integrity

in·teg·ri·ty

noun \in-ˈte-grə-tē\

Definition of INTEGRITY

1

: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility

2

: an unimpaired condition : soundness

3

: the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness

Examples of INTEGRITY

1. He's a man of the highest integrity.
2. I admire her artistic integrity.
3. She had the integrity to refuse to compromise on matters of principle.
4. Without music, the film loses its integrity.
5. They are trying to preserve the cultural integrity of the community.
6. The earthquake may have damaged the building's structural integrity.
7. Many were tempted by a piece of the equity action and compromised their integrity. —Bruce Nussbaum, Business Week, 28 Jan. 2002
8. By September, Gorbachev had told his aides that with Eastern Europe and Germany lost, the task was to defend the integrity of the Soviet Union itself. —Condoleezza Rice, Newsweek, 22 Nov. 1999
9. But it is stunning to hear self-appointed watchdogs of public integrity shrug their shoulders at “standard” prosecutorial practice … —Wendy Kaminer, New York Times Book Review, 22 Mar. 1998
10. … a hundred-and-one-year-old Jewish philanthropist … donated two and a quarter million dollars to the Archdiocese to purchase the property and preserve the integrity of the landmark. —Brendan Gill, New Yorker, 10 June 1991

Origin of INTEGRITY

Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to INTEGRITY

Synonyms: character, decency, goodness, honesty, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, rightness, uprightness, virtue, virtuousness

Antonyms: badness, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wickedness

Related Words: high-mindedness, honor, incorruptibility, irreproachability, irreproachableness, right-mindedness, scrupulosity, scrupulousness; appropriateness, correctness, decorousness, decorum, etiquette, fitness, propriety, seemliness; ethics, morals

Near Antonyms: impropriety, indecency, indecorum, indiscretion; debauchery, degeneracy, degradation, depravity, perversion, pervertedness, sinfulness; crookedness, dishonesty, underhandedness, unscrupulousness; lowness, meanness, viciousness, vileness; corruption

see all synonyms and antonyms

[+]more[-]hide

See Synonym Discussion at honesty