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
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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.
To be honest, yeah, because I have two older brothers, bro, and it’s kind of crazy because I look like my dad, the guy that left my mom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
The lawsuits vary, but all address issues central to the ongoing private-markets slump: whether firms are being honest about their holdings’ values, and whether they are giving investors a fair deal on fees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Nordi Mukiele offered a brutally honest verdict about why Sunderland have struggled so far this season, following their impressive return to the Premier League last term.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
But it’s also worth observing: He may be completely honest about how he has zero interest in running for president next year.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
Reading my mind is clearly not Dad’s gift, so I have to be honest with him.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
