honest

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adjective hon·est \ˈä-nəst\

Definition of honest

1a : free from fraud or deception : legitimate, truthful an honest plea an honest presentation of factsb : genuine, real making honest stops at stop signs — Christian Science Monitorc : humble, plain good honest food
2a : reputable, respectable honest decent peopleb chiefly British : good, worthy an honest fellow
3 : worthy of praise an honest day's work put forth an honest effort
4a : marked by integrity honest merchantsb : marked by free, forthright, and sincere expression : frank an honest appraisal an honest discussionc : direct and uncomplicated : innocent, simple some good honest sleep

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Examples of honest in a Sentence

He says that it's impossible to find an honest politician.
These criminals pose a danger to honest citizens.
He has an honest face.
Just give me an honest answer.
If you want my honest opinion, you should get a job.
To be perfectly honest, I don't want to go.
He gave us a painfully honest account of his childhood.
It was an honest error.
He still goes to the office every morning and puts in an honest day's work.

Recent Examples of honest from the Web

The woman, named Charlotte here, is profane, honest and often bitterly funny.

— jim higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee writer finds prize-winning drama in personal story of pain, healing," 18 July 2017
OSTP’s function is to be an integrator and honest broker on scientific issues that matter to the president.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Q&A: Former Obama science adviser John Holdren on the White House science office and Trump’s science policy," 12 July 2017
Any officer who is honest or an opponent of Maduro is likely to have been purged from its top ranks.

— john fund, National Review, "A Hero, a Turncoat, and a Trojan Horse Shake Venezuela," 9 July 2017
This is a feature of Apatow’s films (Knocked Up, This is 40), which are unfailingly honest about the ups and downs of marriage.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'The Big Sick': Finally, Hollywood gets a comedy right," 5 July 2017
If you’re employing forced induction, be honest about it.

— jared gall, Car and Driver, "The Car and Driver Guide to Automotive Bullsh!t," 3 July 2017
Gupta and others argue that Kobach doesn't exactly have a reputation for being honest about his work on voter fraud.

— philip bump and christopher ingraham, chicagotribune.com, "Trump: States are 'trying to hide' things from voter fraud panel. Here's what they say.," 1 July 2017
Today, Bella hopped on Snap to get honest about her skin struggles again, this time showing off some small zits on her face.

— rachel jacoby zoldan, Teen Vogue, "Bella Thorne Snapchatted Her Pimples," 30 June 2017
The honest-to-goodness story is: did Gary have lunch with Bayo [Adebayo Ogunlesi], Goldman’s lead director, once or twice?

— william d. cohan, The Hive, "The Untold Story of How Gary Cohn Fell for Donald Trump," 27 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of honest

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin honestus honorable, from honos, honor honor

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First Known Use: 14th century

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Synonym Discussion of honest

upright, honest, just, conscientious, scrupulous, honorable mean having or showing a strict regard for what is morally right. upright implies a strict adherence to moral principles. a stern and upright minister honest stresses adherence to such virtues as truthfulness, candor, or fairness. known for being honest in business dealings just stresses conscious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable. workers given just compensation conscientious and scrupulous imply an active moral sense governing all one's actions and painstaking efforts to follow one's conscience. conscientious in the completion of her assignments scrupulous in carrying out the terms of the will honorable suggests a firm holding to codes of right behavior and the guidance of a high sense of honor and duty. a difficult but honorable decision

honest

adverb hon·est

Definition of honest

1 : in a genuine or honest (see ¹honest) manner : honestly I have ever found thee honest true — William Shakespeare
2 : with all sincerity I didn't do it, honest

See honest defined for English-language learners

Origin and Etymology of honest

see ¹honest

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1654

See Words from the same year

HONEST Defined for English Language Learners

honest

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adjective

Definition of honest for English Language Learners

: good and truthful : not lying, stealing, or cheating
: showing or suggesting a good and truthful character
: not hiding the truth about someone or something : not meant to deceive someone

HONEST Defined for Kids

honest

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adjective hon·est \ˈä-nəst\

Definition of honest for Students

1 : not engaging in or involving cheating, stealing, or lying an honest citizen an honest living
2 : not marked by lies or trickery : straightforward an honest answer
3 : being just what is indicated : real, genuine He did an honest day's work.