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 of honestly

• 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

Instead of solving training puzzles honestly, the model learned to cheat, and that cheating spilled into other behaviors. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Dec. 2025

But honestly, one paragraph is more than that comment deserves. —Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2025

Amid the team's struggles, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy took some time to speak out honestly about Mahomes. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025

John Mulaney actually made good on his promise to fight three 14-year old boys on live TV and the result was… honestly pretty humiliating for him. —Ew Staff December 5, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Dec. 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