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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

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 honesty My bread and butter is my honesty. Thania Garcia, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025 Maddie—baggy hoodies tossed over an array of old tattoos, clearly carrying a heavy amount of life for her 28 years—gradually attempts to fill her daughter in on her own youth, treading a tightrope between honesty and delicacy. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025 So just remember that honesty isn’t necessarily about blurting out whatever judgment is on your mind—or holding someone else to your own standards about beauty. Miriam Kirmayer, SELF, 1 Oct. 2025 October encourages you to balance your newfound sense of honesty with tact. Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for honesty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for honesty
Noun
  • Every question written by him, every edit handled with care, every detail rooted in integrity.
    Okla Jones, Essence, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.
    Ella McCarthy, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Spare us the lesson in morality on peace if your goal is escalation.
    Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Shakur being remembered as a pillar of morality, beauty, and justice that was still, at the end of the day, human with her own emotions, and beauty routines, makes her impact everlastingly powerful.
    Essence, Essence, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Nonetheless, commonplace platitudes about honor and bravery take precedence over the feminist undertones Wyatt may aspire to.
    Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Meanwhile, state lawmakers in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Illinois moved to establish state holidays in Kirk’s honor, while proposals in Arizona and Florida would rename highways after him.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The earnestness and sincerity that characterized so much music from the late ’90s were overtaken by the sneering rage of nu metal.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
  • And yet, Lightfoot’s stubborn purity is surely why listeners recognize his sincerity in memorializing such a tragic event.
    John U. Bacon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Growing longer, healthier hair takes a lot of patience—a virtue that clashes with social media’s instant gratification itch.
    Grace McCarty, Glamour, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In his mind, the army was not a caste apart but an instrument of the republic – an arena in which self-command and civic virtue were tested.
    Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Collier, who was injured during the playoff series, read from a prepared statement that shocked everyone watching—if not for its contents, for its frankness.
    Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Though Roan is a total force on stage, polished and magnetic while trouncing around a set made to look like an illustrated fairytale castle, the show is not without her signature frankness.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The two models work together to help robots complete real-world tasks with greater transparency and reliability.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
  • And over and over, when conversations turned to energy reliability and affordability, the most ready answer across a broad range of sectors was renewables, not fossil fuels — even though emissions and climate change, per se, were mentioned less often than in the past.
    Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • There are few people in human history whose last names alone are sufficient to conjure up kindness, goodness, wisdom, grace—Mandela, Gandhi, King, Lincoln.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Any starchy side to soak up all the goodness!
    Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Honesty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/honesty. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on honesty

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