By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
Here are 149 of the best honesty quotes I could find. And please remember, the more honest you are, the more self-respect you’ll gain, the more confidence you’ll develop. Enjoy!
Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people. Warren Buffett
Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones. John Lennon
Honesty is often very hard. The truth is often painful. But the freedom it can bring is worth the trying. Fred Rogers
To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength. Criss Jami
Honesty is telling the truth to ourselves and others. Integrity is living that truth. Kenneth H. Blanchard
We are franker towards others than towards ourselves. Friedrich Nietzsche
No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful. Eleanor Roosevelt
Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. Maya Angelou
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. Maya Angelou
If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius
The real source of inner joy is to remain truthful and honest. 14th Dalai Lama
Leading your life honestly and truthfully will create trust and friendship. 14th Dalai Lama
Authenticity without empathy is selfish. Authenticity without boundaries is careless. Adam Grant
There is one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says ‘yes’, you know he is crooked. Groucho Marx
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. Kent M. Keith
Related
- 130 Truth Quotes To Make You Live Rightly
- 100 Integrity Quotes That Will Empower You
- 100 Trust Quotes To Bring More Certainty (In Life and Work)
The Best Honesty Quotes
Telling the truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile. Paulo Coelho
Before you can lie to another, you must first lie to yourself. Naval Ravikant
When you’re dishonest with yourself, you’re disconnected from reality. You’re going to make poor decisions. You’re going to drop out of the moment and you’re going to be less happy and you’re going to be wrong. Naval Ravikant
When you face a choice between being polite and being honest, err on the side of the truth. It’s better to be disliked but respected than to be liked but disrespected. In the long run, the people we trust the most are those who have the courage to be sincere. Adam Grant
Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen. Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection)
A lie has speed, but truth has endurance. Edgar J. Mohn
The most interesting thing you can say is the most honest. Rorty Witt
Honesty plus love will get you through most situations. Naval Ravikant
Create from the heart to produce something meaningful. Speak from the heart to build solid relationships. Live from the heart to have a beautiful life. Maxime Lagacé
The truth is the only thing worth having, and, in a civilized life, like ours, where so many risks are removed, facing it is almost the only courageous thing left to do. E.V. Lucas
It is not easy to keep silent when silence is a lie. Victor Hugo
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius
To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. Will Durant
The good I stand on is my truth and honesty. William Shakespeare
Authenticity is powerful because it is, by definition, impossible to fake. To lead an authentic life is to lead a truly honest life. Ed Latimore
If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t fix yourself. Admitting you have a problem is the first step for a good reason. Ed Latimore
To live a life of honesty and integrity is a responsibility of every decent person. Noam Chomsky
Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth. William Faulkner
To express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself; that, my friend, is very hard to do. Bruce Lee
All other knowledge is hurtful to him who has not the science of honesty and goodness. Michel de Montaigne
People aren’t in awe of your sharp mind? So be it. But you have many other qualities you can’t claim to have been deprived of at birth. Display then those qualities in your own power: honesty, dignity, endurance, chastity, contentment, frugality, kindness. Marcus Aurelius
Be honest, truthful, and altruistic. If you concern yourself with taking care of others, there’ll be no room for lies, bullying and cheating. If you’re truthful you can live transparently, which will enable you to establish trust, the basis for making friends. 14th Dalai Lama
When we are committed to honesty, we help reduce the level of misunderstanding, doubt, and fear throughout society. 14th Dalai Lama
When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion. Abraham Lincoln
When a man is penalized for honesty he learns to lie. Criss Jami
The responsibility is all yours; no one can stop you from being honest or straightforward. Marcus Aurelius
Part 2. Honesty Quotes That Are…
The Most Famous Honesty Quotes (Mother Teresa, Shakespeare, Rousseau, etc.)
