If you describe someone as honest, you mean that they always tell the truth, and do not try to deceive people or break the law.
My dad was the most honest man I ever met.
I know she's honest and reliable.
Synonyms: trustworthy, decent, upright, reliable More Synonyms of honest
honestlyadverb [ADVERB after verb]
She fought honestly for a just cause and for freedom.
Synonyms: ethically, legitimately, legally, in good faith More Synonyms of honest
2. adjective
If you are honest in a particular situation, you tell the complete truth or give your sincere opinion, even if this is not very pleasant.
I was honest about what I was doing. [+ about]
He had been honest with her and she had tricked him! [+ with]
What do you think of the school, in your honest opinion?
Synonyms: open, direct, frank, plain More Synonyms of honest
honestlyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
It came as a shock to hear an old friend speak so honestly about Ted.
Synonyms: ethically, legitimately, legally, in good faith More Synonyms of honest
Synonyms: frankly, plainly, candidly, straight (out) More Synonyms of honest
3. adverb
You say 'honest' before or after a statement to emphasize that you are telling the truth and that you want people to believe you.
[informal, emphasis]
I'm not sure, honest.
4.
See honest to God
5.
See to be honest
More Synonyms of honest
honest in British English
(ˈɒnɪst)
adjective
1.
not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; trustworthy
2.
not false or misleading; genuine
3.
just or fair
honest wages
4.
characterized by sincerity and candour
an honest appraisal
5.
without pretensions or artificial traits
honest farmers
6. archaic
(of a woman) respectable
7. honest broker
8. honest Injun
9. honest to God
10. make an honest woman of
Derived forms
honestness (ˈhonestness)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus distinguished, from honōshonour
honest in American English
(ˈɑnɪst)
adjective
1. Obsolete
a.
held in respect; honorable
b.
respectable, creditable, etc.
a generalized epithet of commendation
2.
that will not lie, cheat, or steal; truthful; trustworthy
3.
a.
showing fairness and sincerity; straightforward; free from deceit
an honest effort
b.
gained or earned by fair methods, not by cheating, lying, or stealing
an honest living
4.
being what it seems; genuine; pure
to give honest measure
5.
frank and open
an honest face
6. Archaic
virtuous; chaste
adverb
7. Informal
honestly; truly
an intensive
Word origin
ME < OFr honeste < L honestus < honor, honor
More idioms containing
honest
honest as the day is long
Examples of 'honest' in a sentence
honest
Sometimes it is better to be honest with people about how you feel.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And he does not leave himself out of that brutally honest assessment.
The Sun (2016)
We are extremely lucky that our documents ended up with an honest person.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He is honest and knows the team have not been good enough.
The Sun (2016)
Are you ready for an honest opinion?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
He is always straightforward and honest.
The Sun (2016)
He was a very honest man.
The Sun (2017)
We already have genuine, honest players.
The Sun (2017)
He was approachable, open and honest.
The Sun (2017)
You only find out when you work with them and he is a genuine and honest player.
The Sun (2010)
It was a fair and honest comment.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You can be totally honest with people.
Christianity Today (2000)
They are more open and honest about themselves and more tolerant of human diversity.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
You have to be brutally honest with yourself.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Which party leader do you think is the most honest and trustworthy?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The most important person to be honest with is yourself.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You have to be honest and say it would mean tax rises for the rich.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
If you are honest you will know what he said is exactly spot on.
The Sun (2006)
He was always honest with me and we had different life expectations.
The Sun (2013)
Talk to as many people as you can who you trust to give you an honest opinion.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
You will have to be really honest about this.
Munro, Bill Dr. & Munro, Frances Beat Stress (1992)
That is an honest appraisal given the bad blood that has been spilt over the years.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
War poetry and memoirs tell a more honest story.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They are very old friends and quite honest with each other.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The witness was a transparently honest man and in a small work force his reply sounded unlikely.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He is a guy who is honest and genuine.
The Sun (2010)
We have no interest in probing honest people who are paying their taxes.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It would be better for you to be in an open and honest relationship.
The Sun (2011)
The world is so hypocritical that the only way to be a honest person is to be a hermit.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Some 40 per cent have concluded that she is neither honest nor trustworthy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Quotations
To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousandWilliam ShakespeareHamlet
An honest man's the noblest work of GodAlexander PopeAn Essay on Man
An honest man's word is as good as his bondCervantesDon Quixote
In other languages
honest
British English: honest /ˈɒnɪst/ ADJECTIVE
If you describe someone as honest, you mean that they always tell the truth, and do not try to deceive people or break the law.
He is a very honest, decent man.
