Integrity

noun

/ɪnˈtɛɡrɪti/

The quality of being honest and having strong, consistent moral principles — a wholeness of character where one's values, words, and actions remain aligned even in the absence of external scrutiny.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

A civil service insulated by institutional safeguards but hollowed of personal integrity will betray the public trust as surely as one without any safeguards at all, for ethical conduct ultimately rests on the inner compass of the officer, not merely on external sanction.

Synonyms

probityuprightnesshonestyrectitudeincorruptibilitysoundness

Antonyms

corruptiondishonestyduplicitydepravity

🌱 Word Family

integer (n), integral (adj/n), integrate (v), disintegrate (v), integrous (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin integritātem = wholeness, soundness; integer = untouched; in- = not; tangere = to touch

📜 Etymology

From Old French intégrité, derived from Latin integritātem ("soundness, wholeness, completeness"), from integer ("whole, untouched"), combining in- ("not") and the root of tangere ("to touch") — literally meaning "untouched" or "undivided"; the moral sense emerged in English by the 1540s.

🧠 Memory Hook

Think INTEGER — a whole number, undivided. A person of integrity is morally "whole" and untouched (Latin in- "not" + tangere "to touch") by corruption.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2025 — Technology
Prelims 2025 — Space Technology
Mains 2024 · GS2 · 15 marks — Governance
Mains 2024 · GS4 · 10 marks — Probity / Code of Ethics
Mains 2023 · GS4 · 10 marks — Ethics in Public Administration
Mains 2021 · GS4 · 10 marks — Ethics in Public Administration

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Integrity” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

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