honest

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English honest, honeste (honourable, appropriate, excellent), from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus, from honor. For the verb, see Latin honestāre (to clothe or adorn with honour), and compare French honester. Displaced native Old English sōþfæst (literally truth-firm).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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honest (comparative more honest or (nonstandard) honester, superlative most honest or (nonstandard) honestest)

  1. (of a person or institution) Scrupulous with regard to telling the truth; not given to swindling, lying, or fraud; upright.
    brutally honest
    We’re the most honest people you will ever come across.
    • c. 1680, William Temple, Of Popular Discontents:
      A true and honest physician is excused for leaving his patient, when he finds the disease grown desperate
  2. (of a statement) True, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased.
    an honest account of events
    honest reporting
  3. In good faith; without malice.
    an honest mistake
  4. (of a measurement device) Accurate.
    an honest scale
  5. Authentic; full.
    an honest day’s work
  6. Earned or acquired in a fair manner.
    an honest dollar
  7. Open; frank.
    an honest countenance
  8. (obsolete) Decent; honourable; suitable; becoming.
  9. (obsolete) Chaste; faithful; virtuous.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Collocations

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Descendants

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  • Welsh: gonest

Translations

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Verb

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honest (third-person singular simple present honests, present participle honesting, simple past and past participle honested)

  1. (obsolete) To adorn or grace; to honour; to make becoming, appropriate, or honourable.

Adverb

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honest (comparative more honest, superlative most honest)

  1. (colloquial) Honestly; really.
    It wasn’t my fault, honest.

Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin honestus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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honest (feminine honesta, masculine plural honests or honestos, feminine plural honestes)

  1. upright, decent, honorable

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Middle English

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Adjective

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honest

  1. Alternative form of honeste (good)
    • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Words of the Host to the Physician and the Pardoner, The Canterbury Tales, line 327-328:
      ‘I graunte, y-wis,’ quod he, ‘but I mot thinke
      Up-on som honest thing, whyl that I drinke.’
      ‘I agree, indeed,’ said he, ‘but I must think
      About some respectable thing while I drink.’