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adj. 1. Disposed to lie, cheat, defraud, or deceive. 2. Resulting from or marked by a lack of honesty. [Middle English dishoneste, dishonorable, from Old French deshoneste, probably from Medieval Latin *dishonestus : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin honestus, honorable; see HONEST.] dis·honest·ly adv. Synonyms: dishonest, lying2, untruthful, deceitful, mendacious These adjectives mean lacking honesty or truthfulness. Dishonest is the least specific: a dishonest reply; a dishonest business executive; had been dishonest with myself. Lying conveys a blunt accusation of falsehood: a lying witness whose testimony fell apart under cross-examination. Untruthful is a softer term and often suggests evasiveness or distortion rather than outright lies: published an untruthful account of the incident. Deceitful implies misleading by falsehood or by concealment of the truth: deceitful advertising. Mendacious is more formal than lying, and suggests a chronic inclination toward untruth: a mendacious, power-hungry politician. |
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