honestly

adverb

hon·​est·​ly ˈä-nəst-lē How to pronounce honestly (audio)
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

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 Barrett and Meyerowitz open up their relationship honestly, inviting curious eyes without any vanity on their part. Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 16 Mar. 2024 The flavor was warm and nutty—just a perfect latte base, honestly. Grace McCarty, SELF, 13 Mar. 2024 His ball striking is, honestly, on another level compared to everyone else right now. Jack Bantock, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 But the underlying question of why that has increasingly become my curiosity — the answer, honestly, has to do a lot with getting older and experiencing more life. Jake Silverstein Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 But honestly, there's really no room on her fairy princess arm for a man anyway. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 10 Mar. 2024 Now, if there was any belief that the Republic would honestly pay its obligations, there wouldn’t be any need for these kinds of paragraphs… The plaintiffs come in with difficult proposals, one after the other. Gregory Makoff, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2024 Right now, the delicious (and best-selling) green apple shade is on sale for just $80 and will honestly make for the perfect addition to my spring outfit collection while effortlessly remaining comfortable thanks to the relaxed fit. Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2024 But honestly, given the bounty of this year’s Oscars crop? David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of honestly was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near honestly

Cite this Entry

“Honestly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honestly. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

honestly

adverb
hon·​est·​ly ˈän-əst-lē How to pronounce honestly (audio)
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 know how you do it

More from Merriam-Webster on honestly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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