American English: honest
Arabic: أَمِيـن
Brazilian Portuguese: honesto
Chinese: 诚实的
Croatian: pošten
Czech: čestný
Danish: ærlig
Dutch: eerlijk
European Spanish: honrado
Finnish: rehellinen
French: honnête
German: ehrlich
Greek: ειλικρινής
Italian: onesto
Japanese: 正直な
Korean: 정직한
Norwegian: ærlig
Polish: uczciwy
European Portuguese: honesto
Romanian: cinstit
Russian: честный
Latin American Spanish: honrado
Swedish: ärlig
Thai: ซื่อสัตย์
Turkish: dürüst
Ukrainian: щирий
Vietnamese: trung thực
All related terms of 'honest'
honest broker
If a person or country acts as an honest broker , they try to help people resolve a dispute or arrange a deal by talking to all sides and finding out what they want , without favouring any one side.
honest Injun
genuinely, really
honest dialogue
Dialogue is communication or discussion between people or groups of people such as governments or political parties.
honest feedback
If you get feedback on your work or progress , someone tells you how well or badly you are doing, and how you could improve . If you get good feedback you have worked or performed well.
to be honest
You can say ' to be honest ' before or after a statement to indicate that you are telling the truth about your own opinions or feelings , especially if you think these will disappoint the person you are talking to.
honest assessment
An assessment is a consideration of someone or something and a judgment about them.
honest to God
Some people say ' honest to God ' to emphasize their feelings or to emphasize that something is really true .
honest conversation
If you have a conversation with someone, you talk with them, usually in an informal situation.
honest-to-goodness
genuine ; real; authentic
turn an honest penny
to earn money fairly and honestly
make an honest woman of
to marry (a woman, esp one who is pregnant ) to prevent scandal
honest as the day is long
very honest
Chinese translation of 'honest'
honest
(ˈɔnɪst)
adj
(= truthful) 诚(誠)实(實)的 (chéngshí de)
(= trustworthy) 可信的 (kěxìn de)
adv
(inf, = honestly) 老实(實)说(說) (lǎoshi shuō)
to be honest, ... 说(說)实(實)话(話)， ... (shuō shíhuà, ... )
1 (adjective)
Definition
truthful and moral in behaviour
My dad was the most honest man I have ever met.
Synonyms
trustworthy
He is a trustworthy, level-headed teacher.
decent
upright
a very upright, trustworthy man
reliable
She was efficient and reliable.
ethical
Would it be ethical to lie to save a person's life?
honourable
I believe she is an honourable person.
conscientious
I admired this noble, conscientious man.
reputable
Buy your car through a reputable dealer.
truthful
We are all fairly truthful about our personal lives.
virtuous
The president is portrayed as a virtuous family man.
law-abiding
trusty
a trusty member of the crew
scrupulous
I have been scrupulous about telling them the truth.
high-minded
The President's hopes were high-minded, but too vague.
veracious
Opposites
bad
,
dishonest
,
corrupt
,
crooked
,
unfair
,
unlawful
,
unreliable
,
immoral
,
treacherous
,
unscrupulous
,
unfaithful
,
unethical
,
deceitful
,
untrustworthy
,
unprincipled
,
untruthful
,
unrighteous
2 (adjective)
Definition
open and sincere in relationships and attitudes
I was honest about what I was doing.
Synonyms
open
She has an open, trusting nature.
direct
She avoided giving a direct answer.
frank
They had a frank discussion about the issue.
plain
his reputation for plain speaking
straightforward
I was impressed by his straightforward intelligent manner.
outright
sincere
He accepted her apologies as sincere.
candid
a candid account of her life in the limelight
forthright
She was known for her forthright manner.
upfront (informal)
undisguised
He looked down at Bauer in undisguised disgust.
round
ingenuous
He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter.
unfeigned
Opposites
false
,
disguised
,
secretive
,
insincere
3 (adjective)
Definition
gained or earned fairly
It was an honest mistake on his part.
Synonyms
genuine
They are convinced the painting is genuine.
real
the smell of real leather
true
Everything I had heard about him was true.
straight
You need to be straight with them to gain their respect.
fair
I wanted them to get a fair deal.
proper
Two out of five people do not have a proper job.
authentic
patterns for making authentic border-style clothing
equitable
the equitable distribution of social wealth
impartial
on the level (informal)
There were moments where you wondered if anyone was on the level.
bona fide
We are happy to donate to bona fide charitable causes.
dinkum (Australian, New Zealand, informal)
He was a fair dinkum bloke with no pretensions.
above board
My financial dealings were always above board.
fair and square
We were beaten fair and square.
on the up and up
honest to goodness
Opposites
false
,
fraudulent
,
illegitimate
,
counterfeit
Quotations
To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand [William Shakespeare – Hamlet]An honest man's the noblest work of God [Alexander Pope – An Essay on Man]An honest man's word is as good as his bond [Cervantes – Don Quixote]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of above board
Definition
completely honest and open
My financial dealings were always above board.
Synonyms
honest,
straight,
frank,
square,
genuine,
proper,
legitimate,
straightforward,
authentic,
open,
true,
upright,
honourable,
overt,
candid,
truthful,
forthright,
upfront (informal),
trustworthy,
on the level (informal),
bona fide,
kosher (informal),
dinkum (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
fair and square,
guileless,
on the up and up,
veracious,
honest to goodness
in the sense of authentic
Definition
of undisputed origin or authorship
patterns for making authentic border-style clothing
Synonyms
real,
true,
original,
actual,
pure,
genuine,
valid,
faithful,
undisputed,
veritable,
lawful,
on the level (informal),
bona fide,
dinkum (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
pukka,
the real McCoy,
true-to-life,
live
in the sense of bona fide
Definition
undertaken in good faith
We are happy to donate to bona fide charitable causes.