dis ‧ hon ‧ est /dɪsˈɒnəst, dɪsˈɒnɪst $ -ˈɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ honesty ≠ ↑ dishonesty ; adverb : ↑ honestly ≠ ↑ dishonestly ; adjective : ↑ honest ≠ ↑ dishonest ]
not honest, and so deceiving or cheating people OPP honest :
dishonest traders
People on welfare are wrongly seen as lazy or dishonest.
—dishonestly adverb :
A person is guilty of theft if he or she dishonestly obtains property.
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THESAURUS
▪ dishonest behaving in a way that is intended to deceive people, for example by lying, cheating, or stealing:
Are you accusing me of being dishonest?
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The money was acquired through dishonest means.
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People are no longer surprised to find that politicians are dishonest.
▪ corrupt using your power in a dishonest way for your own advantage – used about people in official positions:
corrupt politicians
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Law and order has broken down, and most government officials are corrupt.
▪ devious /ˈdiːviəs/ good at secretly thinking of clever plans to trick people in order to get what you want:
You have a very devious mind!
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They use all kinds of devious methods to find out your personal details.
▪ underhand British English , underhanded American English underhand methods involve secretly deceiving people in order to get what you want:
In a series of underhand moves, Browne managed to gain control of the company.
▪ sneaky doing or saying things secretly, in a way that seems wrong because it is slightly dishonest or unfair:
It was pretty sneaky when the bank charged me interest on my account without telling me.
▪ sly deliberately behaving in a way that hides what you are really thinking or doing, in a way that is slightly dishonest:
Lucy decided not to tell him where she was going. She was often a bit sly like that.
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He’s a sly old fox.
▪ unscrupulous /ʌnˈskruːpjələs, ʌnˈskruːpjʊləs/ using dishonest and unfair methods to get what you want, without caring if you harm other people:
Some unscrupulous companies try to persuade people to borrow huge sums of money.
▪ fraudulent /ˈfrɔːdjələnt, ˈfrɔːdjʊlənt $ ˈfrɒːdʒə-/ formal deliberately deceiving people in an illegal way in order to gain money or power:
You will be prosecuted if you make a fraudulent claim on your insurance policy.
■ seeming to be dishonest
▪ suspicious if someone or something seems suspicious, they make you think that something dishonest or illegal is happening:
The police are treating the boy’s death as suspicious.
▪ dubious if something seems dubious, you think it may not be completely true, right, or honest:
He has a rather dubious reputation.
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It all sounds highly dubious to me.
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the country’s dubious record on human rights
▪ shady shady business deals or people seem to be dishonest or connected with secret and illegal activities:
Several senior members of the party had been involved in shady deals.
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a shady character
▪ shifty someone who looks shifty looks as if they are doing or planning something dishonest:
The man on the market stall looked a bit shifty when he gave me my change.
▪ dodgy British English informal probably dishonest and not to be trusted – used especially to say that you do not want to be involved with someone or something:
There’s something a bit dodgy about him.
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dodgy business deals