Honorable
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A politician or other person who bears the title of "honorable". US
"These included a reception for the Congress participants, given by the city of Barcelona in a 14th century palace, with guards making room for the mayor and other honorables, […]"
- 1 Behaving in a manner that shows honor; decent, having integrity. US
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of honorable. alt-of
- 3 Worthy of respect; respectable. US
"In confinement ladies are attended, not by the ordinary doctors, but by women especially devoted to the calling, who regard their profession as honorable and humanitary."
- 4 Complying with cultural rules regarding honor; not provoking shame or disgrace. US
"That culture considered it no disgrace to be defeated in honorable combat."
- 5 A courtesy title, given in Britain and the Commonwealth to a cabinet minister, minister of state, or senator, and in the United States to the president, vice president, congresspeople, state governors and legislators, and mayors. US
"Uncheered by friends, unhissed by foes, the honorable member blandly continued his speech […]"
- 1 not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; marked by truth wordnet
- 2 worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect wordnet
- 3 deserving of esteem and respect wordnet
- 4 adhering to ethical and moral principles wordnet
Example
More examples"You should do the honorable thing and resign."
Etymology
From Middle English honourable, from Old French honorable, honurable, from Latin honōrābilis, from honōrō (“I honour”); cognate with Italian onorabile, Spanish honorable. By surface analysis, honor + -able. In this sense, largely displaced Old English ārfæst.
Related phrases
More for "honorable"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.