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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 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 Although this is the right move to convince the ECB that becoming lender of last resort will not open the door to moral hazard, since the pact is to bind all countries to fiscal probity, the austerity policies embedded in it are likely only to reinforce the growth crisis. Vivien A. Schmidt, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2011 But the arrival in the emerging world of financial globalization, with its demands of political and institutional stability, financial supervision, and monetary and fiscal probity, proved far more damaging. Alan M. Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2011 There are questions of law and questions of decency, and even those who skirt the outer limits of the law attempt to keep up an appearance of probity. Andrew Solomon, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for probity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for probity
Noun
  • Regulatory Compliance And Auditing: Audit models developed by agencies like the IRS or GSA OIG can be applied across procurement and financial oversight processes in other agencies, promoting integrity and cost savings.
    Sandeep Shilawat, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.
    Sean Clancy, Arkansas Online, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • Known for her directness and honesty with players, the former Netherlands international makes decisions based on what is best for the team.
    Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 27 June 2025
  • True partners build trust through honesty and action.
    Suresh Rajapakse, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • The honor arrives 22 years after David was appointed an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth in 2003 and a year after David was asked to be an ambassador for the King’s Foundation in 2024.
    Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 21 June 2025
  • Clean air group honors teens, partners The Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air honored high school senior scholarship recipients and regional air quality leaders recently at the organization’s annual scholarship and awards luncheon at the Hammond Marina, according to a release.
    Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025
Noun
  • For Iranians themselves, it’s been a deeply frustrating recurring cycle, most recently experienced in the protests in 2022 that followed the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained by the religious morality police.
    ERIC EDELMAN, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2025
  • Mass protests also broke out in the autumn of 2022 after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old, died while detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.
    Ruth Marks Eglash, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • In the modern workforce, consensus is treated as a virtue.
    John Spencer-Taylor, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • As nature literature proliferated, the nature fakers debate—over anthropomorphism in fiction and nature writing—considered how the natural world should be portrayed in literature: should writers impose human qualities and virtues onto animals?
    Jessica George, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 2025
Noun
  • The sincerity of Jackson’s sorrow is easy to believe in.
    Liam Twomey, New York Times, 21 June 2025
  • Tamron took this seriously and officiated with such honor and sincerity.
    Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 20 May 2025
Noun
  • My goodness, these men wanted to win the U.S. Open with every bit of their being, to finally win a major championship and make this ugly, rainy day worth the battles behind them.
    Brody Miller, New York Times, 16 June 2025
  • It was perfectly cooked and packed so much smoky goodness.
    Michael James Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025
Noun
  • Limiting renewable energy development also raises concerns about electric reliability, says Heather Reams, president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a right-of-center advocacy group.
    Michael Copley, NPR, 27 June 2025
  • The aviation industry has long been cautious about innovation, a stance rooted in valid concerns around safety and reliability.
    Tanya Fileva, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Probity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/probity. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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