honesty

noun

hon·​es·​ty ˈä-nə-stē 

plural honesties

1

a

: adherence to the facts : sincerity

doubted the honesty of the witness

b

: fairness and straightforwardness of conduct

calling for honesty in politics

2

: any of a genus (Lunaria) of European and southwest Asian plants of the mustard family that have toothed hairy leaves, small white or violet flowers, and flat silvery seedpods that are siliques

especially : a European biennial (Lunaria annua) that is often grown for its ornamental disk-shaped seedpods : money plant sense 1

3

obsolete : chastity

Synonyms

• integrity
• probity
• truthfulness
• veracity
• verity

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

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 on the Web

She’s approached it with honesty, meeting his curiosity with age-appropriate transparency. —Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 13 Feb. 2025

The people of their small town of Walnut Grove looked up to him for his courage to do what was right and champion honesty, fairness, and hard work for all. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025

And that honesty appeared to unify the organization behind a common cause: getting back to the Super Bowl and finally getting that monkey off their back. —Ben Morse, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025

No, that is not Wellens’ brutal honesty coming to the fore by talking down City with potentially inflammatory comments ahead of the big tie… that’s his wife Nicola, who will also be there on Saturday. —Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English honeste, honestie "honorable position, good name, propriety of behavior, moral purity, chastity," borrowed from Anglo-French honesté, borrowed from Latin honestāt-, honestās "honorableness, moral rectitude, decency," by haplology from *honestitāt-, *honestitās, from honestus "of good repute, morally worthy" + -itāt-, -itās -ity; (sense 2) probably so called from the translucence of the siliques — more at honest entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing honesty

• honesty is the best policy
• in all honesty

Kids Definition

honesty

noun

hon·​es·​ty ˈän-ə-stē 

: the quality or state of being honest