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. Thomas Jefferson
Honesty is the best policy. Benjamin Franklin
Honesty first; then courage; then brains – and all are indispensable. Theodore Roosevelt
Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself. William Shakespeare
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest. Mahatma Gandhi
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. Dr. Seuss
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. Mother Teresa
No legacy is so rich as honesty. William Shakespeare
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. Mark Twain
To live outside the law, you must be honest. Bob Dylan
I think honesty is the most heroic quality one can aspire to. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
All kinds of frankness and honesty are terrible crimes in the eyes of society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. George Washington
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. George Washington
There is no foundation like the rock of honesty and fairness, and when you begin to build your life on that rock, with the cement of the faith in God that you have, then you have a real start. Ronald Reagan
No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. Abraham Lincoln
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. Oscar Wilde
The challenge today is to convince people of the value of truth, honesty, compassion and a concern for others. 14th Dalai Lama
You ask me what forces me to speak? A strange thing; my conscience. Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)
Unless you’re ashamed of yourself now and then, you’re not honest. William Faulkner
Each time we don’t say what we wanna say, we’re dying. Yoko Ono
Short Honesty Quotes
One-liners, short honesty quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
Truth builds trust. Marilyn Suttle
Truth fears no questions. Unknown
You can’t lie to your soul. Irvine Welsh
Frankness invites frankness. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Clarity is a gift of honesty. @AmuseChimp
Be honest rather than clever. Maxime Lagacé
Be silly. Be honest. Be kind. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Honesty saves everyone’s time. Unknown
Spontaneity is total sincerity. Alan Watts
An honest man’s the noblest work of God. Alexander Pope
Art is to beauty what honor is to honesty. Winston Churchill
Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud. Sophocles
Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door. Vernon Howard
An honest man is always a child. Socrates
If you want to get free, you have to first get honest. Joyce Meyer
Just try, try to be right here, open, honest, straight. Ram Dass
A little candor never leaves me. It is what protects me. Antonio Porchia
Inspirational Honesty Quotes
Three little duties – to try hard, to be honest, and to help ourselves and others. Ryan Holiday
It is always helpful to remain honest and truthful in the face of difficulty. 14th Dalai Lama
If in day to day life you lead a good life, honestly, with love, compassion, and less selfishness, then automatically you will find peace. 14th Dalai Lama
If you want to save time, be honest. If you want to save your life, be courageous. Maxime Lagacé
Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist. Mary Kay Ash
The function and duty of a human being, a “quality” human being, that is, is the sincere and honest development of potential and self-actualization. Bruce Lee
Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product. Ed McMahon
Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue. Bell Hooks
We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone. Roy T. Bennett
There’s just some magic in truth and honesty and openness. Frank Ocean
When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak. Audre Lorde
If you keep hiding your true self, your life becomes like slow death. Once you become free from the lies and the hiding of yourself, then life becomes vibrant again. Ziggy Marley
On the whole, and by and large, if a man lived properly, not according to what any priests said, but according to what seemed decent and honest inside, then it would, at the end, more or less, turn out all right. Terry Pratchett
When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret. Shannon L. Alder
Honesty is not only “the first step toward greatness,” – it is greatness itself. Christian Nestell Bovee
May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children. Rainer Maria Rilke
Be honest about where you are at so that you can get to where you want to be. Joyce Meyer
Related: 5 Qualities of Honest Individuals (inc.com)
Funny And Surprising Honesty Quotes
People are like music, some speak the truth and others are just noise. Bill Murray
Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it. Mark Twain
A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar. Mark Twain
If honesty were suddenly introduced into American life, the whole system would collapse. George Carlin
Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance. William Shakespeare
For honesty coupled to beauty, is to have honey a sauce to sugar. William Shakespeare
A good conscience is a continual Christmas. Benjamin Franklin
It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place. Henry Louis Mencken
Most of what I say is complete truth. My edit button is broken. Myra McEntire
Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children. Oliver Wendell
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on. Winston Churchill
