The honest man does not steal, cheat, or defraud; the honorable man will not take an unfair advantage that would be allowed him, or will make a sacrifice which no one could require of him, when his own sense of right demands it.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

worthy It's better to be envied than to be worthy of pity.
noble The country was governed by a French noble family.
respectable I know some most respectable people in the town.
honest Say what you will, I think he is an honest person.
ethical I don't think that it would be ethical to do that.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
honorable		falling
worthy		steady
noble		falling
respectable		steady
estimable		steady
honest		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: just¹, good¹, true¹, fair¹, gurt
5 letters: right¹, great¹, noble²
6 letters: honest², worthy²
7 letters: ethical³, revered²
8 letters: virtuous³
9 letters: admirable⁴, reputable⁴, impartial³, venerable⁴, estimable⁴
10 letters: creditable⁴
11 letters: respectable⁴, trustworthy³, illustrious⁴
12 letters: praiseworthy³
13 letters: conscientious⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (noble² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: honorable
Italiano: onorabile
Deutsch: ehrbar