English Reference
adjective

dishonest

adj.
US /dɪˈsɑnəst/ UK /dɪsˈɒnɪst/ dis·hon·est

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    not honest; likely to lie, cheat, or steal to get what you want.

    behaving in a deceitful or untrustworthy manner; lacking integrity in speech or action.

    Simple

    It was dishonest of him to take credit for work he didn't do.

    In context

    The investigation revealed that the company had been using dishonest accounting practices to hide its mounting debts from investors.

    deceitfuluntruthfulcorrupt
  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate

    describes something, like a statement or a plan, that is meant to trick people.

    intended to mislead or deceive; fraudulent in nature or purpose.

    Simple

    The advertisement was dishonest because it didn't mention the extra costs.

    In context

    The politician's dishonest response to the scandal only served to further erode the public's trust in the administration.


From Middle English dishoneste (“dishonourable”), from Old French deshoneste, from Latin dehonestus. Equivalent to dis- + honest. Displaced native Old English unsōþfæst.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin dehonestus
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated