Adjacent Words

Honesty definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HON'ESTY, n. on'esty. [L. honestas.]
1. In principle, an upright disposition; moral rectitude of heart; a disposition to conform to justice and correct moral principles, in all social transactions. In fact, upright conduct; an actual conformity to justice and moral rectitude.
2. Fairness; candor; truth; as the honesty of a narrative.
3. Frank sincerity.
Honesty is chiefly applicable to social transactions, or mutual dealings in the exchange of property.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the quality of being honest [syn: honesty, honestness] [ant: dishonesty]
2: southeastern European plant cultivated for its fragrant purplish flowers and round flat papery silver-white seedpods that are used for indoor decoration [syn: honesty, silver dollar, money plant, satin flower, satinpod, Lunaria annua]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Date: 14th century 1. obsolete chastity 2. a. fairness and straightforwardness of conduct b. adherence to the facts ; sincerity 3. any of a genus (Lunaria) of European herbs of the mustard family with toothed leaves and flat disk-shaped siliques Synonyms: 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.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 being honest. 2 truthfulness. 3 a plant of the genus Lunaria with purple or white flowers, so called from its flat round semi-transparent seed-pods. Etymology: ME f. OF (h)onesté f. L honestas -tatis (as HONEST)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Honesty Hon"es*ty, n. [OE. honeste, oneste, honor, OF. honest['e], onest['e] (cf. F. honn[^e]tet['e]), L. honestas. See Honest, a.] 1. Honor; honorableness; dignity; propriety; suitableness; decency. [Obs.] --Chaucer. She derives her honesty and achieves her goodness. --Shak. 2. The quality or state of being honest; probity; fairness and straightforwardness of conduct, speech, etc.; integrity; sincerity; truthfulness; freedom from fraud or guile. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. --1 Tim. ii. 2. 3. Chastity; modesty. --Chaucer. To lay . . . siege to the honesty of this Ford's wife. --Shak. 4. (Bot.) Satin flower; the name of two cruciferous herbs having large flat pods, the round shining partitions of which are more beautiful than the blossom; -- called also lunary and moonwort. Lunaria biennis is common honesty; L. rediva is perennial honesty. Syn: Integrity; probity; uprightness; trustiness; faithfulness; honor; justice; equity; fairness; candor; plain-dealing; veracity; sincerity.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Honesty is the quality of being honest. They said the greatest virtues in a politician were integrity, correctness and honesty. • You say in all honesty when you are saying something that might be disappointing or upsetting, and you want to soften its effect by emphasizing your sincerity. In all honesty, aren't there already far too many pages of scientific research published every week?... PHRASE: PHR with cl [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Integrity, probity, uprightness, fairness, justice, equity, trustiness, fidelity, faithfulness, honor, freedom from fraud. 2. Truthfulness, truth, veracity, observance of one's word. 3. Genuineness, thoroughness, faithfulness. 4. Honor, chastity, virtue, fidelity. 5. Sincerity, candor, frankness, ingenuousness, truth, truthfulness, openness, unreserve, plain dealing.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute realism, artlessness, assured probity, authenticity, blamelessness, bluntness, bona fideness, candor, character, cleanness, conscientiousness, decency, dependability, directness, disinterestedness, equitableness, equity, erectness, estimableness, fairness, forthrightness, frankness, genuineness, good character, goodness, guilelessness, high ideals, high principles, high-mindedness, honor, honorableness, immaculacy, impartiality, inartificiality, incorruption, ingenuousness, integrity, irreproachability, irreproachableness, justice, justness, legitimacy, lifelikeness, literalism, literality, literalness, moral excellence, moral strength, morality, naturalism, naturalness, nobility, objectivity, openness, outspokenness, photographic realism, principles, probity, pureness, purity, realism, realness, rectitude, reliability, reputability, respectability, righteousness, scrupulousness, sincerity, stainlessness, straightforwardness, true-to-lifeness, trustworthiness, truth to nature, truthfulness, unadulteration, unaffectedness, unfictitiousness, unimpeachability, unimpeachableness, unspeciousness, unspottedness, unspuriousness, unsyntheticness, uprightness, upstandingness, veracity, verisimilitude, virtue, virtuousness, worthiness