Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA |
|---|---|
| onorevole | /o.noˈre.vo.le/ |
| onorabile | /o.noˈra.bi.le/ |
Both words are used to describe someone or something worthy of respect. Onorevole is often used to describe a person of high moral standing or as an official title. Onorabile is a more general term for something that carries dignity or is worthy of respect.
Which one should you use?
Onorevole is typically reserved for formal contexts, such as describing a person of high moral character or used as a formal title for members of parliament. In contrast, onorabile is a neutral term used more generally to describe someone or something that is worthy of respect or possesses a certain level of dignity.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both onorevole and onorabile are adjectives that end in -e, which means they have the same form for both masculine and feminine singular nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/o.noˈre.vo.le/. The word has 5 syllables and the stress is on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- While onorevole describes a person's character, the related word onore can be used in the phrase fare onore to mean bringing credit or pride to one's family.
- The words onorevole and onorabile are doublets, meaning they both evolved from the same Latin root honōrābilis but took different paths into Italian.
- When addressing a politician, the word Onorevole acts as a noun in practice. You might say 'Buongiorno, Onorevole', treating the adjective itself as the person's name or rank.
Examples in context
- Tom è un uomo onorevole.Tom is an honorable man.This sentence is useful for describing a man using onorevole.Tatoeba #7704953 by Guybrush88, translation #5261254 by CK
- Preferirei una morte onorevole.I would prefer an honorable death.This sentence is useful for describing a death using onorevole.Tatoeba #6638877 by Guybrush88, translation #32062 by CM
- Grazie per il suo tempo, sig.ra Rossi. È stato un onore parlare con una persona onorevole come lei.Thank you for your time, Ms. Rossi. It was an honor to speak with an honorable person like you.
- È stato un gesto onorevole.It was an honorable gesture.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofia and Francesco are discussing a colleague's decision.
- SofiaHai sentito cosa ha deciso Marco?Did you hear what Marco decided?
- FrancescoSì, penso che sia un gesto onorevole.Yes, I think it is an honorable gesture.
- SofiaHai ragione, Francesco. È stato molto sincero.You are right, Francesco. He was very sincere.
- FrancescoRaramente si vede tanta integrità oggi.Rarely do we see such integrity today.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “honorable” translations and entries onorevole, onorabile, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries onorabile, onorevole, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
