honestly

hon·est·ly | \ ˈä-nəst-lē

How to pronounce honestly (audio)

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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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about honestly

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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 Relating menopause to puberty and its physical and emotional hormonal challenges can help teens and tweens understand, along with answering questions openly and honestly. — Washington Post, "Why everyone needs to know more about menopause — especially now," 29 June 2020 Most clinical trials are designed to enroll racially and ethnically diverse groups of participants and honestly aim to do that. — Kathryn Stephenson, STAT, "Covid-19 vaccine research must involve Black and Latinx participants. Here are 4 ways to make that happen," 26 June 2020 And, honestly, a Pre Classic without fans or only a very few fans because of social distancing requirements would have been sad. — oregonlive, "This year’s Pre Classic goes away, but there still could be live track this summer: Oregon track & field rundown," 26 June 2020 Nice to hear someone speak honestly on the prospect of NFL football this year. — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "Novak Djokovic’s stunt backfires, and tennis loses," 26 June 2020 That's honestly just impressive, especially considering how inconsistent some cat trees ordered online can be. — Christine Hayes, USA TODAY, "20 things you need if you're obsessed with your pet," 25 June 2020 Sports and fashion have become a thing of its own and that’s honestly where my passion stems from and of course Michael Jordan. — Ashley Rushford, Essence, "Au + Ag Is The Black-Owned Sustainable Streetwear Brand You Should Know About," 23 June 2020 Because, honestly, those things are beautiful and amazing and important, but there’s no such thing as being kind of equal. — Gabrielle Korn, refinery29.com, "Queer People In 2020 Are More Visible Than Ever, But We’re Still Not Equal," 15 June 2020 And honestly, that could be the Tigers' biggest problem. — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Making sense of Detroit Tigers' near-perfect draft class — and the hard part that's yet to come," 12 June 2020

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.

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Dictionary Entries near honestly

Statistics for honestly

Last Updated

6 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Honestly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honestly. Accessed 6 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for honestly

honestly

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of honestly

: without cheating or lying : in an honest way

: in a genuine way : without pretending

—used to stress that a statement is true

See the full definition for honestly in the English Language Learners Dictionary

honestly

hon·est·ly | \ ˈä-nəst-lē

\

Kids Definition of honestly

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

4 —used to show annoyance or disapprovalIs that your excuse? Honestly!

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