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honesty

noun

hon·es·tyˈä-nə-stē How to pronounce honesty (audio)

plural honesties

Synonyms ofhonesty next

:adherence to the facts:sincerity

doubted thehonesty of the witness

:fairness and straightforwardness of conduct

calling forhonesty in politics

:any of a genus (Lunaria) of European and southwest Asian plants of the mustard family that have toothed hairy leaves, small white or violet flowers, and flat silvery seedpods that aresiliques

especially:a European biennial (Lunaria annua) that is often grown for its ornamental disk-shaped seedpods:money plantsense 1

obsolete:chastity

Synonyms

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Choose the Right Synonym forhonesty

honesty,honor,integrity,probity mean uprightness of character or action.

honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way.

honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position.

integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge.

probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.

Examples ofhonesty in a Sentence

She is admired for her kindness and herhonesty. He demandshonesty from everyone who works for him. He didn't even have enoughhonesty to tell me he was leaving.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.

Pet names can be love, but love withouthonestyis just sugar without substance.—

Mark Travers,Forbes.com, 9 May 2025Vasquez also stressed the importance of public trust, transparency andhonestyin rebuilding city departments’ credibility.—

Mike Hendricks,Kansas City Star, 8 May 2025What’s more important in a friendship: uncomfortablehonestyor unconditional support?—

Emily McClanathan,Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025Conversely, each successive generation is less likely than the one before to valuehonesty.—

Allie Volpe,Vox, 7 May 2025See All Example Sentences forhonesty

Word History

Etymology

Middle Englishhoneste, honestie "honorable position, good name, propriety of behavior, moral purity, chastity," borrowed from Anglo-Frenchhonesté, borrowed from Latinhonestāt-, honestās "honorableness, moral rectitude, decency," by haplology from*honestitāt-, *honestitās, fromhonestus "of good repute, morally worthy" +-itāt-, -itās-ity; (sense 2) probably so called from the translucence of the siliques — more athonestentry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined atsense 3

Time Traveler

The first known use ofhonesty was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century