dishonest implies a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, or defraud.
a swindle usually involves two dishonest people
deceitful usually implies an intent to mislead and commonly suggests a false appearance or double-dealing.
the secret affairs of a deceitful spouse
mendacious may suggest bland or even harmlessly mischievous deceit and when used of people often suggests a habit of telling untruths.
mendacious tales of adventure
untruthful stresses a discrepancy between what is said and fact or reality.
an untruthful account of their actions
Examples of dishonest in a Sentence
She gave dishonest answers to our questions.
I think he is being dishonest about how much he knows
Recent Examples on the WebFocusing On Real Life Interactions To Avoid Deception Many users report feeling deceived and disappointed after getting emotionally invested in someone over text, only to discover that the person had been dishonest.—Mark Travers, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 The crucial element was, again, randomness — the verifier’s choice of snippets would have to be unpredictable, to ensure that a dishonest prover couldn’t hide inconsistencies anywhere.—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 4 Oct. 2024 The idea that overall and at our core people are selfish, greedy, and dishonest.—Sean Illing, Vox, 16 Sep. 2024 Deceived by a dishonest record label legend and pursued by a murderous prison guard, numerous adventures await them, but their ultimate challenge becomes keeping the band together amid the chaos.—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dishonest
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dishonest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French deshoneste, from des- dis- + honeste honest
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