He who is not sure of his memory, should not undertake the trade of lying. Michel de Montaigne
Related: A new study linking profanity to honesty shows people who curse are more authentic (qz.com)
Deep Honesty Sayings
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. Plato
No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous. Henry Adams
When you are truly honest with yourself some people won’t like you. Do it anyway. Maxime Lagacé
If you prefer to not play the game and to always be honest and upfront, do not complain when others call you obnoxious and arrogant. Robert Greene
When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed. Ayn Rand
Be kind and honest, and harmful poisons will turn sweet inside you. Rumi
If we were all given by magic the power to read each other’s thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be to dissolve all friendships. Bertrand Russell
Anyone around whom I can’t be fully honest, I don’t want to be around. Naval Ravikant
I want to be able to just be me. I never want to be in an environment or around people where I have to watch what I say. Naval Ravikant
Honesty is an active verb, not a passive noun. Go out of your way to be truthful, beginning with the things that you say to yourself. Joe Tye
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
To be truly positive in the eyes of some, you have to risk appearing negative in the eyes of others. Criss Jami (Killosophy)
The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed. Ernest Hemingway
And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too. Khaled Hosseini
Honesty is the rarest wealth anyone can possess, and yet all the honesty in the world ain’t lawful tender for a loaf of bread. Josh Billings
If you’re not honest with the world, you can’t really be honest with yourself. Joe Norman
It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Noël Coward
To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart. Charles Dickens
Sincerity is irrelevant in a society where many believe their own lies. @orangebook_
If we, as humans, are honest with ourselves, we will, with clarity and serenity, admit that we are failures. Kapil Gupta
If a man examines his life with rare and uncommon honesty, he comes to realize that it is, at once, an empty, societal charade. There is nothing within it that is of any genuine significance. Kapil Gupta
Madame, all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you. Ernest Hemingway
When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed. Ayn Rand
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world. Thomas Carlyle
Related: Honest Communication (YouTube video by The School of Life)
Wise Honesty Sayings
Fools avoid conflicts while the wise keep telling the truth. Maxime Lagacé
Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water. Miguel de Cervantes
In the short run, lying is easy and honesty is hard. In the long run, honesty is easy and lying is hard. What you choose today makes your tomorrow. Shane Parrish
If you really want to be happy, you have to be present. One of the core tenets of being present is to be completely honest at all times. Naval Ravikant
What radical honesty just means is that I want to be free. Part of being free means that I can say what I think and think what I say. Naval Ravikant
Being honest doesn’t mean being a jerk. Being nice doesn’t mean avoiding the truth. Blake Emal (Source)
The real honesty is a responsibility to the present moment. It needs tremendous awareness. You have to be honest to the present moment, not to the past, not to the future. Rajneesh
Honesty is the cornerstone of character. The honest man or woman seeks not merely to avoid criminal or illegal acts, but to be scrupulously fair, upright, fearless in both action and expression. B.C. Forbes
The good four. Honest with ourselves and with whatever is friend to us; courageous toward the enemy; generous toward the vanquished; polite-always that is how the four cardinal virtues want us. Friedrich Nietzsche
The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold. Aristotle
Great conversation flows easily with those that are deeply committed to the truth. They attack or defend a position out of honesty, not ego. They seek illumination, not point scoring. They will ruthlessly challenge the accuracy of your mental map of the world. Invaluable. @TheStoicEmperor
To be honest, speak without identity. Naval Ravikant
Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking. Leo Tolstoy
The honest man falls prey to guilt and conscience far more often than the dishonest one. Even when he has acted honorably. Kapil Gupta
Be honest with yourself. Base your preferences and beliefs on your deepest sense of self. Don’t be swayed by social pressures or a need for affirmation. Uncover your purest ‘you’ through questioning yourself and challenging yourself. @DailyZen
Accuracy is twin brother to honesty, and inaccuracy to dishonesty. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Part 3. Conclusion
Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity. W. Clement Stone
Further Readings
- Topic: Relationships
- 139 Relationship Quotes To Level Up Your Bonding With Others
- 71 Generosity Quotes To Make Your World Better
- 81 Compassion Quotes To Keep Your Heart Open
- How Honesty Could Make You Happier (nytimes.com)
- 90 Humility Quotes That Will Make You Feel Powerful
- 65 Karma Quotes To Improve Your Mindset (And Your Life)
- 100 Peace Quotes To Inspire A Better World
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Quotes
Part 2
Honesty Quotes That ARE
Famous
Short
Inspirational
Funny
Deep
Wise
Part 3
Conclusion
