integrity
Americannoun
-
integrities
plural
-
adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
- Antonyms:
- dishonesty
-
the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.
to preserve the integrity of the empire.
-
a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.
the integrity of a ship's hull.
noun
-
adherence to moral principles; honesty
-
the quality of being unimpaired; soundness
-
unity; wholeness
Synonym Usage
See honor.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of integrity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English integrite, from Latin integritās; see integer, -ity
Explanation
Integrity is a personal quality of fairness that we all aspire to — unless you're a dishonest, immoral scoundrel, of course. Having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way. It's a personality trait that we admire, since it means a person has a moral compass that doesn't waver. It literally means having "wholeness" of character, just as an integer is a "whole number" with no fractions. Physical objects can display integrity, too — if you're going over a rickety old bridge that sways in the wind, you might question its structural integrity.
Vocabulary lists containing integrity
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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This Week in Words: August 25 - 31, 2018
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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.
See Examples For:
She added that the Emirates was “firmly committed to safeguarding the integrity of the international financial system.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
The spokeswoman said that so far Forbes hasn’t found evidence that the integrity of its rankings or editorial decisions were compromised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
I was not surprised by recent news that online classes have become swamped by artificial intelligence cheating, eroding academic integrity.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
She pointed to the lack of attribution and other "red flags on methods and research integrity."
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Reason: I don't want them to second-guess the interviews they did and ask me to delete them, which I will not for reasons of artistic integrity.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
“There is no information to hide; there are institutional integrities to preserve,” they wrote.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 17, 2019
Conscious of their several responsibilities, and in the light of their various integrities, they wrote carefully and in low key.
From Time Magazine Archive
And forthright includes those intellectual and moral integrities which are essential to the maintenance of our republic.
From Time Magazine Archive
Deep down, he divined, were the integrities and the stabilities.
From Burning Daylight by Jack London
This tale has held a place in literature because it stands for men of evil all compact, whose presence has consumed integrities and exhaled iniquities.
From The Investment of Influence A Study of Social Sympathy and Service by Newell Dwight Hillis
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.
