good faith

noun

Definition of good faith

: honesty or lawfulness of purpose

Examples of good faith in a Sentence

You have no right to question my good faith.

Recent Examples on the Web

In July of 2017, Cruachan IV made a good faith effort to get a bite out of the Queen's bouquet. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry Have Both Had Run-ins with Cruachan, the Mischevious Shetland Pony," 17 Jan. 2019 That’s a tip that this is more of a political exercise than a good faith effort to offer customers information. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Trump’s Drug Price Bust," 18 Oct. 2018 Unfortunately, Dish is making it extremely difficult, responding to our good faith attempts with unreasonable terms. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "AT&T—owner of HBO and DirecTV—lets HBO go dark on Dish in money fight," 1 Nov. 2018 But a truly good faith demonstration would be for Senate Republicans to exhaust the means with which to explore Ford's claims, not simply adding a female face to the roster. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the Arizona Prosecutor Who Republicans Have Enlisted to Grill Christine Blasey Ford?," 26 Sep. 2018 Ryan also lauded the release of the Americans as a good faith gesture by the North Koreans ahead of talks over possibly eliminating that country's nuclear weapons. — Bloomberg.com, "Latest News on North Korea Detainees," 20 May 2018 My confidence in McConnell’s good faith was, of course, shaken to its core. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "The Question Is Simple: Do You Trust Mitch McConnell?," 22 Jan. 2018 His company, QuadrigaCX, was arguably operating in good faith by keeping all the information that links customers to their funds in a computer that was deliberately disconnected from the internet. — Alexander George, Popular Mechanics, "Crypto Exchange Founder's Untimely Death Leaves $190 Million Locked Away in Limbo," 4 Feb. 2019 Everything becomes more difficult when the US refuses to engage in good faith. — David Roberts, Vox, "The “Trump effect” threatens the future of the Paris climate agreement," 3 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'good faith.' 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

9 Apr 2019

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The first known use of good faith was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for good faith

good faith

noun

English Language Learners Definition of good faith

: honesty in dealing with other people

See the full definition for good faith in the English Language Learners Dictionary

good faith

noun

Legal Definition of good faith

: honesty, fairness, and lawfulness of purpose : absence of any intent to defraud, act maliciously, or take unfair advantage filed the suit in good faith negotiating in good faith — see also good faith exception, good faith purchaser — compare bad faith

Note: The meaning of good faith, though always based on honesty, may vary depending on the specific context in which it is used. A person is said to buy in good faith when he or she holds an honest belief in his or her right or title to the property and has no knowledge or reason to know of any defect in the title. In section 1-201 of the Uniform Commercial Code good faith is defined generally as “honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing.” Where recent U.C.C. amendments have not been adopted, this definition is found in Article 3 on negotiable instruments (and applies to Article 4 on bank deposits and collections and Article 4A on funds transfers), while Article 2 on sales defines it as “honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of dealing in the trade.” Article 5 (letters of credit), as amended, defines it as “honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.” The U.C.C. imposes an obligation of good faith on the performance of every contract or duty under its purview. The law also generally requires good faith of fiduciaries and agents acting on behalf of their principals. There is also a requirement under the National Labor Relations Act that employers and unions bargain in good faith.