integrity
- 1The quality of holding firmly to strict moral or ethical principles.
The judge's integrity was never questioned, even by lawyers who lost cases before her.
He resigned rather than compromise his integrity by signing the falsified report.
Similarhonesty, probity, rectitude, honor, decency
Oppositedishonesty, corruption
Note
The moral sense pictures character as something that holds together: English took the word through Middle French intégrité from Latin integritās, 'soundness'. It is a doublet of entirety, the same root arriving twice by different roads. Shakespeare and Fletcher, writing in 1613, already pair it with truth. Its usual verbs show how it is imagined: integrity is compromised, sapped or kept, like something that can be damaged rather than added to.
- 2Trustworthiness; the quality of reliably keeping one's word.
Contractors known for their integrity get repeat business without ever advertising.
Her integrity meant a handshake deal was as good as a signed contract.
Similartrustworthiness, reliability, honesty, dependability, honor
Oppositedishonesty, unreliability
Note
Where the moral sense is loyalty to a code, this one is loyalty to other people: integrity measured by whether promises are kept. It belongs to dealings and reputations, such as contractors, partners and handshake agreements. Others judge it from outside, by a record of kept commitments, rather than from the principles a person privately holds.
- 3
- 4The state of being whole and complete, or of being pure and unmixed.
The treaty guaranteed the territorial integrity of both nations.
Editors preserved the integrity of the manuscript, publishing it without cuts or additions.
Similarwholeness, completeness, unity, purity
Note
Here the question is whether anything is missing or added, not whether anything is broken. The 'unimpaired' meaning fits a hull or a foundation that might be cracked. This one fits a territory that keeps its borders or a manuscript printed without cuts. To tell them apart, ask whether the threat is damage or alteration. The kinship with entirety, its doublet, is clearest in this sense.
- 5The assurance that information has not been altered by unauthorized parties in a way that authorized users cannot detect.
A checksum lets the receiver verify the integrity of the transmitted file.
The audit revealed that the database's integrity had been compromised months earlier.
Note
Cryptography's version of the word is about detection, not prevention. A system with integrity does not promise that no one can tamper with the data. It promises that tampering cannot go unnoticed by authorized users. That is why the term sits naturally beside verify and check: integrity is something a receiver confirms, using a checksum or similar test, rather than something the data simply has.
- 6The ability of a navigation system to provide timely warnings to users when it should not be relied on for navigation.
Aviation authorities require GPS augmentation to improve the integrity of approach guidance.
The system's integrity ensures pilots are alerted within seconds of a signal fault.
Note
In aviation the word means honesty about failure rather than accuracy. A navigation system with good integrity can still go wrong. What it must do is warn the pilot promptly when its guidance should not be trusted. Engineers therefore speak of integrity in terms of alerts and time to warn. A merely accurate system that fails silently has none.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of integrity apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Borrowed from Middle French "intégrité," from Latin "integritas" ("soundness, integrity"), from "integer." It is a doublet of "entirety."