Definition of DISHONEST

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 Whatever the outcome, your dishonest stepson is the lesser for it. — oregonlive, "Dear Annie: Son violates mother’s trust by taking money she left for his brothers," 14 Dec. 2019 Throughout this campaign, dishonest claims and dirty tactics — spread predominantly online — have rendered the frameworks that once ensured at least a certain degree of fairness during political campaigns largely useless. — Rick Noack, Washington Post, "Dishonesty and dirty tactics define Britain’s election," 12 Dec. 2019 If the class action lawsuit makes affected Washingtonians whole, Ferguson will invest the recovery into his office to continue combating dishonest fees that harm Washingtonians. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "Lawsuit forces CenturyLink to stop charging “Internet Cost Recovery Fee”," 11 Dec. 2019 The president and his allies have sought to turn the tables on Democrats by accusing them of being the dishonest ones. — Peter Baker, New York Times, "Lies, Damned Lies and Washington," 9 Dec. 2019 But, as Cole Stryker writes, the use of pseudonyms has a long history and isn't necessarily dishonest. — Patrick Smith, NBC News, "Top Pentagon Ukraine official's impeachment evidence delayed by GOP protest: Read the Morning Rundown," 24 Oct. 2019 Before the test, dishonest farmers watered down their milk before selling it to processors because milk was paid for strictly by volume. — Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Margarine smugglers, a deadly milk war and more flavor Wisconsin's dairy history," 28 Aug. 2019 And Bob explains why the Ohio Department of Health says Jackson’s team was dishonest in claiming not to know why the state ended $1.5 million in AIDS grants to Cleveland. — Chris Quinn, Editor, cleveland, "Ohioans buying weed in Michigan, lawmaking tornado on plastic bags, and why makes pardons easier? - This Week in the CLE," 5 Dec. 2019 In prior reports, psychologists have stated that Wilson was dishonest, lacked credibility, had an anti-social personality disorder, was narcissistic, and had psychopathic features. — The Daily Democrat, The Mercury News, "Killer of Bay Area man perceived to be gay gets parole," 21 Sep. 2019

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.

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Last Updated

28 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Dishonest.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dishonest. Accessed 23 January 2020.