HIGH-MINDEDNESS Synonyms: 66 Similar and Opposite Words

high-mindedness

noun

as in scrupulousness

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of high-mindedness That critique of American foreign policy – that US high-mindedness and democratic idealism conceal naked corporate interests – persisted through the Cold War and into the 21st Century. — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026 In exchange, the company burnishes its halo of high-mindedness, receives the right to feature famous works on its T-shirts, and gets to stage events in empty galleries or under an iconic glass pyramid, furthering the idea that its interests lie in Life as much as in Wear. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025 Yet somehow, in a medium of heavy copper, Fischl captures the lithe, swaying, physical vitality of Ashe, as well as the high-mindedness of the man who was so committed to social causes. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for high-mindedness

Noun

Only his father’s respectability, and perhaps his odd Motown accent, spared him from getting cussed out by bridesmaids at society weddings as a wastrel and drunkard, a shameless woman-wrapper.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Historically, social respectability has relied, remarkably often, on the discretion of others and the last resort of deniability.

— Fern Schumer Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of respectability

Noun

We were inculcated with the importance of charity, love toward all, good works and humility, and urged to carry those virtues into adulthood.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
However, modern environments allow people to manufacture or amplify any positive signal (virtue signalling is the common term associated with cheap and fake signalling of virtues that are just meaningless or fake in substance).

— Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of virtue

Noun

However, a modicum of decency four years ago would’ve gone further.

— Candace Buckner, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
And the solution is simply to replace the corrupt, racist authoritarian with a governing party that respects the rule of law, equality, and basic decency.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of decency

Noun

Building a reputation for trustworthiness and fairness through transparent actions and accountability also helps reinforce one’s incorruptibility.

— Nancy Pulciano, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2026
While critics say these changes are merely cosmetic, many ordinary Bangladeshis have been sold on the veneer of incorruptibility that comes from a theological under-pinning.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026

Definition of incorruptibility

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high-mindedly

high-mindedness

high-muck-a-muck

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“High-mindedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high-mindedness. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of high-mindedness

noun

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