1
2
3

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun probity contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of probity are honesty, honor, and integrity. While all these words mean "uprightness of character or action," probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.

When might honesty be a better fit than probity?

The words honesty and probity can be used in similar contexts, but honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way.

When is it sensible to use honor instead of probity?

The words honor and probity are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position.

When could integrity be used to replace probity?

In some situations, the words integrity and probity are roughly equivalent. However, integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge.

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 probity As for the legal probity of targeting such a change at one country—China—this would hardly be unprecedented. Alex Raskolnikov, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2025 The legal and political crisis encompasses both the Justice Department and New York’s City Hall, calling into question Mr. Adams’s future as well as the independence and probity of federal prosecutions. Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025 Carter’s outsider status, coupled with his evident probity, provided a tonic to an electorate weary of Watergate and Richard Nixon’s endless prevarications. Randall Balmer, The Mercury News, 2 Jan. 2025 The dilemma recalls Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool and Where the Sidewalk Ends, post-WWII films about personal probity but without the melodramatic hype that cheapened both. Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for probity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for probity
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
  • What if leadership looked less like certainty — and more like honesty?
    Rochelle Ratkaj, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Over nearly three decades, Baumbach has built a career chronicling families in crisis and artists at the crossroads, his films combining biting wit with an unflinching emotional honesty.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
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

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Probity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/probity. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on probity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!