Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries

honest

- 6 dictionary results

hon⋅est

  [on-ist]
Use honest in a Sentence
–adjective
1. honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair: an honest person.
2. showing uprightness and fairness: honest dealings.
3. gained or obtained fairly: honest wealth.
4. sincere; frank: an honest face.
5. genuine or unadulterated: honest commodities.
6. respectable; having a good reputation: an honest name.
7. truthful or creditable: honest weights.
8. humble, plain, or unadorned.
9. Archaic. chaste; virtuous.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME honeste < MF < L honestus honorable, equiv. to hones- (var. s. of honōs) honor + -tus adj. suffix

Related forms:
hon⋅est⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. just, incorruptible, trusty, trustworthy. 2. fair. 4. straightforward, candid. 5, 9. pure.

Antonyms:
1. dishonest, corrupt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To honest
hon·est   (ŏn'ĭst)   
adj.  
  1. Marked by or displaying integrity; upright: an honest lawyer.
  2. Not deceptive or fraudulent; genuine: honest weight.
  3. Equitable; fair: honest wages for an honest day's work.
    1. Characterized by truth; not false: honest reporting.
    2. Sincere; frank: an honest critique.
    3. Of good repute; respectable.
    4. Without affectation; plain: honest folk.
    1. Of good repute; respectable.
    2. Without affectation; plain: honest folk.
  6. Virtuous; chaste.

[Middle English, from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus, honorable, from honor, honor (earlier honōs).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Honest

Hon"est\, a. [OE. honest, onest, OF. honeste, oneste, F. honn[^e]te, L. honestus, fr. honos, honor, honor. See Honor.]

1. Decent; honorable; suitable; becoming. --Chaucer.

Belong what honest clothes you send forth to bleaching! --Shak.

2. Characterized by integrity or fairness and straight?forwardness in conduct, thought, speech, etc.; upright; just; equitable; trustworthy; truthful; sincere; free from fraud, guile, or duplicity; not false; -- said of persons and acts, and of things to which a moral quality is imputed; as, an honest judge or merchant; an honest statement; an honest bargain; an honest business; an honest book; an honest confession.

An honest man's the noblest work of God. --Pope.

An honest physician leaves his patient when he can contribute no farther to his health. --Sir W. Temple.

Look ye out among you seven men of honest report. --Acts vi. 3.

Provide things honest in the sight of all men. --Rom. xii. 17.

3. Open; frank; as, an honest countenance.

4. Chaste; faithful; virtuous.

Wives may be merry, and yet honest too. --Shak.

Syn: Upright; ingenuous; honorable; trusty; faithful; equitable; fair; just; rightful; sincere; frank; candid; genuine.

Honest

Hon"est\, v. t. [L. honestare to clothe or adorn with honor: cf. F. honester. See Honest, a.] To adorn; to grace; to honor; to make becoming, appropriate, or honorable. [Obs.] --Abp. Sandys.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : honest
Spanish: honesto,
German: ehrlich,
Japanese: 正直な
More Translations »

honest 
c.1300, "respectable, decent, of neat appearance," also "free from fraud," from O.Fr. honeste (12c.), from L. honestus "honorable, respected," from honos (see honor). Main modern sense of "dealing fairly, truthful" is c.1400, as is sense of "virtuous." Phrase to make an honest woman of "marry a woman after seduction" is from 1629.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

honest

In addition to the idioms beginning with honest, also see come by (honestly); open (honest) and aboveboard.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see honest on Thesaurus | Reference