honest

adjective hon·est \ ˈä-nəst \

Definition of honest

1 a :free from fraud or deception :legitimate, truthful

an honest plea

an honest presentation of facts

b :genuine, real

making honest stops at stop signs
—Christian Science Monitor

c :humble, plain

good honest food

2 a :reputable, respectable

honest decent people

b chiefly British :good, worthy

an honest fellow

3 :worthy of praise

an honest day's work

put forth an honest effort

4 a :marked by integrity

honest merchants

b :marked by free, forthright, and sincere expression :frank

an honest appraisal

an honest discussion

c :direct and uncomplicated :innocent, simple

some good honest sleep

See honest defined for English-language learners

See honest defined for kids

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

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) offered perhaps the most honest assessment of Trump's lack of empathy in a Wednesday morning appearance on CNN.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Trump allies’ defenses of his empathy are over-the-top," 30 Aug. 2017
Worse, the agency failed to go public with honest numbers before last year’s election, when SANDAG unsuccessfully sought voter approval for a second increase in countywide sales taxes to fund transportation.

— dan mcswain, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Scandal fells a true hero to commuters," 28 Aug. 2017
More generally, politicians just need to be honest with themselves.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Trust and politics," 26 Aug. 2017
Menendez and Melgen are charged with conspiracy, bribery, honest-services fraud and violating the Travel Act, which prohibits foreign travel for the purpose of committing crimes.

— david voreacos, Bloomberg.com, "Senator’s Bribery Trial May Hinge on What ‘Official Acts’ Means," 22 Aug. 2017
There's something really honest about decorating your own home.

— sara tardiff, ELLE Decor, "These Are The Most Popular Interior Design Styles By Age," 22 Aug. 2017
Unlike Gingrich, Hyde was honest enough to know that the problem isn’t individual prosecutors but the system itself.

— matthew cooper, Newsweek, "What is A Grand Jury? Trump Supporters Don’t Understand The Russia Investigation," 16 Aug. 2017
Honest observers must admit that this is sometimes true.

— elliot kaufman, National Review, "The Promotion of Democracy Is Still Vital to American Foreign Policy," 3 Aug. 2017
But the honest error defense has produced mixed results.

— victoria stern, Science | AAAS, "Why would a university pay a scientist found guilty of misconduct to leave?," 31 July 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

honest Synonyms

Synonyms

truthful, veracious

Antonyms

dishonest, fibbing, lying, mendacious, prevaricating, untruthful

Near Antonyms

fallacious, false, untrue; unbelievable, undependable, unreliable, unscrupulous, untrustworthy; bluffing, dissembling, dissimulating, duplicitous, equivocating, hypocritical, insincere, posing, pretending; artful, deceitful, deceptive, devious, evasive, slick, slippery, sly, sneaky, treacherous, tricky, underhanded, wily

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

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

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