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

Example Sentences

Her performance is staggeringly human, so honest and unvarnished that it immediately calls to mind Meryl Streep’s similarly prickly work in “Sophie’s Choice.”

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Players underwent rigorous measurement protocols, revealing that teams and players had not always been honest about height.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

That said, is it possible this was just an honest mistake and that I could continue working with them?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

“We want to have honest voting in our country,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

To be honest I cannot remember a great deal about the rest of that long and terrible night.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

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