good faith

noun

: honesty or lawfulness of purpose

Examples of good faith in a Sentence

You have no right to question my good faith.
Recent Examples on the Web In one sense, these thresholds are a good faith effort to avoid overregulating AI. IEEE Spectrum, 8 Feb. 2024 Right now, the best negotiators of the Senate have been working in good faith on that issue for months. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 Most members are paying into their own accounts and saving the money to show good faith in negotiation with management. Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 11 Jan. 2024 Though some of Wikipedia’s contributors manipulate the platform, just as Lerner’s avatar did in his worst moments, the vast majority of us are shrewd, delightful, and ordinary people operating in achingly good faith. Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024 These good faith efforts were met with Musk's blanket refusal to appear for testimony. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023 Secretary Mayorkas is not a good faith negotiating partner. Liz Cheney, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2024 The deal is essentially a good faith agreement between the two agencies. Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2023 But the Irish public’s presumption of its government’s good faith is very poorly placed regarding this expansive and wretchedly drafted legislation. The Editors, National Review, 29 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'good faith.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of good faith was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near good faith

Cite this Entry

“Good faith.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/good%20faith. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

good faith

noun
: honesty or lawfulness of purpose
bargained in good faith

Legal Definition

good faith

noun
: honesty, fairness, and lawfulness of purpose : absence of any intent to defraud, act maliciously, or take unfair advantage
filed the suit in good faith
negotiating in good faith
see also good faith exception, good faith purchaser compare bad faith

Note: The meaning of good faith, though always based on honesty, may vary depending on the specific context in which it is used. A person is said to buy in good faith when he or she holds an honest belief in his or her right or title to the property and has no knowledge or reason to know of any defect in the title. In section 1-201 of the Uniform Commercial Code good faith is defined generally as “honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing.” Where recent U.C.C. amendments have not been adopted, this definition is found in Article 3 on negotiable instruments (and applies to Article 4 on bank deposits and collections and Article 4A on funds transfers), while Article 2 on sales defines it as “honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of dealing in the trade.” Article 5 (letters of credit), as amended, defines it as “honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.” The U.C.C. imposes an obligation of good faith on the performance of every contract or duty under its purview. The law also generally requires good faith of fiduciaries and agents acting on behalf of their principals. There is also a requirement under the National Labor Relations Act that employers and unions bargain in good faith.

Etymology

translation of Latin bona fides

More from Merriam-Webster on good faith

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