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
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
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The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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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.
Here’s the truth: We all, if we are honest, have something we could be doing differently or better.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said Kumanjayi Little Baby was a relative of hers, and broke down in Parliament, pleading for an "honest conversation" about the failures of child protection.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
It simply benefits from being realistic and honest about the inflation rate it is actually solving for.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
To be honest with you, this season from us is not good enough with our ambitions.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
I knew him to be a faithful, accomplished, and honest man.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
