honest

American  

[on-ist] / ˈɒn ɪst /

adjective

1. 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

2. showing uprightness and fairness; not deceitful.

   Honest dealings remain central to the corporation's core values.

   Synonyms:

   upright

3. gained or obtained fairly.

   honest wealth.

4. sincere; frank; candid.

   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

5. genuine or unadulterated.

   honest commodities.

   Synonyms:

   unadulterated, pure, true, sure-enough, real, genuine, echt, bona fide, authentic, actual

   Antonyms:

   sham, pseudo, phony, mock, fake, bogus

6. respectable; having a good reputation.

   an honest name.

   Synonyms:

   reputable, estimable

   Antonyms:

   disreputable

7. reliable in accuracy or truth; true; just.

   honest weights.

   Synonyms:

   reliable, precise, faithful, exact, accurate, trusty

   Antonyms:

   unreliable

8. humble, plain, or unadorned.

9. Archaic. chaste; virtuous.

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honest British  

/ ˈɒnɪst /

adjective

1. not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; trustworthy

2. not false or misleading; genuine

3. just or fair

   honest wages

4. characterized by sincerity and candour

   an honest appraisal

5. without pretensions or artificial traits

   honest farmers

6. archaic (of a woman) respectable

7. a mediator in disputes, esp international ones

8. slang:school (interjection) genuinely, really

9. 1. (adjective) completely authentic

   2. (interjection) an expression of affirmation or surprise

10. to marry (a woman, esp one who is pregnant) to prevent scandal

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honest Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing honest

• come by (honestly)
• open (honest) and aboveboard

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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."

Example Sentences

"But to be honest, that level of hesitancy can be overcome through price stimulation. So, short term, you are actually seeing prices dropping."

From BBC • May 3, 2026

Peer review was never meant to be perfect—just good enough to keep us honest.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

“But I’d rather be honest with the public than to have my constituents later be upset about services not working.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

And with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” — a brutally honest, important film that uses its blockbuster status to convey the timelessness of journalism, cinema and human creativity — they will.

From Salon • May 1, 2026

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I even fancy going swimming with that crowd, but it’s better than being left out.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• authentic
• conscientious
• decent
• equitable
• fair
• forthright
• genuine
• honorable
• impartial
• proper
• reliable
• sincere
• straightforward
• true
• trustworthy
• virtuous