honest
Americanadjective
-
truthful; ethical; fair; not lying or cheating.
She's an honest person.
- Synonyms:
- just, honorable, fair, scrupulous, principled, moral, incorruptible, good, ethical, conscientious, veracious, truthful, trustworthy
- Antonyms:
- unconscionable, immoral, dishonest, corrupt, untruthful, mendacious, lying, dishonorable, unscrupulous, unprincipled, unethical
-
showing uprightness and fairness; not deceitful.
Honest dealings remain central to the corporation's core values.
- Synonyms:
- upright
-
gained or obtained fairly.
honest wealth.
-
He has an honest face.
Give me your honest opinion.
- Synonyms:
- unaffected, sincere, simple, natural, ingenuous, guileless, genuine, artless, up-front, unreserved, unguarded, straightforward, straight, plain-spoken, plain, outspoken, out-front, open-hearted, open, free-hearted, free-spoken, frank, foursquare, forthright, forthcoming, direct, candid, aboveboard
- Antonyms:
- phony, insincere, guileful, disingenuous, artificial, artful, affected
-
genuine or unadulterated.
honest commodities.
- Synonyms:
- unadulterated, pure, true, sure-enough, real, genuine, echt, bona fide, authentic, actual
-
respectable; having a good reputation.
an honest name.
- Antonyms:
- disreputable
-
reliable in accuracy or truth; true; just.
honest weights.
- Antonyms:
- unreliable
-
humble, plain, or unadorned.
-
Archaic. chaste; virtuous.
adjective
-
not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; trustworthy
-
not false or misleading; genuine
-
just or fair
honest wages
-
characterized by sincerity and candour
an honest appraisal
-
without pretensions or artificial traits
honest farmers
-
archaic (of a woman) respectable
-
a mediator in disputes, esp international ones
-
slang:school (interjection) genuinely, really
-
-
(adjective) completely authentic
-
(interjection) an expression of affirmation or surprise
-
-
to marry (a woman, esp one who is pregnant) to prevent scandal
Other Word Forms
- honestness noun
- overhonest adjective
- overhonestly adverb
- overhonestness noun
- quasi-honest adjective
- quasi-honestly adverb
Etymology
Origin of honest
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English honeste, from Middle French, from Latin honestus “honorable,” equivalent to hones- (variant stem of honōs ) honor + -tus adjective suffix
Explanation
The adjective honest is perfect for describing someone who tells the truth. If you're always honest, it means you're truthful and sincere no matter what. Honest comes from the Latin word honestus, which means "honorable or respected," and around 1300, honest was popularly used to mean "respectable and of neat appearance." We don't use it these days to describe the way someone dresses, but instead how truthful they are, and sometimes to emphasize how simple and straightforward something is, like "good, honest home-cooked food."
Vocabulary lists containing honest
Positive Words to Describe a Person
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
His entry was raw and honest and he won.
From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026
There'll be days where I wake up and you have that feeling, but I'm just a nice, honest player.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
When asked for advice on navigating L.A.’s dating scene, several of the storytellers had similar insight: Be honest about what you want, work on finding yourself first and do things around the city.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Tradwife content whitewashes history, but an honest look shows that contempt for housewives was a widespread theme in the past.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026
To be honest, at the time I didn’t understand much of what they were talking about—only enough to know that I was on Mutti’s side.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
