honestly

adverb hon·est·ly \ ˈä-nəst-lē \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Examples: honestly in a Sentence

Definition of honestly

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

See honestly defined for English-language learners

See honestly defined for kids

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 of honestly from the Web

Its rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces needed to be honestly priced but also ethically-sourced; AUrate’s gold is recycled.

— refinery29.com, "Affordable & Ethically Sourced Diamonds You Can Try Before You Buy," 13 July 2018
Which, honestly, is a bit achey after dragging away the horse head.

— mark lisanti, Vanities, "The Trump Family Power Rankings: Rudy Giuliani and the Infinity Stones," 4 May 2018
The film also introduces us to Moose, played by Adam Sevani, who honestly should have more of a career.

— jaya saxena, GQ, "Step Up 2: The Streets Is Actually the Best Step Up Movie (And It's on Netflix)," 4 July 2018
Cell phone service was spotty at best, and honestly, I was delighted by a break from the digital world.

— helena oliviero, ajc, "Plan your trip: A guide to the Okefenokee swamp," 2 July 2018
And why is that — that Dale Jr. thoroughly and honestly enjoyed his first big-time broadcast — so important?

— brendan marks, charlotteobserver, "Dale Jr.'s TV debut was nearly perfect — and proof that retiring was his best option.," 1 July 2018
And, honestly, Barack Obama gave a -- some really good messages in that speech, as Shelby said, about moping, about participating, getting involved.

— Fox News, "Former agent fires back at calls to abolish ICE," 30 June 2018
California has the highest poverty rate in the country and most people don’t trust or honestly expect politicians to do anything about that.

— sacbee, "Antonia Hernandez," 27 June 2018
The sensation honestly gets lost with those traditional controllers in a big, loose-fitting pocket.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Lumines Remastered turns the Nintendo Switch into a full-body vibration party," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'honestly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of honestly

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

honestly Synonyms

Synonyms

actually, admittedly, frankly, indeed, really, truly, truthfully, verily;

Phrases

as a matter of fact, in actuality, in fact, in point of fact, in reality, in truth, to be sure;

HONESTLY Defined for English Language Learners

honestly

adverb

Definition of honestly for English Language Learners

: without cheating or lying : in an honest way
: in a genuine way : without pretending
—used to stress that a statement is true

HONESTLY Defined for Kids

honestly

adverb hon·est·ly \ ˈä-nəst-lē \

Definition of honestly for Students

1 : without cheating or lying : in an honest manner

They made their money honestly.

2 : in a real and sincere way

She was honestly scared.

3 —used to stress the truth or sincerity of what is being said

Honestly, I don't know how you do it.

4 —used to show annoyance or disapproval

Is that your excuse? Honestly!

Learn More about honestly

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for honestly Britannica English: Translation of honestly for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up honestly? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

honestly

Definition of honestly

Examples of honestly in a Sentence

Recent Examples of honestly from the Web

First Known Use of honestly

honestly Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Phrases

HONESTLY Defined for English Language Learners

honestly

Definition of honestly for English Language Learners

HONESTLY Defined for Kids

honestly

Definition of honestly for Students

Learn More about honestly

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 8/17/2018

9 Words for Places People Call "Home"

Trending: Brennan: Trump's Claims are 'Hogwash'

The Eponym Quiz

Ghost Word