Synonyms of honesty

honesty

noun

ˈä-nə-stē 

1

as in integrity

devotion to telling the truth

George Washington has gone down in history for his honesty

Synonyms & Similar Words

• integrity
• sincerity
• truthfulness
• reliability
• authenticity
• credibility
• veracity
• probity
• verity
• reliableness
• frankness
• truth
• accuracy
• forthrightness
• candor
• candidness
• straightforwardness
• dependability
• scrupulousness
• objectivity
• trustworthiness
• incorruptibility
• ingenuousness
• uprightness
• rectitude
• guilelessness
• righteousness
• good faith
• artlessness
• honorableness
• scrupulosity
• honor
• genuineness
• correctness
• right-mindedness
• trustability
• plainspokenness
• trustiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dishonesty
• lying
• deceit
• hypocrisy
• untruthfulness
• deception
• mendacity
• duplicity
• insincerity
• deceitfulness
• falsity
• falseness
• dissimulation
• artifice
• smoothness
• fakery
• dissembling
• crookedness
• cunning
• double-dealing
• mendaciousness
• trickery
• guile
• slyness
• unscrupulousness
• dupery
• perfidy
• indirection
• wiliness
• underhandedness
• craftiness
• slipperiness
• insidiousness
• furtiveness
• cozenage
• slickness
• cunningness
• two-facedness
• prevarication
• oiliness
• exaggeration
• equivocation
• beguilement
• treacherousness
• inaccuracy
• fraudulentness

2

as in morality

conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong

he's known for his honesty in business dealings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• integrity
• morality
• virtue
• goodness
• character
• decency
• ethics
• rightness
• morals
• honor
• probity
• uprightness
• rectitude
• righteousness
• virtuousness
• incorruptibility
• decorum
• scrupulousness
• correctness
• appropriateness
• fitness
• etiquette
• propriety
• high-mindedness
• scrupulosity
• right-mindedness
• irreproachability
• irreproachableness
• seemliness
• decorousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• evil
• immorality
• wickedness
• sin
• badness
• villainy
• iniquity
• indiscretion
• degradation
• impropriety
• dishonesty
• indecency
• perversion
• evildoing
• indecorum
• depravity
• sinfulness
• degeneracy
• debauchery
• unscrupulousness
• meanness
• crookedness
• viciousness
• corruption
• vileness
• lowness
• underhandedness
• pervertedness

3

as in honor

faithfulness to high moral standards

she knew she could count on her students' honesty, even if she left the classroom for a few moments during the test

Synonyms & Similar Words

• integrity
• honor
• morality
• virtue
• probity
• justice
• uprightness
• rectitude
• righteousness
• respectability
• fairness
• nobility
• reputability
• conscientiousness
• decency
• scrupulousness
• incorruptibility
• character
• blamelessness
• virtuousness
• high-mindedness
• right-mindedness
• irreproachability
• irreproachableness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dishonor
• baseness
• degradation
• corruption
• dishonesty
• lowness
• shamelessness
• venality
• perversion
• disgrace
• decadence
• dissipation
• depravity
• looseness
• debasement
• profligacy
• criminality
• degeneracy
• corruptness
• corruptibility
• immorality
• debauchery
• dissoluteness
• unscrupulousness
• crookedness
• unrighteousness
• blameworthiness
• rascality
• meanness
• disreputableness
• disgracefulness
• knavery
• wickedness
• pervertedness
• sinfulness
• dissipatedness
• villainy
• rottenness
• vileness
• wretchedness
• roguishness
• reprehensibleness

4

as in sincerity

the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions

I am speaking with all honesty when I say that your apple pie is the best I've ever tasted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sincerity
• frankness
• forthrightness
• directness
• candor
• straightforwardness
• bluntness
• candidness
• openness
• outspokenness
• simplicity
• plainness
• unreserve
• earnestness
• openheartedness
• plumpness
• unguardedness
• naïveté
• plainspokenness
• unreservedness
• sobriety
• genuineness
• freedom
• artlessness
• communicativeness
• unsophistication
• unrestraint
• license
• uninhibitedness
• unrestrainedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dissimulation
• indirection
• dissembling
• evasiveness
• secretiveness
• restraint
• reticence
• inhibition
• shyness
• tact
• reserve
• diplomacy
• circuitousness

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun honesty contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of honesty are honor, integrity, and probity. While all these words mean "uprightness of character or action," honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way.

When is honor a more appropriate choice than honesty?

While the synonyms honor and honesty are close in meaning, honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position.

When would integrity be a good substitute for honesty?

The meanings of integrity and honesty largely overlap; however, integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge.

When could probity be used to replace honesty?

While in some cases nearly identical to honesty, probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of honesty

This kind of honesty and tough love is what keeps the Stone Pony thriving at 52 years old, and captures the charm of the venue and the Jersey shore in general. — Brendan Hay, SPIN, 1 July 2026

Caught between instinctive honesty and political caution, Grossman perfected a style that relied less on rhetoric than on the power of witness. — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 8 July 2026

Salinger reveals Holden’s gentleness, itself a rejection of masculine norms of strength, through a determined honesty that is antithetical to the boasting in which his male peers repeatedly engage. — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026

Intellectual honesty combined with initiative is a winning combination. — Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2026