From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmoral victorymoral victorya situation in which you show that your beliefs are right and fair, even if you do not win Through Joan of Arc, France won a great moral victory. → moral
Examples from the Corpus
moral victory• The protesters have won at least a moral victory.• Although it saved them substantial costs, these cases were not exactly searing moral victories for the healthcare plans.• Those are the kinds of moral victories that eluded them in Game 1. 