Dishonest Meaning
/dɪˈsɒnɪst/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjNot honest; shoddy.
adjInterfering with honesty.
Sentence Examples
What a dishonest fellow!
He was angry at the suggestion that he was dishonest.
Beware of dishonest traders in the tourist areas.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ salesman hid the car's engine problems from the unsuspecting buyer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
What a ____ fellow!
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dishoneste (“dishonourable”), from Old French deshoneste, from Latin dehonestus. Equivalent to dis- + honest. Displaced native Old English unsōþfæst.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop vote is!” Trump fumed on Truth Social over the weekend."
— 2025 October 27, Russell Berman, quoting Donald Trump, “‘California Is Allowed to Hit Back’”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2025:
"inglorious triumphs and dishonest scars"
— 1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:
"speake dishonest word"
— c. 1560, Thomas North, Archontorologion:
"Dishonest with lopped arms the youth appears, / Spoiled of his nose and shortened of his ears."
— 1697, Virgil, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ salesman hid the car's engine problems from the unsuspecting buyer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
What a ____ fellow!