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

• actually
• admittedly
• forsooth
• frankly
• indeed
• really
• truly
• truthfully
• verily

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

His chances of a pardon are, honestly, pretty good. —Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024

Really this entire thing is…pretty creative honestly. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

What happened during Covid is, honestly, a little bit too much online shopping. —Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 5 Nov. 2024

True techno music has honestly never been better; I am buried in quality tracks at the moment, and these are mainly from newer, younger artists. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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