- not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; trustworthy
- not false or misleading; genuine
- just or fair: honest wages
- characterized by sincerity and candour: an honest appraisal
- without pretensions or artificial traits: honest farmers
- archaic (of a woman) respectable
- honest broker ⇒ a mediator in disputes, esp international ones
- make an honest woman of ⇒ to marry (a woman, esp one who is pregnant) to prevent scandal
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hon•est /ˈɑnɪst/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- honorable in principles, intentions, and actions;
upright:decent, honest folk. - showing fairness and trustworthiness:honest business dealings.
- gained fairly:to earn an honest living.
- sincere;
open:an honest face. - truthful or creditable:He gave an honest account of how he had received the money.
hon•est
(on′ist),USA pronunciation adj.
hon′est•ness, n.
- honorable in principles, intentions, and actions;
upright and fair:an honest person. - showing uprightness and fairness:honest dealings.
- gained or obtained fairly:honest wealth.
- sincere;
frank:an honest face. - genuine or unadulterated:honest commodities.
- respectable;
having a good reputation:an honest name. - truthful or creditable:honest weights.
- humble, plain, or unadorned.
- [Archaic.]chaste;
virtuous.
- Latin honestus honorable, equivalent. to hones- (variant stem of honōs) honor + -tus adjective, adjectival suffix
- Middle French
- Middle English honeste 1250–1300
- 1. just, incorruptible, trusty, trustworthy. 2. fair. 4. straightforward, candid. 5. 9. pure.
- 1. dishonest, corrupt.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
honest /ˈɒnɪst/ adj
'honest' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bona fides
- brutal
- candour
- direct
- dishonest
- disjunctive
- either
- foursquare
- frank
- frankly
- honestly
- honesty
- IMHO
- incorruptible
- just
- level
- pay
- plain
- prove
- Robinson
- single
- soul
- sound
- square
- squarely
- square shooter
- straight
- straight and narrow
- straightforward
- straight-out
- take
- Taoism
- trustworthy
- truthful
- up
- upfront
- upright
- venture
- veracious
- white
- aboveboard
- Aminah
- assertiveness training
- bag
- bluff
- bona fide
- bribe
- candid
- choirboy
- come