Definitions

honest

[on-ist] / ˈɒn ɪst /

ADJECTIVE

truthful, candid

Synonyms

STRONGEST

authentic conscientious decent equitable fair forthright genuine honorable impartial proper reliable sincere straightforward true trustworthy virtuous

WEAK

aboveboard bona fide direct ethical fair and square frank high-minded ingenuous just law-abiding lay it on the line like it is no lie on the level on the up and up open outright plain real reputable scrupulous straight true blue trusty undisguised unfeigned upfront upright veracious what you see is what you get

Antonyms

STRONGEST

biased corrupt counterfeit deceitful deceptive devious dishonest false insincere irresponsible partial prejudiced unfair unjust unreal unreasonable unreliable unsuitable untrustworthy

WEAK

fraudulent lying misleading treacherous untruthful

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Honest critics can and do debate the estimate.

From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026

Her name’s Honest, but she lies — she makes up all these stories about what happened at school.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

"Honest and law-abiding Japanese entities have nothing to worry about," it added.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

“The Honest Eye” tries to address that by asserting that Pissarro painted exactly what he saw.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

Honest and truly, I think Phoebe nearly fainted dead away on the carpet.

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

Vocabulary lists containing honest

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