Synonyms for honest
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Frank — true, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased
frank, trustworthy, true, just, genuine, sincere, forthright, reliable, candid, righteous, virtuous, straight, downright, proper, decent, conscientious, open, equitable, unpretentious, faithful, plain, ingenuous
2. Fair
fair, good, honorable US, honourable UK
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
True, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased.
an honest account of events
- adj. 2
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.
Related words
- Word family
- honestly honestness honest-to-goodness honesty
- Phrases
- to be honest honest comment
- Is a kind of
- dependable ethical honorable principled reliable
Choose the right word
Honest and ingenuous unite in expressing contempt for deceit.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- true The time will come when your dream will come true.
- frank Americans are frank enough to say what they think.
- genuine These letters have been acknowledged to be genuine.
- trustworthy He is a good fellow for sure, but not trustworthy.
- truthful I'm pretty sure Tom and Mary were being truthful.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| honest | rising | |
| true | steady | |
| frank | falling | |
| genuine | steady | |
| trustworthy | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- just1, good1, open2, true1, fair1
- 5 letters
- frank1, plain1
- 6 letters
- proper2, decent2, candid2
- 7 letters
- genuine3, sincere2
- 8 letters
- straight1, reliable4, faithful2, truthful2, virtuous3
- 9 letters
- righteous2, honorable4, downright2, equitable4, ingenuous4
- 10 letters
- honourable4, forthright2
- 11 letters
- trustworthy3
- 13 letters
- conscientious4, unpretentious4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (open2 = 2 syllables).