honesty
Americannoun
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honesties
plural
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the quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.
- Antonyms:
- dishonesty
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truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.
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freedom from deceit or fraud.
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Botany. a plant, Lunaria annua, of the mustard family, having clusters of purple flowers and semitransparent, satiny pods.
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Obsolete. chastity.
noun
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the condition of being honest
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sincerity or fairness
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archaic virtue or respect
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Also called: moonwort. satinpod. a purple-flowered SE European plant, Lunaria annua, cultivated for its flattened silvery pods, which are used for indoor decoration: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
Synonym Usage
See honor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of honesty
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English honeste, from Middle French, from Latin honestās; see honest, -ty 2
Explanation
If you tell the truth, you possess the quality of honesty. If someone offers a harsh criticism of your latest attempt at songwriting, you might say, "Thank you for your honesty." Even if you don't mean it. The original meaning of honesty had more to do with honor than truthfulness, although the two are naturally linked. The trait of honesty has been prized for centuries, and Shakespeare once wrote, "Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself." The honesty flower, sometimes called the money plant, is so named because its coin-shaped seedpods are translucent, the idea of transparency symbolizing integrity.
Vocabulary lists containing honesty
Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 5)
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"Glencoe Accounting: Real-World Applications & Connections," Vocabulary from Chapter 29
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Gather Vocabulary Knowledge, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The honesty of the acting is so enlivening that I’m tempted to rank this production among the very best Wilson revivals I’ve seen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Aug. 5 letter followed that guide by setting a deadline for a response from Cook and arguing that her alleged conduct bears on her honesty and competence as a financial regulator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Her signature maxim — “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” — drew laughs for decades even as it illuminated the unflinching honesty of her creative approach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ullom is courageous enough to ask this question and so many more with total honesty.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Overall it was one of the worst practices they had had all term, though Harry did not feel that honesty was the best policy when they were this close to the match.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
A sort of documentary of Bumper's last three days before retirement, the book tends to be a bit ostentatious in such honesties, as if they established Bumper's credibility.
From Time Magazine Archive
The honesties and fun that went into it seem childlike enough after 30 years of rough and sobering history.
From Time Magazine Archive
“What do you mean?” he asked her, and she heard a looming disagreement in his voice; he, too, believed in unbending, unambiguous honesties.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
If there be nobler eyes, More full of honor and of honesties, In finer head, on broader shoulders found, Then have I never met the man or hound.
From The Dog's Book of Verse by Various
If there were some hot betrayal of the blood that had driven her to Reardon he almost thought, despite Addington and its honesties and honours, he would not lift his hand to keep her.
From The Prisoner by Alice Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
