lack of virtue; immorality; vice; depravity; unworthiness
Refers to a deficiency in moral character or conduct. Often used in formal or literary contexts to describe personal failing or ethical shortcoming.
It is a result brought about by his lack of virtue.
The politician's immorality is being criticized.
He was deeply ashamed of his own moral failings.
悪徳 emphasizes active wrongdoing or corruption, whereas 不徳 refers to the mere absence or deficiency of virtue.
背徳 implies a betrayal of moral standards (often with a sense of transgression), while 不徳 simply denotes a lack of virtue without that connotation of betrayal.
徳 means virtue or moral excellence, the direct opposite of 不徳's lack of virtue.
Sino-Japanese compound of 不 (fu, 'not') and 徳 (toku, 'virtue'). The meaning is transparently derived from its components.