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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective honorable differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of honorable are conscientious, honest, just, scrupulous, and upright. While all these words mean "having or showing a strict regard for what is morally right," honorable suggests a firm holding to codes of right behavior and the guidance of a high sense of honor and duty.

a difficult but honorable decision

How are the words conscientious and scrupulous related as synonyms of honorable?

Both conscientious and scrupulous imply an active moral sense governing all one's actions and painstaking efforts to follow one's conscience.

conscientious in the completion of her assignments
scrupulous in carrying out the terms of the will

In what contexts can honest take the place of honorable?

Although the words honest and honorable have much in common, honest stresses adherence to such virtues as truthfulness, candor, or fairness.

known for being honest in business dealings

When could just be used to replace honorable?

The synonyms just and honorable are sometimes interchangeable, but just stresses conscious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable.

workers given just compensation

When would upright be a good substitute for honorable?

While the synonyms upright and honorable are close in meaning, upright implies a strict adherence to moral principles.

a stern and upright minister

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of honorable Allen was a Navy veteran until his honorable discharge in 1959, then became an elementary school teacher. Jessica Sager, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024 However, bravery and selflessness alone, no matter how honorable, are insufficient to discharge the Secret Service's no-fail protective mission. Luke Barr, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2024 Veterans who receive an honorable discharge are eligible for a variety of military benefits, including educational assistance, health care, loans, and hiring preferences. Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 16 Oct. 2024 The news comes a little more than a year after proactively reviewing the records of LGBTQ+ veterans who might be eligible for an honorable discharge but had not yet applied for one. Jessica Kegu, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for honorable 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for honorable
Adjective
  • This leads to an honest and bracing conversation about the nature of addiction.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Healthy relationships, open or closed, involve honest communication.
    Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Second, most congressional Republicans have abandoned ethical norms.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024
  • The Supreme Court’s deference to FDR during World War II resulted in unjustifiable ethical breaches, but its new code of conduct has not resolved the question of when a justice should be disqualified from a case.
    Jed S. Rakoff, The New York Review of Books, 14 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The dismissiveness with which liberals treated these concerns was part of something else: dismissiveness toward the moral objections many Americans have to various progressive causes.
    Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Why Words Matter Many young voters believe our nation is at a critical inflection point with respect to its own cultural, political, and moral identity.
    Earl Carr, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • In the Price family, going to prison was seen as a badge of honor, or a rite of passage; but the reality of it doesn’t feel half as noble as the idea.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
  • No matter how well-intentioned a policy goal or noble a humanitarian cause, there are always tradeoffs to weigh before deciding on a course of action.
    Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The panel's high refresh rate is also a nice touch, with a peak 120Hz for gaming and media creation.
    Brian Westover, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
  • His work garnered him a few nicknames, more followers and a nice pay bump.
    Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Moving nuclear warheads during a conventional war is extremely dangerous behavior and would demonstrate that Russia is no longer a conscientious nuclear power.
    William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Having a conscientious personality is closely related to living longer, says David Watson, a former professor of personality psychology at the University of Notre Dame.
    Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Modena says the new car will accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds and top out at a respectable 177 mph.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Speak No Evil, a James McAvoy–starring remake of a 2022 Danish-Dutch psycho-thriller of the same name, delivered respectable returns for Blumhouse ($76.2 million on a $15 million budget).
    Chris Lee, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • The movie’s true set pieces are the professorial villain’s ostentatious monologues using fast food, musical plagiarism, and Monopoly as metaphors to point out how modern religions are just conspicuous iterations of what’s come before.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Of course, the truest form of mobile hunting is deer hunting from the ground from a natural blind.
    Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 7 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near honorable

Cite this Entry

“Honorable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/honorable. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on honorable

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