Shifty, crooked and dishonest

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER



Yesterday, as I was browsing through the morning newspaper, a thought struck me. There seemed to be a lot of dishonest people in the world. News about scams, robberies, bribe-taking and other shady deals reach our ears and eyes everyday.

Dishonest is the opposite of honest. Dishonest is used to describe some people and their actions. A dishonest person can’t be trusted. Someone who lies, steals, or cheats is dishonest. It is dishonest to copy answers on a test.

Untruthful and deceitful mean dishonest, false, and misleading. An untruthful account or story doesn’t report the truth. It covers up the truth and gives false information. A deceitful person lies and deceives others. He gives the wrong idea of things and makes people believe things to be true that are really false.

Shifty is another word for evasive and deceitful. It is an informal word. A shifty person tries to mislead you by suppressing the truth or by hiding a part of it.

Crooked is the opposite of straight. It usually describes something, like a road or path, which has curves or bends. Crooked can also be used to describe a person. A crooked person bends or twists the truth. He is dishonest and untruthful. When that company offered us something for nothing, we knew the deal must be crooked.

Hypocritical means pretending to be honest and straightforward. A hypocritical person may say he firmly believes in something which he actually doesn’t care about. He may say he supports a principle in public, but his private actions may be opposed to the same principle he says he supports.

A person who is untrustworthy can’t be trusted to do what is right and fair. He can’t be dependable and reliable. You wouldn’t choose an untrustworthy boy for your class president.

Dishonourable means without honesty, honour, or respect. It is a strong word. It is dishonourable to break an agreement, an oath, or a promise. The soldier received a dishonourable discharge from the army because he committed a serious crime.


Learn-a-word

Zombie
A zombie is supposed to be a corpse [a dead person] brought to life by witchcraft. A zombie is brain dead, and stumbles around. Zombie is used to describe a person who is dull, lifeless or apathetic. Before my morning cup of coffee, I am a zombie.
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wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

VISETLEION ODIRA CIMNEA NINERTET

[Last week’s solution: Exercise, Activity, Process, Movement]