Dishonesty

How to spell dishonesty

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce dishonesty

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dishonesty mean?

1. nounThe quality of being untruthful or deceitful; a lack of integrity.

Dishonesty in a sentence

• The audit exposed widespread dishonesty in the company's accounts.

• His dishonesty about the mileage cost him the sale of the car.

Where does dishonesty come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word builds on 'honest', which English took in the 1300s from the Old French 'honeste', itself from the Latin 'honestus' meaning 'honourable' or 'worthy of respect', a form rooted in 'honos' (honour). Attached to this is the native prefix 'dis-', a Latin element meaning 'not' or 'the opposite of', which reverses the sense to 'lacking honour or truthfulness'. The abstract noun ending '-y' (from Latin '-ia' through French) turns the adjective into the quality itself, giving 'dishonesty', meaning the practice of being untruthful. The silent 'h' in the middle is the real spelling trap: it survives from the Latin spelling even though English speakers stopped pronouncing it long ago. The same buried 'h' lurks in its relatives 'honour', 'honest' and 'heir', all of which keep a written 'h' that the voice never sounds.

How the word is built

• dis- (not, opposite of)
• honest (from Latin honestus: honourable)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)