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honestly

adverb

Form of honest , adverb of honest.

Simple meaning

It is sincerely the case that.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahnuhstlee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑnəstli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. manner

    In an honest manner.

    “In he can't get it honestly, he is willing to steal it.”

  2. sentence adverb

    Frankly, to be honest.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

This meaning: (manner) In an honest manner.

Used this way, honestly is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.

Heard in a sentence
“In he can't get it honestly, he is willing to steal it.”
Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Common
Connotation
Honest and open
Usage feel
Precise and approving

Where it naturally appears

  • Ethics/values

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use honestly

  • “Honestly, I don't believe it.”adverb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

honestly sayhonestly believehonestly thinkhonestly believed

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • honestadjectiveBase word

    Not disposed to cheat or defraud.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • honestynounDerived noun

    The quality of being honest.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: in an honest manner

franklycandidly

Antonyms

Sense: in an honest manner

dishonestlyRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.