honesty

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noun hon·es·ty \ ˈä-nə-stē \

Definition of honesty

plural honesties

1 obsolete :chastity

2 a :fairness and straightforwardness of conduct

calling for honesty in politics

b :adherence to the facts :sincerity

doubted the honesty of the witness

3 :any of a genus (Lunaria) of European herbs of the mustard family with toothed leaves and flat disk-shaped siliques

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Examples of honesty in a Sentence

She is admired for her kindness and her honesty.
He demands honesty from everyone who works for him.
He didn't even have enough honesty to tell me he was leaving.

Recent Examples of honesty from the Web

There is an honesty that is exposed in the process.

— peter holley, ajc, "A black man went undercover as a digital white supremacist. This is what he learned.," 24 Aug. 2017
In other words, a commonality among the best songs of the genre is a mix of brutal honesty and the knowledge that when something's working you best get out of the way.

— dan hyman, Esquire, "Exclusive Premiere: Thomas Rhett Gets Sentimental on His New Song, 'Grave'," 17 Aug. 2017
Laughter should always come with a healthy dose of brutal honesty and there’s nothing like taking on the intersectionality of transness and race with humor and wit.

— jaz joyner, Teen Vogue, "Why I Started Quntfront, a Site For Trans People of Color," 10 Aug. 2017
His speed has been so disruptive in camp – but in all honesty, he’s spent a lot of time going up against Eric Winston and undrafted free agents.

— jim owczarski, Cincinnati.com, "Bengals Walkthru: Will Mixon start?," 10 Aug. 2017
In all honesty, my sisters went from being my tormentors to my best friends.

— michelle manetti, Good Housekeeping, "20 Things You'll Only Understand If You Have a Sister," 2 Aug. 2017
But for Lagasse, school superintendent from 1994 to 2003, the best thing about working Mr. St. Pierre as a School Board member was his honesty.

— NOLA.com, "Ray St. Pierre, long-time leader of Jefferson Parish schools, dies at 78," 30 July 2017
But a little humility and honesty on the part of the media would be appropriate.

— john fund, National Review, "Not All Foreign-Influence Scandals Are Created Equal," 16 July 2017
What's even more refreshing than her honesty is the response from her boss, Olark CEO Ben Congleton.

— suzannah weiss, Glamour, "Boss Applauds Woman for Taking a Mental Health Day," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'honesty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of honesty

see ¹honest

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First Known Use: 14th century

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honesty Synonyms

Synonyms

integrity, probity, truthfulness, veracity, verity

Antonyms

deceit, deceitfulness, dishonesty, lying, mendaciousness, mendacity, untruthfulness

Near Antonyms

artifice, cozenage, crookedness, deception, dissembling, dissimulation, double-dealing, dupery, duplicity, fakery, falseness, falsity, fraudulentness, hypocrisy, insincerity, two-facedness; beguilement, craftiness, cunning, cunningness, furtiveness, guile, indirection, insidiousness, oiliness, perfidy, slickness, slipperiness, slyness, smoothness, treacherousness, trickery, underhandedness, unscrupulousness, wiliness; equivocation, prevarication; exaggeration, inaccuracy

Synonym Discussion of honesty

honesty, honor, integrity, probity mean uprightness of character or action. honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position. integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge. probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.