Honest vs. Fair: What's the Difference?

Honest and Fair Definitions
Honest
Marked by or displaying integrity; upright
An honest lawyer.
Fair
Of pleasing appearance, especially because of a pure or fresh quality; comely.
Honest
Not deceptive or fraudulent; genuine
Honest weight.
Fair
Light in color, especially blond
Fair hair.
Honest
Equitable; fair
Honest wages for an honest day's work.
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Fair
Of light complexion
Fair skin.
Honest
Characterized by truth; not false
Honest reporting.
Fair
Free of clouds or storms; clear and sunny
Fair skies.
Honest
Sincere; frank
An honest critique.
Fair
Free of blemishes or stains; clean and pure
One's fair name.
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Honest
Of good repute; respectable.
Fair
Promising; likely
We're in a fair way to succeed.
Honest
Without affectation; plain
Honest folk.
Fair
Having or exhibiting a disposition that is free of favoritism or bias; impartial
A fair mediator.
Honest
Virtuous; chaste.
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Fair
Just to all parties; equitable
A compromise that is fair to both factions.
Honest
(of a person or institution) Scrupulous with regard to telling the truth; not given to swindling, lying, or fraud; upright.
We’re the most honest people you will ever come across.
Fair
Being in accordance with relative merit or significance
She wanted to receive her fair share of the proceeds.
Honest
(of a statement) True, especially as far as is known by the person making the statement; fair; unbiased.
An honest account of events
Honest reporting
Fair
Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics
A fair tactic.
Honest
In good faith; without malice.
An honest mistake
Fair
Moderately good; acceptable or satisfactory
Gave only a fair performance of the play.
In fair health.
Honest
(of a measurement device) Accurate.
An honest scale
Fair
Superficially true or appealing; specious
Don't trust his fair promises.
Honest
Authentic; full.
An honest day’s work
Fair
Lawful to hunt or attack
Fair game.
Honest
Earned or acquired in a fair manner.
An honest dollar
Fair
(Archaic) Free of all obstacles.
Honest
Open; frank.
An honest countenance
Fair
In a proper or legal manner
Playing fair.
Honest
(obsolete) Decent; honourable; suitable; becoming.
Fair
Directly; straight
A blow caught fair in the stomach.
Honest
(obsolete) Chaste; faithful; virtuous.
Fair
To join (pieces) so as to be smooth, even, or regular
Faired the aircraft's wing into the fuselage.
Honest
(obsolete) To adorn or grace; to honour; to make becoming, appropriate, or honourable.
Fair
(Archaic) A beautiful or beloved woman.
Honest
(colloquial) Honestly; really.
It wasn’t my fault, honest.
Fair
(Obsolete) Loveliness; beauty.
Honest
Decent; honorable; suitable; becoming.
Belong what honest clothes you send forth to bleaching!
Fair
A gathering for the buying and selling of goods, often held at a particular time and place; a market
We attended the annual book fair.
Honest
Characterized by integrity or fairness and straightforwardness in conduct, thought, speech, etc.; upright; just; equitable; trustworthy; truthful; sincere; free from fraud, guile, or duplicity; not false; - said of persons and acts, and of things to which a moral quality is imputed; as, an honest judge or merchant; an honest statement; an honest bargain; an honest business; an honest book; an honest confession.
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
An honest physician leaves his patient when he can contribute no farther to his health.
Look ye out among you seven men of honest report.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Fair
An exhibition of home or farm products and skills, usually with competitions and entertainments
My pumpkin won first prize at the county fair.
Honest
Open; frank; as, an honest countenance.
Fair
An exhibition intended to inform people about a product or business opportunity
A computer fair.
A job fair.
Honest
Chaste; faithful; virtuous.
Wives may be merry, and yet honest too.
Fair
An event, usually for the benefit of a charity or public institution, including entertainment and the sale of goods; a bazaar
A church fair.
Honest
To adorn; to grace; to honor; to make becoming, appropriate, or honorable.
Fair
Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
Monday's child is fair of face.
There was once a knight who wooed a fair young maid.
Honest
Not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent;
Honest lawyers
Honest reporting
An honest wage
Honest weight
Fair
Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.
One's fair name
After scratching out and replacing various words in the manuscript, he scribed a fair copy to send to the publisher.
Honest
Without dissimulation; frank;
My honest opinion
Fair
Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond hair.
She had fair hair and blue eyes.
Honest
Worthy of being depended on;
A dependable worker
An honest working stiff
A reliable source of information
He was true to his word
I would be true for there are those who trust me
Fair
Just, equitable.
He must be given a fair trial.
Honest
Free from guile;
His answer was simple and honest
Fair
Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.
Their performance has been only fair.
