ethics
/ˈɛθ.ɪks/noun
ethics is spelled E-T-H-I-C-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ethics means “Morality” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ethics?
| Letters | 6: E-T-H-I-C-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,206th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ethics?
Ethics appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ethics?
- US /ˈɛθ.ɪks/
- Australia /ˈeθ.ɪks/
- /ˈeθ.əks/
Ethics has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ethics.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-ethics.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ethics?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ethics (/ɛθɪks/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: cishet.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does ethics mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Morality.
Her decision was guided by her strong personal ethics.
- 2
The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.
The professor teaches a course on business ethics.
- 3
The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
- 4
plural of ethic
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ethics in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense standards of conduct:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éthique |
| German | Verhaltenskodex, Ethik |
| Portuguese | ética |
| Spanish | ética |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ethics come from?
From Middle English etik, from Middle French ethique, from Late Latin ethica, from Ancient Greek ἠθική (ēthikḗ), from ἠθικός (ēthikós, “of or for morals, moral, expressing character”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, moral nature”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).