3
: the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completenessChoose the Right Synonym for integrity
honesty, honor, integrity, probity mean uprightness of character or action.
honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way.
honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position.
integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge.
probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.
Examples of integrity in a Sentence Many were tempted by a piece of the equity action and compromised their integrity. —Bruce Nussbaum, Business Week, 28 Jan. 2002 By September, Gorbachev had told his aides that with Eastern Europe and Germany lost, the task was to defend the integrity of the Soviet Union itself. —Condoleezza Rice, Newsweek, 22 Nov. 1999 But it is stunning to hear self-appointed watchdogs of public integrity shrug their shoulders at "standard" prosecutorial practice … —Wendy Kaminer, New York Times Book Review, 22 Mar. 1998 … a hundred-and-one-year-old Jewish philanthropist … donated two and a quarter million dollars to the Archdiocese to purchase the property and preserve the integrity of the landmark. —Brendan Gill, New Yorker, 10 June 1991 He's a man of the highest integrity. I admire her artistic integrity. She had the integrity to refuse to compromise on matters of principle. Without music, the film loses its integrity. They are trying to preserve the cultural integrity of the community. The earthquake may have damaged the building's structural integrity. Recent Examples on the Web 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. Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism. —Grant Lancaster, Arkansas Online, 27 Apr. 2025 Given influencer marketing's rise to a multi-billion-dollar industry, integrity is more important now than ever. —Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025 Too many incorrect calls will sacrifice the integrity of the game. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025 Yes, he’s made clear his flexibility on territorial integrity (see Greenland/Denmark, Panama, and even Canada). —Ian Bremmer, Time, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for integrity Word HistoryEtymology
Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of integrity was in the 15th century Cite this Entry“Integrity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
Last Updated: 30 Apr 2025 - Updated example sentencesLove words? Need even more definitions?
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
Merriam-Webster unabridged More from Merriam-Webster Popular in Grammar & UsageRetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo
HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.3