dishonest

[ dis-on-ist ]

/ dɪsˈɒn ɪst /

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See synonyms for: dishonest / dishonestly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not honest; disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; not worthy of trust or belief: a dishonest person.

proceeding from or exhibiting lack of honesty; fraudulent: a dishonest advertisement.

OTHER WORDS FOR dishonest

1 unscrupulous, knavish, deceitful, perfidious.

2 false.

See synonyms for dishonest on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR dishonest

1, 2 honest.

See antonyms for dishonest on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of dishonest

1350–1400; Middle English dishoneste<Anglo-French, Old French deshoneste, equivalent to des-dis-¹ + honestehonest

synonym study for dishonest

1. See corrupt.

OTHER WORDS FROM dishonest

dis·hon·est·ly, adverb

Words nearby dishonest

disheveled, dishevelled, dishful, dish gravy, dish night, dishonest, dishonesty, dishonor, dishonorable, dishonorable discharge, dishonour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

MORE ABOUT DISHONEST

What does dishonest mean?

Dishonest is the opposite of honest—it’s used to describe someone or something as intentionally deceptive or not fully truthful in some way.

When dishonest is used to describe a person, it usually means they are frequently or habitually untruthful—that they tend to lie often or that they often hide or leave out part of the truth.

When dishonest is used to describe a thing, it usually implies that the thing is intentionally deceptive—that it’s intended to deceive people or mislead them through lies, the omission of all or parts of the truth, or the twisting of the truth.

Just as the noun form of honest is honesty, the noun form of dishonest is dishonesty.

Example: The article exposes the company’s dishonest business practices and the dishonest executives who promote them.

Where does dishonest come from?

The first records of the word dishonest come from the 1300s. The prefix dis- means “not,” making dishonest mean “not honest.”

Being honest is actually pretty simple—it involves telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Being dishonest involves all different kinds of ways of being deceptive, including telling lies, hiding or leaving out parts of the truth, or using a mix of truth and lies to mislead or deceive. Just because you’re not lying doesn’t mean you’re not being dishonest.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to dishonest?

dishonesty (noun)
dishonestly (adverb)

What are some synonyms for dishonest?

What are some words that share a root or word element with dishonest?

What are some words that often get used in discussing dishonest?

How is dishonest used in real life?

Dishonest is always used negatively. It can be used to describe people or the things they say, do, or create.

being accused of being dishonest when you’re telling nothing but the truth has to be up there with one of the most frustrating things

— sorento (@kiasfuneral) September 2, 2020

We shouldn’t shy away from these difficult conversations about competing rights and interests, about speech and safety and power. But we also shouldn’t let a loud and dishonest group of people warp and manipulate the debate to serve their ends.

— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) February 16, 2021

Uber ordered to pay $20m in fines following (probably last ever) FTC investigation into dishonest advertising https://t.co/iAQebS6Q8d

— Sarah Lacy (@sarahcuda) January 24, 2017

Try using dishonest!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of dishonest?

A. untruthful
B. deceitful
C. deceptive
D. incorrect

How to use dishonest in a sentence

He portrays the administration as ignornant, incompetent, dishonest and more concerned with public relations spin than saving lives.
Not Mentioned in Cuomo’s Coronavirus Book: How Many Nursing Home Residents Died in New York|by Joe Sexton|October 23, 2020|ProPublica
The retraction in June of two papers on covid-19 in the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, after researchers put too much trust in a dishonest collaborator, is an example of what happens when epistemic dependence is mishandled.
Why you don’t really know what you know|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
I’ve also heard about another group of people who were out in full force—dishonest people trying to trick or steal money that everyday people work so hard to earn.
Protect Your Money And Yourself|cmurray|October 6, 2020|Essence.com
The letter informing her of her July 2019 decertification said she had been dishonest about the incident involving the vehicle, she said.
The Woman Propositioned by Alaska’s Former Lieutenant Governor Tells Her Story for the First Time|by Kyle Hopkins and Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News|September 10, 2020|ProPublica

Additionally, we reserve the right to ban polls sponsored by a particular organization that consistently engages in dishonest or nontransparent behavior that goes beyond editorializing and political spin.
Polls Policy And FAQs|Dhrumil Mehta (dhrumil.mehta@fivethirtyeight.com)|July 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
How can the police do that if the community views them as dishonest, or even dangerous?
Why Killer Cops Walk Free|Dean Obeidallah|August 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bureaucracies are inefficient and dishonest—maybe not intentionally . . . but because there are too many moving parts.
Mike Leach Tackles Geronimo the Motivational Murderer|James A. Warren|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Trying to put the onus onto someone else for your own decisions is really cowardly and kind of dishonest.
Speed Read: Terry Richardson on Sex, Lies, and Lindsay Lohan|Justin Jones|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Bar determined his failure to inform his client was both dishonest and deceitful.
Will Naming And Shaming Prove to be a Winning Strategy For Bryan Singer's Accuser?|Eboni K. Williams|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She never lied to him or was dishonest to him, and we were very careful to point that out in the movie, but Tom needed to grow up.
Marc Webb Takes Us Inside ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and Discusses His Rise to the A-List|Marlow Stern|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All the miserable stratagems they had been guilty of to win him; the dishonest plotting and planning.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
The door should not be left open, as dishonest persons, passing along the entry, could enter without fear of being questioned.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley
The Ministers found that, on this occasion, neither their honest nor their dishonest supporters could be trusted.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thus, to import insanity or incompetency to a professional man, or that a public official is dishonest and corrupt is actionable.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
An honest man, with all his modesty, cannot prevent people saying of him what a dishonest man says of himself.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre|Jean de La Bruyre

British Dictionary definitions for dishonest

dishonest

/ (dɪsˈɒnɪst) /

adjective

not honest or fair; deceiving or fraudulent

Derived forms of dishonest

dishonestly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dishonest

OTHER WORDS FOR dishonest

OPPOSITES FOR dishonest

Origin of dishonest

synonym study for dishonest

OTHER WORDS FROM dishonest

Words nearby dishonest

MORE ABOUT DISHONEST

What does dishonest mean?

Where does dishonest come from?

Did you know ... ?

How is dishonest used in real life?

Try using dishonest!

Words related to dishonest

How to use dishonest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dishonest

Derived forms of dishonest