What does honest mean?

Definitions for honest
ˈɒn ɪsthon·est

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word honest.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. honest, honorableadjective

    not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent

    "honest lawyers"; "honest reporting"

  2. honestadjective

    without dissimulation; frank

    "my honest opinion"

  3. dependable, honest, reliable, true(p)adjective

    worthy of being depended on

    "a dependable worker"; "an honest working stiff"; "a reliable sourcSFLe of information"; "he was true to his word"; "I would be true for there are those who trust me"

  4. honestadjective

    without pretensions

    "worked at an honest trade"; "good honest food"

  5. honestadjective

    marked by truth

    "gave honest answers"; "honest reporting"

  6. good, honestadjective

    not forged

    "a good dollar bill"

  7. honest, fairadjective

    gained or earned without cheating or stealing

    "an honest wage"; "an fair penny"

Wiktionary

  1. honestadjective

    Scrupulous with regard to telling the truth; not given to swindling, lying, or fraud; upright.

    We're the most honest people you will ever come across.

  2. honestadjective

    True, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased.

    an honest account of events; honest reporting

  3. honestadjective

    In good faith; without malice.

    an honest mistake

  4. honestadjective

    Accurate.

    an honest scale

  5. honestadjective

    Authentic; full.

    an honest day's work

  6. honestadjective

    Earned or acquired in a fair manner.

    an honest dollar

  7. Etymology: From honeste, from honestus, from honor.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. HONESTadjective

    Etymology: honeste, French; honestus, Latin.

    What art thou?
    —— A very honest hearted fellow, and as poor as the king. Sh.

    The way to relieve ourselves from those sophisms, is an honest and diligent enquiry into the real nature and causes of things. Isaac Watts, Logick.

    Wives may be merry, and yet honest too. William Shakespeare.

    I’ll devise some honest slanders
    To stain my cousin with: one doth not know
    How much an ill word doth impoison liking. William Shakespeare.

Wikipedia

  1. Honest

    Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. Honesty also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere. Honesty is valued in many ethnic and religious cultures. "Honesty is the best policy" is a proverb of Edwin Sandys (died 1629), while the quote "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, as used in a letter to Nathaniel Macon. April 30 is national Honesty Day in the United States. William Shakespeare famously described honesty as an attribute people leave behind when he wrote that "no legacy is so rich as honesty" in act 3, scene 5 of "All's Well that Ends Well."Others have noted, however, that "too much honesty might be seen as undisciplined openness". For example, individuals may be perceived as being "too honest" if they honestly express the negative opinions of others, either without having been asked their opinion, or having been asked in a circumstance where the response would be trivial. This concern manifests in the concept of political correctness, with individuals refraining from expressing their true opinions due to a general societal condemnation of such views. Research has also found that honesty can lead to interpersonal harm because people avoid information about how their honest behavior affects others. If you plant Honesty you will reap trust.

ChatGPT

  1. honest

    Honest refers to a person's characteristic of being truthful, sincere, and free from deceit or fraud. It denotes the application of moral integrity in actions, speech, and behavior, implying authenticity, fairness, and a refusal to lie, steal, or cheat.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Honestadjective

    decent; honorable; suitable; becoming

  2. Honestadjective

    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

  3. Honestadjective

    open; frank; as, an honest countenance

  4. Honestadjective

    chaste; faithful; virtuous

  5. Honestadjective

    to adorn; to grace; to honor; to make becoming, appropriate, or honorable

  6. Etymology: [L. honestare to clothe or adorn with honor: cf. F. honester. See Honest, a.]

Wikidata

  1. Honest

    Honest is a black comedy crime film released in 2000. The film was the directorial debut of ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart and starred Peter Facinelli and three members of the British/Canadian girl group All Saints: sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton, and Melanie Blatt. The plot follows the antics of three gun-toting, streetwise, saucy sisters in Swinging London in the late 1960s. The film is most notable for the topless scenes by the Appleton sisters. Blatt and the Appletons also contributed to three songs on the film's soundtrack. Honest received blistering reviews with one critic remarking, "It is the worst kind of rubbish, the kind that makes you angry you have wasted 105 minutes of your life." However, the Sunday Times gave it 4 stars and called it a "cult classic" à la Amazon Women on the Moon. The film was screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The low budget film flopped in its opening week in the UK, earning only £111,309 on 220 screens.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Honest

    on′est, adj. full of honour: just: the opposite of thievish, free from fraud: frank, fair-seeming, openly shown: chaste: (B.) honourable.—adv. Hon′estly.—n. Hon′esty, the state of being honest: integrity: candour: a small flowering plant, so called from its transparent seed-pouch: (B.) becoming deportment: (Shak.) chastity.—Make an honest woman of, to marry, where the woman has been dishonoured first. [Fr.,—L. honestushonor.]

Editors Contribution

  1. honest

    The actions and characteristics of being truthful.

    She was always honest with all her customers and they knew it so trusted her.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 29, 2015  

Suggested Resources

  1. honest

    Quotes by honest -- Explore a large variety of famous quotes made by honest on the Quotes.net website.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'honest' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3887

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'honest' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1206

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'honest' in Adjectives Frequency: #448

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce honest?

How to say honest in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of honest in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of honest in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of honest in a Sentence

  1. Carol Swayze:

    We’re voting for a president who’s really in a lot of ways a manager, i think for a lot of us, the issue of sanctity of life was paramount. … We felt like Trump was very honest about his evolution in his understanding of that issue.

  2. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

    I'll be very honest, I got heat from my own party for that -- for making that point. But if we really want to pass a humanitarian bill then let's make a humanitarian bill and if it's not a humanitarian bill then don't call it a humanitarian bill. It's a border militarization bill.

  3. Franklin P. Jones:

    Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger.

  4. Davis Paine:

    The people of Kentucky deserve a fair and honest election. With reports of irregularities, we are exercising the right to ensure that every lawful vote was counted.

  5. Commissioner Adam Silver:

    Just to be really honest, I think getting to Asia during an All-Star break would be that much more difficult than traveling to Europe in an All-Star break, if we do get to the point where we believe we can experiment with playing an All-Star Game outside of the U.S. and Canada, I think in the first instance we probably would not be looking to go to Asia.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for honest

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"honest." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/honest>.

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