honestly

adverb

hon·​est·​ly ˈä-nəst-lē 

1

: in an honest manner: such as

a

: without cheating

counted the ballots honestly

b

: really, genuinely

was honestly scared

c

: without frills

food honestly prepared

2

: to be honest : to tell the truth

honestly, I don't know

Synonyms

• frankly
• actually
• really
• indeed

Examples of honestly in a Sentence

Officials counted the votes honestly.

The bank has always dealt honestly with me.

I can honestly say that I have never seen that man before today.

He spoke honestly about the mistakes he had made.

She honestly believes that she has been mistreated.

Recent Examples on the Web

But that defense honestly looks pretty weak in light of the federal government’s contention that Google has a search monopoly, controlling nearly 90% of the market. —Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

But that honestly doesn’t have so much about the trials in it. —Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2025

The theater comes by its creepiness honestly. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025

But then Belly scraps her Parisian plans and pledges her young life to Jeremiah, a rising super senior at Finch majoring in getting high and going to Cabo (which, quite honestly, is more age-appropriate than a wedding). —Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for honestly

• dishonestly

Kids Definition

honestly

adverb

hon·​est·​ly ˈän-əst-lē 

1

: in an honest manner: as

a

: without cheating

counted the votes honestly

b

: actually, genuinely

was honestly scared

2

: to be honest : to tell the truth

honestly, I don't understand it