integrous

English

Etymology

Integr- (the root of integr(ity)) + -ous (adjectival suffix: “full of, characterised by, possessing”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəs/

Adjective

integrous (comparative more integrous, superlative most integrous)

1. (rare) Having or characterized by integrity.
   • 1899: Arthur Christopher Benson, The Life of Edward White Benson, Sometime Archbishop of Canterbury, page 435 (Macmillan)

     No doubt hard, no doubt proud, unpleasant in self-esteem, and singularly blind to much of what was going on, and yet such a high-minded and integrous woman, […]

   • 1968: Joseph Frank, Hobbled Pegasus: A Descriptive Bibliography of Minor English Poetry, 1641–1660, page 221 (University of New Mexico Press)

     And Smiths of Policie shall invent,
     

     To cast new Molds of Government;
     

     While vulgar Birds, of weakest wing,
     

     Grow stout against the Eagle King,
     

     Whose just integrous heart shall prove
     

     The Adamant of Subjects love.

   • 2007: Tanya Levin, People in Glass Houses: An Insider’s Story of a Life in and Out of Hillsong, pages 266–267 (Black Inc.; ISBN 1863954147, 978-1863954143)

     He concluded by writing that ‘Hillsong is the most integrous church in the country, and its leadership is above reproach’.

Usage notes

• In common usage, integrity is much more common than its adjectival form, integrous. Most speakers and writers opt for an etymologically unrelated synonym — such as honest, decent, or virtuous — when trying to express an adjectival equivalent of integrity.

Anagrams

• oustering
• routeings