Throughout our lives, we will encounter many different types of friends. Some last only for a season; others stay with us through myriad chapters. Then there are the ride-or-dies, as it were, who are there through thick and thin and might even make us better people along the way. 

But just what separates this steadfast ally from the fair-weather companion? 

It turns out, there is one universal distinguishing factor. And it has nothing to do with shared interests, how long you’ve known each other, or even how much you “like” each other’s personality. 

The No. 1 predictor of a lasting friendship, according to science 

In 2022, a series of questionnaire-based studies published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science found that honesty was the trait people most wanted in a friend.

In the first study, 236 people (122 women and 114 men) wrote down the traits they wanted and did not want in their friends. The 50........

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