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

By honestly and realistically contemplating these answers and by speaking with a financial advisor or gold investing company representative, investors can tailor their gold approach to one that meets their needs and goals both this month and in the months that follow. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026

Factor in travel time between locations honestly — and leave buffer time for the unexpected discoveries that often end up being the highlight of the trip. —Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 10 Mar. 2026

And honestly, a lot of these businesses will never let a third-party AI come in and just mess with their backend, right? —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 10 Mar. 2026

That’s unrealistic and, honestly, not that fun. —Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 10 Mar. 2026

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