Honesty Is Also a Plant With Silver Coins
Honesty is truthfulness. It is also a garden plant whose flat, translucent seed pods look like silver pennies.
Honesty is the quality of being truthful and straight in dealing. It is also the English name of a garden plant, *Lunaria*, whose seed pods dry into flat translucent discs like small coins — which is presumably why a plant that looks like money is called honesty.
- Truthfulness and integrity. *Complete honesty.*
- A garden plant with disc-shaped seed pods. *Honesty in a dry vase.*
- In all honesty — frankly. *In all honesty, I forgot.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | honesty | Refreshing honesty. |
| Adjective | honest | An honest answer. |
| Adverb | honestly | Honestly, I do not know. |
| Opposite | dishonesty | Accused of dishonesty. |
| Related | integrity | Personal integrity. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Her honesty cost her the promotion.Uncountable.
- In all honesty, the film was too long.A softener before a criticism.
- There is an honesty box by the gate.A box where people pay without supervision.
Related qualities
- Honesty — telling the truth
- Integrity — acting consistently on principles
- Candour — saying what you think, even when awkward
- Frankness — openness that can shade into bluntness
- Transparency — making information available so honesty can be checked
From Latin *honestas*, honour or respectability, from *honos*, honour. In older English *honest* meant respectable rather than truthful, which is why *an honest woman* once meant something rather different.
What is an honesty box?
An unattended container where customers leave payment themselves, common at farm gates and in village halls.
Honesty or integrity?
Honesty is about what you say. Integrity is about whether your actions match your stated principles.