honest (ˈɒnɪst
)
Definitions
adjective
- not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; trustworthy
- not false or misleading; genuine
- just or fair ⇒
honest wages
- characterized by sincerity and candour ⇒
an honest appraisal
- without pretensions or artificial traits ⇒
honest farmers
- archaic (of a woman) respectable
- See honest broker
- See honest Injun
- See honest to God
- See make an honest woman of
Alternative Forms
ˈhonestness nounWord Origin
C13: from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus distinguished, from honōshonourSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
trustworthy,
decent,
upright,
reliable,
ethical,
honourable,
conscientious,
reputable,
truthful,
virtuous,
law-abiding,
trusty,
scrupulous,
high-minded,
veracious,
=
open,
direct,
frank,
plain,
straightforward,
outright,
sincere,
candid,
forthright,
upfront,
undisguised,
round,
ingenuous,
unfeigned,
Quotations
"To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand"
"An honest man's the noblest work of God"
"An honest man's word is as good as his bond"
Translations
- British English:
honest
If you describe someone as honest, you mean that they always tell the truth, and do not try to deceive people or break the law.He is a very honest, decent man.ˈɒnɪst ADJECTIVE He is a very honest, decent man.
- Spanish:
honrado
adj honrada
- French:
honnête
adj
- German:
ehrlich
adj
- Chinese: 诚实的 adj
- Arabic: أَمِيـن adj
- Portuguese: honesto adj honesta
- Russian: честный adj честная
- Croatian: pošten adj poštena
- Czech: čestný adj
- Danish: ærlig adj
- Dutch: eerlijk adj
- Finnish: rehellinen adj
- Greek: ειλικρινής adj
- Italian: onesto adj onesta
- Japanese: 正直な no_posp
- Korean: 정직한 adj
- Norwegian: ærlig adj
- Polish: uczciwy adj uczciwa
- Brazilian Portuguese: honesto adj honesta
- European Spanish:
honrado
adj honrada
- Swedish: ärlig adj ärligt
- Thai: ซื่อสัตย์ adj
- Turkish: dürüst adj
- Vietnamese: trung thực adj
Usage examples
Dennis O'Brien is what I like to think of as an honest villain.
, DEAD BEAT (2002)To be honest , I'm not sure the way I'm going is much better.
Yachting Boating World (2004)Despite not mentioning incineration, he insisted that Fianna Fáil was " honest on environmental issues.
Irish Times (2002)This is the honest truth: Scottish, English or Mongolian, everybody here is pulling for him.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Establish your Financial Reality How honest are you with yourself about your financial situation?
, YOUR POCKET LIFE COACH: 10 minutes a day to transform your life and your work (2001)