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  • honor-bound
    honor-bound
    adjective
    bound by or placed under the obligation of honor.
  • honor bound
    honor bound
    Obliged by one's personal integrity, as in She was honor bound to admit that it was her work and not her sister's. Also see on one's honor.
Synonyms

honor-bound

American  
[on-er-bound] / ˈɒn ərˈbaʊnd /

adjective

  1. bound by or placed under the obligation of honor.

    She felt honor-bound to defend her friend.


honor bound Idioms  
  1. Obliged by one's personal integrity, as in She was honor bound to admit that it was her work and not her sister's. Also see on one's honor.


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.

See Examples For:

From Robin’s experience, he thinks that “stories can make men do terrible things,” perhaps thinking of all those bereaved family members who were honor-bound to chase after him and get themselves killed.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 18, 2026

So when I joined The Post in 2018 and discovered that Kaiser was one of my options for health insurance, I felt honor-bound to try what I had disparaged.

From Washington Post Dec. 28, 2022

"Following the PM's announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021 I feel honor-bound to make an announcement of my own," Clapton said.

From Salon Jul. 23, 2021

"Following the PM’s announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021 I feel honor-bound to make an announcement of my own," Clapton said.

From Fox News Jul. 22, 2021

He trusted neither Pycelle nor Varys, and Ser Barristan was honor-bound to protect and defend the boy he thought his new king.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

In 2017, Japanese director Shinichiro Ueda released a $25,000 zombie movie called “One Cut of the Dead,” a genre-bending comedy with a structure so surprising that this review is honor bound to button its lips.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 14, 2023

“My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”

From Washington Post Mar. 9, 2018

John Feeley, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, said he was "honor bound" to resign.

From BBC Jan. 12, 2018

Agreed that we were honor bound to retrieve our man, and it is undeniable that, as a humanitarian thing to do, it brought our guy home to his family.

From New York Times Jun. 1, 2014

“Lord Roose, he’s the Warden now. White Harbor’s honor bound to answer his summons.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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