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HONEST
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Gained or earned without cheating or stealing
Example:
an fair penny
Synonyms:
fair; honest
Classified under:
Similar:
equitable; just (fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not forged
Example:
a good dollar bill
Synonyms:
good; honest
Classified under:
Similar:
echt; genuine (not fake or counterfeit)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
Example:
honest reporting
Synonyms:
honest; honorable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
downright (characterized by plain blunt honesty)
Also:
direct (straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action)
echt; genuine (not fake or counterfeit)
honorable; honourable (worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect)
artless; ingenuous (characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious)
sincere (open and genuine; not deceitful)
square; straight (characterized by honesty and fairness)
true (consistent with fact or reality; not false)
trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)
Antonym:
dishonest (deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive)
Derivation:
honestness (the quality of being honest)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Marked by truth
Example:
honest reporting
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
true; truthful (expressing or given to expressing the truth)
Derivation:
honestness (the quality of being honest)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Without pretensions
Example:
good honest food
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unpretentious (lacking pretension or affectation)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Without dissimulation; frank
Example:
my honest opinion
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
sincere (open and genuine; not deceitful)
Derivation:
honestness (the quality of being honest)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Worthy of being depended on
Example:
I would be true for there are those who trust me
Synonyms:
dependable; honest; reliable; true
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)
Derivation:
honestness (the quality of being honest)
Context examples:
"Genital odors of ring-tailed lemurs provide honest information about an individual's absolute and relative MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) quality," write the researchers in a paper.
(Lemurs can smell whether a mate's immune genes are a good match, National Science Foundation)
“Now, God's blessing on your honest English voice!” cried the stranger, pricking up his ears at the sound of Alleyne's words.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
We perfectly understand the present vexation; and everybody must love you the better for such a noble honest affection.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
She would endeavour to be rational, and to deserve the right of judging of Miss Crawford's character, and the privilege of true solicitude for him by a sound intellect and an honest heart.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
In honest words, her money was necessary to me, and in a situation like mine, any thing was to be done to prevent a rupture.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
And that, Lady Avon and gentlemen, is an exact and honest account of how Captain Barrington came by his end.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Clara was honest and quiet; but heavy, mindless, and unimpressible: not one whit to my taste.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Presently his honest black face topped the rocks and his Herculean figure emerged upon the top of the pinnacle.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He has the reputation of being hot-headed and imperious, but a straight, honest man.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The man whom I found myself facing was a well-built, fresh-complexioned young fellow, with a frank, honest face and a slight, crisp, yellow moustache.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