The patient was in a fair condition after some treatment.
Honest
Without pretensions;
Worked at an honest trade
Good honest food
Fair
Favorable to a ship's course.
Honest
Habitually speaking the truth;
An honest man
A veracious witness
Fair
Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.
A fair sky;
A fair day
Honest
Marked by truth;
Gave honest answers
Fair
Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.
A fair mark;
In fair sight;
A fair view
Fair
(shipbuilding) Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
Fair
(baseball) Between the baselines.
Fair
Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
Fair
Not a no ball.
Fair
(statistics) Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.
Fair
Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).
When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?
Fair
(obsolete) A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
Fair
(obsolete) Fairness, beauty.
Fair
A fair woman; a sweetheart.
Fair
(obsolete) Good fortune; good luck.
Fair
A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
Fair
An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
Fair
An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
Fair
A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).
Fair
(transitive) To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).
Fair
(transitive) To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).
Fair
To make an animation smooth, removing any jerkiness.
Fair
(transitive) To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance.
Fair
To make fair or beautiful.
Fair
Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably
Fair
Free from spots, specks, dirt, or imperfection; unblemished; clean; pure.
A fair white linen cloth.
Fair
Pleasing to the eye; handsome; beautiful.
Who can not see many a fair French city, for one fair French made.
Fair
Without a dark hue; light; clear; as, a fair skin.
The northern people large and fair-complexioned.
Fair
Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; favorable; - said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.; as, a fair sky; a fair day.
You wish fair winds may waft him over.
Fair
Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unincumbered; open; direct; - said of a road, passage, etc.; as, a fair mark; in fair sight; a fair view.
The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a fair way to have enlarged.
Fair
Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; - said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
Fair
Characterized by frankness, honesty, impartiality, or candor; open; upright; free from suspicion or bias; equitable; just; - said of persons, character, or conduct; as, a fair man; fair dealing; a fair statement.
Fair
Pleasing; favorable; inspiring hope and confidence; - said of words, promises, etc.
When fair words and good counsel will not prevail on us, we must be frighted into our duty.
Fair
Distinct; legible; as, fair handwriting.
Fair
Free from any marked characteristic; average; middling; as, a fair specimen.
The news is very fair and good, my lord.
Fair
Clearly; openly; frankly; civilly; honestly; favorably; auspiciously; agreeably.
Fair
Fairness, beauty.
Fair
A fair woman; a sweetheart.
I have found out a gift for my fair.
Fair
Good fortune; good luck.
Now fair befall thee !
Fair
A gathering of buyers and sellers, assembled at a particular place with their merchandise at a stated or regular season, or by special appointment, for trade.
Fair
A festival, and sale of fancy articles. erc., usually for some charitable object; as, a Grand Army fair; a church fair.
Fair
A competitive exhibition of wares, farm products, etc., not primarily for purposes of sale; as, the Mechanics' fair; an agricultural fair.
Fair
An exhibition by a number of organizations, including governmental organizations, for the purpose of acquainting people with such organizations or their members, not primarily for commercial purposes; as, the 1939 World's Fair.
Meet me in St. Louis, LouisMeet me at the fairDon't tell me the lights are shiningAnyplace but there.
Fair
To make fair or beautiful.
Fairing the foul.
Fair
To make smooth and flowing, as a vessel's lines.
Fair
A traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.
Fair
Gathering of producers to promote business;
World fair
Trade fair
Book fair
Fair
A competitive exhibition of farm products;
She won a blue ribbon for her baking at the county fair
Fair
A sale of miscellany; often for charity;
The church bazaar
Fair
Join so that the external surfaces blend smoothly
Fair
Free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; or conforming with established standards or rules;
A fair referee
Fair deal
On a fair footing
A fair fight
By fair means or foul
Fair
Showing lack of favoritism;
The cold neutrality of an impartial judge
Fair
More than adequate in quality;
Fair work
Fair
Not excessive or extreme;
A fairish income
Reasonable prices
Fair
Visually appealing;
Our fair city
Fair
Very pleasing to the eye;
My bonny lass
There's a bonny bay beyond
A comely face
Young fair maidens
Fair
(of a baseball) hit between the foul lines;
He hit a fair ball over the third base bag
Fair
Of no exceptional quality or ability;
A novel of average merit
Only a fair performance of the sonata
In fair health
The caliber of the students has gone from mediocre to above average
The performance was middling at best
Fair
Attractively feminine;
The fair sex
Fair
(of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections;
Fair copy
A clean manuscript
Fair
Free of clouds or rain;
Today will be fair and warm
Fair
(used of hair or skin) pale or light-colored;
A fair complexion
Fair
In conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating;
They played fairly
Fair
In a fair evenhanded manner;
Deal fairly with one another