honor
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Recognition of importance or value.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahnerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɑnɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountable
Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration (of someone, usually for being morally upright or successful).
uncountable
The state of being morally upright, honest, noble, virtuous, and magnanimous; excellence of character; the perception of such a state; favourable reputation; dignity.
The state of being honored
countable
A token of praise or respect; something that represents praiseworthiness or respect, such as a prize or award given by the state to a citizen.
in the plural
The privilege of going first.
A cause of respect and fame; a glory; an excellency; an ornament.
verb
transitive
To think of highly, to respect highly; to show respect for; to recognise the importance or spiritual value of.
transitive
To confer (bestow) an honour or privilege upon (someone).
transitive
To make payment in respect of (a cheque, banker's draft, etc.).
transitive
To conform to, abide by, act in accordance with (an agreement, treaty, promise, request, or the like).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration (of someone, usually for being morally upright or successful).
Used this way, honor is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use honor
- “Today we honor our soldiers.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Conformity with law or custom or practice etc.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Not disposed to cheat or defraud.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An escort for a distinguished guest or for the casket at a military funeral.
An ancient tradition still sometimes observed.
A system of conduct in which participants are trusted not to take unfair advantage of others.
An unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding.
A married woman serving as the attendant to the bride at a wedding.
The highest U.S. military decoration awarded for bravery and valor in action `above and beyond the call of duty'.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A degree conferred to honor the recipient.
A degree conferred to honor the recipient.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.