Basic Details
Word: Integrity
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Being honest and sticking to what is right, even when nobody is watching; also the state of being whole and undamaged.
Synonyms: honesty, honour, uprightness, sincerity
Antonyms: dishonesty, deceit, corruption
Word origin: Comes from Latin integritas, wholeness, from integer, untouched or whole.
How to Spell Integrity
Syllables: in - teg - ri - ty
Tricky part: The middle is teg, not tig or tag, and there is no r after the first t. Many students write intergrity because they hear inter.
Watch out for: intergrity, integraty, intigrity
Memory tip: Integrity starts like integer, a whole number: a person of integrity is whole, the same at home and in school. Both begin integ.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The shopkeeper showed integrity when he returned the extra hundred rupees I had paid.
Example 2: A good captain plays with integrity, even when the umpire cannot see.
Example 3: Riya's integrity earned her the class monitor's badge.
Fun Fact
Engineers talk about the structural integrity of a bridge or building, meaning it is whole and sound enough to carry its load safely.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to integrity as used in the sentence:
Everyone trusted the old judge because his integrity had never once been questioned in forty years.
a) deceit
b) honesty
c) honour
d) sincerity
Show answer
a) deceit. Integrity is honesty; deceit is the only option that pulls the other way.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The committee chose Meera as head girl because of her intergrity, her patience with juniors and the calm way she handled every problem at school.
a) intergrity
b) committee
c) patience
d) juniors
Show answer
a) intergrity. Nothing comes between the t and the e: in-teg-ri-ty, with no extra r.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A leader without rtyegtini will soon lose the trust of the people.
a) intensity
b) integrity
c) intimacy
d) entirety
Show answer
b) integrity. The jumble has a g and a y, and trust goes with integrity.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A person of integrity is most likely to ____.
a) admit a mistake honestly
b) blame others
c) break a promise
d) copy in a test
Show answer
a) admit a mistake honestly
2. When people check the integrity of a computer file, they want to know whether the file is ____.
a) full of colourful pictures
b) older than a year
c) larger than usual
d) complete and unchanged
Show answer
d) complete and unchanged
