integrity
integrity — noun
1. The quality of always being honest and following strong moral rules, especially
The quality of always being honest and following strong moral rules, especially when doing the right thing costs you something or brings you trouble.
Mauricio showed great integrity by returning the lost wallet with all the cash still inside it.
collocation: show integrity
The politician's integrity was questioned after voters discovered she had accepted money from a company she was supposed to investigate.
passive: integrity was questioned
Élise had the integrity to admit that her report contained a mistake, even though no one else had noticed it.
Parents hope their children will grow up to be people of integrity who treat others fairly.
The coach was known for his integrity — he never pressured young athletes to play when they were injured.
- honesty
more general; does not always imply sticking to principles under pressure
- uprightness
more formal, emphasises moral correctness
- probity
very formal, used in legal or academic contexts
- rectitude
formal, morally correct behaviour
- dishonesty
lack of truthfulness
- corruption
willingness to act dishonestly for money or power
文法句型
have the integrity to + infinitive
用法筆記
Frequently used with possessive determiners (his integrity, her integrity) and in the fixed phrase 'a person of integrity'. This is the most common sense of the word.
常見錯誤
2. The attitude of refusing to lower the quality of your work or art, even when doi
The attitude of refusing to lower the quality of your work or art, even when doing so would bring more money, popularity, or approval from others.
Sumin refused to rewrite the novel as a romance story, saying it would compromise her artistic integrity.
collocation: compromise artistic integrity
The university has strict rules about academic integrity, and students who copy from the internet may be expelled.
collocation: academic integrity
Lakan turned down a lucrative advertising deal because he felt it would damage the integrity of his cooking show.
Hamza insisted on using hand-stitched fabric for the costumes to maintain the integrity of the traditional design.
The journalist worried that publishing the article before checking all the facts would hurt the integrity of the newspaper.
- compromise
in this context, lowering one's standards
- corruption
allowing dishonest practices in a profession
文法句型
[adjective] + integrity
compromise the integrity of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Commonly paired with domain-specific adjectives: 'artistic integrity' (creative work), 'academic integrity' (scholarship), 'professional integrity' (any career). The sense overlaps with sense 1 when the same action involves both moral and professional standards.
常見錯誤
3. A condition in which something is fully together, nothing is missing or broken,
A condition in which something is fully together, nothing is missing or broken, and all parts remain in their proper place — applying to physical objects, electronic data, national borders, or group identity.
Engineers inspected the bridge carefully and confirmed that its structural integrity had not been weakened by the storm.
collocation: structural integrity
The database uses special checks to ensure data integrity so that no records are lost or corrupted.
collocation: data integrity
Vivek argued that the proposed border changes would threaten the territorial integrity of the nation.
Femi worried that rapid tourism development was damaging the cultural integrity of his hometown.
Restoring the integrity of the ancient wall required replacing each stone in its original position.
- completeness
all parts present; less about strength
- unity
working together as one, especially for groups or nations
- wholeness
more general and less technical than integrity
- fragmentation
breaking into pieces
- division
splitting apart, especially of groups
- corruption
of data — when information becomes damaged or altered
文法句型
the integrity of + noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense appears in formal, technical, or academic writing far more often than in casual speech. The specific domain (engineering, computing, law, cultural studies) changes which adjective pairs with it — always check the field before choosing a collocation.