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:
Future investigations will explore whether additional brain imaging measurements, including white matter integrity and functional connectivity, can help identify suitable patients, improve electrode placement, and guide treatment settings.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
State District Judge Joseph Montano ruled Friday that prosecutors improperly prevented grand jurors from hearing testimony from witnesses they had requested, compromising the integrity of the proceedings.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
Other residents voiced concerns at the open house about the bridge’s structural integrity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Justice Department says its election monitoring efforts are intended to ensure compliance with voting laws and protect election integrity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
My boxers were not suited for providing structural integrity while I was running around, and I wished I had thought to bring some compression shorts or something.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
“There is no information to hide; there are institutional integrities to preserve,” they wrote.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 17, 2019
And forthright includes those intellectual and moral integrities which are essential to the maintenance of our republic.
From Time Magazine Archive
Conscious of their several responsibilities, and in the light of their various integrities, they wrote carefully and in low key.
From Time Magazine Archive
Deep down, he divined, were the integrities and the stabilities.
From Burning Daylight by Jack London
He has no right to indulge recklessly in intellectual and moral integrities.
From Soul of a Bishop by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
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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.
