hopefully

adverb

hope·ful·ly ˈhōp-fə-lē

Synonyms of hopefully next

: in a way that expresses desire with an expectation of fulfillment : in a hopeful manner

gazed up at us hopefully

: it is hoped : I hope : we hope

hopefully the rain will end soon

Can hopefully mean 'I hope'?: Usage Guide

In the 1960s the second sense of hopefully ("it is hoped"), which dates to the early 18th century and had been in fairly widespread use since at least the 1930s, underwent a surge in popularity. A surge of criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully when used to mean "it is hoped" is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (such as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The "it is hoped" sense of hopefully is entirely standard.

Examples of hopefully in a Sentence

They gazed up at us hopefully. Hopefully, things will get better soon.

Recent Examples on the Web Everything must fit just so, together, and often works with an element of surprise, and hopefully a sense opening. —

Monica Hooper, arkansasonline.com, 10 Oct. 2024 And as things hopefully get better, the music will change as well. —

Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024 Honoring Rosh Hashanah and the High Holidays at the same time as the one-year anniversary means looking ahead, Belgrade said, to hopefully have a better year. —

Victoria Ivie, Orange County Register, 7 Oct. 2024 The Fathers say the goal is to let Americans express all their anger in one night, hopefully making the country more peaceful overall. —

Keith Langston, People.com, 5 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hopefully

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hopefully.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.