different between honest vs direct

English

Etymology

From Middle English honest, honeste, from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus, from honor. For the verb, see Latin honest?re (“to clothe or adorn with honour”), and compare French honester. Displaced Old English ferht (“honest”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??n?st/
  • (RP dated) IPA^(key): /???n?st/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??n?st/

Adjective

honest (comparative honester or more honest, superlative honestest or most honest)

1. (of a person or institution) Scrupulous with regard to telling the truth; not given to swindling, lying, or fraud; upright.
   • c. 1680, William Temple, Of Popular Discontents

     A true and honest physician is excused for leaving his patient, when he finds the disease grown desperate

2. (of a statement) True, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased.

3. In good faith; without malice.

4. (of a measurement device) Accurate.

5. Authentic; full.

6. Earned or acquired in a fair manner.

7. Open; frank.

8. (obsolete) Decent; honourable; suitable; becoming.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
9. (obsolete) Chaste; faithful; virtuous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:honest

Antonyms

• dishonest

Derived terms

• honesty
• keep someone honest
• make an honest woman

Translations

Verb

honest (third-person singular simple present honests, present participle honesting, simple past and past participle honested)

1. (obsolete) To adorn or grace; to honour; to make becoming, appropriate, or honourable.
   • 1609, Ben Jonson, Epicœne, or The Silent Woman

     You have very much honested my lodging with your presence.

Adverb

honest (comparative more honest, superlative most honest)

1. (colloquial) Honestly; really.

   It wasn’t my fault, honest.

Further reading

• honest in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• honest in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Heston, Stheno, oneths

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin honestus.

Adjective

honest (feminine honesta, masculine plural honests or honestos, feminine plural honestes)

1. upright, decent, honorable

Derived terms

• deshonest
• honestament

Related terms

• honestedat
• honor

Further reading

• “honest” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “honest” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “honest” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “honest” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus, perfect passive participle of d?rig? (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + reg? (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d(a)????kt/, /d????kt/, /da??????kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt
• Hyphenation: di?rect

Adjective

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
2. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.

3. Straightforward; sincere.
4. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.

   • He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England

     a direct and avowed interference with elections

5. In the line of descent; not collateral.

6. (astronomy) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; said of the motion of a celestial body.
7. (political science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates.

8. (aviation, travel) having a single flight number.

Synonyms

• (proceeding uninterrupted): immediate
• (express, plain, unambiguous): explicit, patent, univocal; see also Thesaurus:explicit

Antonyms

• indirect

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Directly.
   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 346:

     Presumably Mary is to carry messages that she, Anne, is too delicate to convey direct.

Verb

direct (third-person singular simple present directs, present participle directing, simple past and past participle directed)

1. To manage, control, steer.

   to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army

2. To aim (something) at (something else).

   They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.

   He directed his question to the room in general.

3. To point out or show to (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way.

   He directed me to the left-hand road.

   • 1882, John Lubbock, Flowers, Fruits and Leaves

     the next points to which I will direct your attention

4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.

   She directed them to leave immediately.
5. (dated) To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent.

   to direct a letter

Derived terms

• co-direct, codirect
• misdirect
• redirect

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Credit, credit, triced

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French direct, from Latin d?r?ctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di?r?kt/
• Hyphenation: di?rect
• Rhymes: -?kt

Adjective

direct (comparative directer, superlative directst)

1. direct, immediate
2. direct, blunt, frank

Inflection

Adverb

direct

1. immediately

Synonyms

• onmiddellijk
• meteen
• rechtstreeks

Derived terms

• drek

Descendants

• Afrikaans: direk
• ? Papiamentu: dirèkt

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.??kt/
• Homophones: directe, directes, directs

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus. Doublet of droit, which was inherited.

Adjective

direct (feminine singular directe, masculine plural directs, feminine plural directes)

1. direct

Etymology 2

From directement.

Adverb

direct

1. (colloquial) directly

   Si t'as pas envie d'y aller, dis-le direct.

   • 'If you don't want to go, say it straight up.'

Derived terms

Related terms

• diriger
• directeur
• direction

See also

• droit

Anagrams

• crédit
• décrit
• dicter

Further reading

• “direct” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus, perfect passive participle of d?rig?, d?rigere (“straighten, direct”). Compare the inherited drait, drouait.

Adjective

direct m

1. (Jersey) direct

Derived terms

• directément (“directly”)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French direct, Latin directus. Compare the inherited doublet drept.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di?rekt/

Adjective

direct m or n (feminine singular direct?, masculine plural direc?i, feminine and neuter plural directe)

1. direct
2. head-on

Declension

Adverb

direct

1. directly
2. straight