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honor system

noun

Simple meaning

A system, policy or understanding based on trust in the honesty, honor, or integrity of others.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahnersistuhm

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑnɚˈsɪstəm

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. USalternative in Canada

    A system, policy or understanding based on trust in the honesty, honor, or integrity of others.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

This meaning: (US, alternative in Canada) A system, policy or understanding based on trust in the honesty, honor, or integrity of others.

Used this way, honor system is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in government or politics and ethics or values contexts.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Honest and open
Usage feel
Precise and approving

Where it naturally appears

  • Government/politics
  • Ethics/values

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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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.