Other

honest

Pronunciation: /ˈɒnɪst/

Definition of honest

free of deceit; truthful and sincere:I haven’t been totally honest with you
morally correct or virtuous:I did the only right and honest thing
[attributive] fairly earned, especially through hard work:he’s struggling to make an honest living
(of an action) done with good intentions even if unsuccessful or misguided:he’d made an honest mistake
[attributive] simple, unpretentious, and unsophisticated:good honest food with no gimmicks

informal

used to persuade someone of the truth of something:you’ll like it when you get there, honest

Phrases

earn (or turn) an honest penny: earn money fairly.
make an honest woman of: dated or humorous marry a woman, especially to avoid scandal if she is pregnant.
[honest here originally meant 'respectable', but was probably associated with the archaic sense 'chaste']
to be honest: speaking frankly:to be honest, I expected to play worse

Middle English (originally in the sense 'held in or deserving of honour'): via Old French from Latin honestus, from honos (see honour)

Definition of honest in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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