Definition of DISHONEST

Synonyms & Antonyms for dishonest

Synonyms

Antonyms

Choose the Right Synonym for dishonest

dishonest, deceitful, mendacious, untruthful mean unworthy of trust or belief. dishonest implies a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, or defraud. a swindle usually involves two dishonest people deceitful usually implies an intent to mislead and commonly suggests a false appearance or double-dealing. the secret affairs of a deceitful spouse mendacious may suggest bland or even harmlessly mischievous deceit and when used of people often suggests a habit of telling untruths. mendacious tales of adventure untruthful stresses a discrepancy between what is said and fact or reality. an untruthful account of their actions

Examples of dishonest in a Sentence

She gave dishonest answers to our questions. dishonest kids who lie about their ages in order to get into R-rated movies

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a dangerous and dishonest proposal, with consequences that shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Venture investor Tim Draper is back with a pointless plan to split California three ways," 22 June 2018 The defendants, their fortunes sliding in opposite directions, represent starkly different paths in Mueller’s investigation — a model cooperator on one end and, prosecutors say, a dishonest and resistant witness on the other. — Chad Day, The Seattle Times, "Flynn’s lawyers say his lie to FBI ‘uncharacteristic’," 12 Dec. 2018 Monday's announcement follows Weed's earlier calls for the industry to distance itself from dishonest practices and rebuild consumer trust. — Rachel Siegel, chicagotribune.com, "Unilever's plan to combat the 'dark side' of social media advertising," 19 June 2018 Mr Romer clearly seems to believe that some of the bank’s economics is sloppy and intellectually dishonest. — The Economist, "The e-pistles of PaulPaul Romer quits after an embarrassing row," 25 Jan. 2018 So any attempt by anyone to claim that this is not a victory for Stormy Daniels is completely bogus and nonsense and dishonest. — Brian Melley, The Seattle Times, "Porn star’s hush money suit against Trump could be tossed," 22 Jan. 2019 This, of course, would be completely dishonest and unethical behavior. — Fox News, "New evidence of political bias at Google; gender politics at play in Michigan Senate race," 21 Sep. 2018 But days like this one are helpful reminders that Cruz is also an intellectually dishonest charlatan who has no qualms about misleading constituents in order to promote an ideological agenda. — Jay Willis, GQ, "Ted Cruz Has No Problem Misleading Voters for Even the Faintest Semblance of Praise," 5 June 2018 Adopted this week by the league’s owners, the policy is an attempt to quiet the controversy created by ignorant or intellectually dishonest observers who have misconstrued the meaning of kneeling during the anthem. — Adam K. Raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "New NFL Anthem Rule: Players Must Stand or Stay in Locker Room," 23 May 2018

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