phrasing - Another way of expressing "morally wrong" ideas


In an article I'm writing, I have the following sentence:



"It might be a bit of a moral gray area to..."



I go on to give an analogy to connect it to the topic I'm writing about, but I'm not liking the phrase "it might be a bit of a moral gray area." I'd like to re-phrase this sentence somehow, but I'm not sure how to express the idea of "a morally gray" area, if that makes sense. Something that... while it's not outright bad or illegal, it's also not ethically acceptable.... "or is it?" That's kind of where I'm stuck with phrasing. Any help, advice or ideas would greatly be appreciated.



Answer



"Morally dubious" would convey your meaning well. It carries the idea that someone could think the course of action might be defensible if they try hard enough but really it is not what a decent person would do.


It's very similar to @Miike's 'morally-questionable' but seems a little stronger in its condemnation to me.


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