Honesty Meaning
/ˈɒn.ɪ.sti/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act, quality, or condition of being honest.
nounHonor; decency, propriety.
Sentence Examples
I don't for a moment doubt your honesty.
Honesty seems to be rather at a discount today.
She answered all my questions with her usual honesty.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
____ is the best policy when dealing with close friends.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her ____ and integrity earned her the respect and trust of all her colleagues at work.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English honeste (“honour, integrity”), from Old French honesté (compare modern French honnêteté) (honest + -y); the plant, from the visibility of the seeds through the translucent pods. Displaced native Old English sōþfæstnes; and non-native Middle English prodonomee, from Old French prodomie.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There’s no trust, / No faith, no honesty in men; all perjured, / All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers."
— c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
"[…] Are you honest, boy? / Then be not spendthrift of your honesty, / But keep it to yourself; in Padua / Men think that honesty is ostentatious, so / It is not of the fashion."
— 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Duchess of Padua:
"To those who knew her and to the greatly enlarged circle who were electrified by her last poems and sudden death, she had come to signify the specific honesties and risks of the poet’s condition."
— 1965, George Steiner, “Dying is an Art”, in Language and Silence: Essays on Language, Literature and the Inhuman, New York: Atheneum, published 1986, page 295:
"I admire unvarnished honesty, which is scarce. And like everything else that's increasingly scarce, it behooves us to hoard our stash."
— 2025 February 2, Charles Hugh Smith, Begging Bowl '25: I'm Looking for Two Readers Willing to Help Me Buy a New Thrift-Store Shirt:
"Have ye no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night?"
— c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
____ is the best policy when dealing with close friends.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her ____ and integrity earned her the respect and trust of all her colleagues at work.