Probity
Noun
- Adherence to the highest principles and ideals.
- Uprightness.
Example Sentences
“He has the kind of probity where he’ll chase you down to return the extra quarter in change.”
“Probity isn’t always flashy, but it’s what you should look for in a friendship.”
“I look to my grandfather for an example of how to live life with probity.”
Word Origin
Latin, 15th century
Why this word?
If someone displays a strong sense of probity, that means they have strong morals and uphold the principles of right and wrong. “Probity” comes from the Latin “probus,” meaning “honest, good.” It’s an old-fashioned term, more likely to be found in 18th-century correspondence than in modern conversation. Charles Dickens used it in the novel “Little Dorrit” in the context of a character raising funds thanks to friends believing in his goodness: “This sum … he had, through the promptitude of several friends who had a lively confidence in his probity, already raised, with the exception of a trifling balance of one pound seventeen and fourpence.”
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