The Science of Morality: […], volume I, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Browne...
Synonyms:

moral philosophy, ethics
1. (specifically, usually) 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.

deontology meaning in Malay, Indonesian, Persian and Vietnamese

deontology in Malay

synonym of ethics — see also ethics: deontologi, tata susila

deontology in Indonesian

synonym of ethics — see also ethics: tata susila

deontology in Persian

synonym of ethics — see also ethics: اخلاق وظیفهگرا

deontology in Vietnamese

synonym of ethics — see also ethics: đạo nghĩa học

Synonyms of deontology

Forms of deontology

plural	deontologies

Origin of deontology

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).

Words formed from deontology

Words that rhyme with deontology

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about deontology

What does deontology mean?: Deontology means synonym of ethics (“the study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct”).
What is deontology in Malay?: Deontology in Malay is deontologi, tata susila. See Deontology meaning in Malay.
What part of speech is deontology?: Deontology is a noun.
How do you pronounce deontology?: Deontology is pronounced /ˌdiːɒnˈtɒləd͡ʒi/ (UK).
What is the plural of deontology?: The plural of deontology is deontologies.

Words near deontology in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: deontology (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-deontology.wav.

Cite this entry: “deontology.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deontology. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.