Upstanding
What it means
Honest, responsible, and deserving of respect.
Reach for it when praising established civic or personal character without exaggerating sainthood
The award honored an upstanding neighbor who served without fanfare.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| professional | |
| formal |
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playful
solid citizen
Fits when informal civic praise fits
Careful The phrase can sound patronizing and culturally narrow.
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everyday
Fits when ordinary moral reliability is the honest claim
Careful Decent is weaker and broad.
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professional
Fits when decisions follow stable standards
Careful Principled can coexist with harsh or mistaken principles.
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professional
Fits when conduct meets a sound social standard
Careful Respectable can be class-coded and faint praise.
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formal
Fits when duty and fair conduct matter
Careful Honorable can carry status or ceremonial overtones.
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formal
Fits when moral integrity is central
Careful Upright is more solemn and old-fashioned.
Opposites 3
- disreputable
- corrupt
- dishonorable
Common phrases 3
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upstanding citizen
An upstanding citizen can challenge an unjust local rule.
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upstanding member
She was known as an upstanding member of the cooperative.
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truly upstanding
Truly upstanding conduct includes correcting favorable errors.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Persent101, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated